Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,
Pro Wrestling Love vol. 53:
The Best of World Wrestling Entertainment 2010-2014
Objective: Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at http://gweproject.freeforums.net/) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.
Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.
Subject: This fifty-first volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the beginning of the Top 24 countdown of the best matches to take place in WWE between 2010-2014. This will be the first ever four part series in Pro Wrestling Love history! There has never been a better time to be a WWE fan than from 2012-2014 if you love in-ring action. In my opinion, 2013 is the best year wrestling-wise in the history of the company. The year 2010 was a strange year for the WWE as the WWE lost a lot of this its essential support structure for John Cena. The year 2010 saw Shawn Michaels go into retirement, HHH & Undertaker went into semi-retirement, Batista & Jericho left and it was Edge's last full year. This left just John Cena and Randy Orton as main eventers by the end of 2010. The year 2010 saw a complete overhaul in the WWE main event scene. The key replacements came in the form of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan who were the new major minted main eventers during the first half of the 2010s. I selected the year 2014 as the end year because seems like the year they finally transitioned away from John Cena being The Man. The year 2015 seemed like the year Roman Reigns would begin his era but instead it has become more like the Brock Lesnar era, which I am not complaining about as a big Brock fanboy, but that's for a different blog. You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.
Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.
Honorable Mentions
Mark Henry vs Big Show - Money In The Bank 2011
Mark Henry vs Sheamus - Summerslam 2011
World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry vs Daniel Bryan - Smackdown 11/4/11
World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry vs Daniel Bryan - Smackdown 11/11/11
World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry vs Big Show - Survivor Series 2011
World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry vs Daniel Bryan - Smackdown 11/29/11 Steel Cage
World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs Big Show - Smackdown 1/6/12
World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs The Big Show - Smackdown 1/13/13 No DQ
World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs Mark Henry - SD! 1/20/12 Lumberjack
World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs Mark Henry vs Big Show - Royal Rumble 2012 Steel Cage Match
WWE Champion John Cena vs Mark Henry - Money In The Bank 2013
The Hall of Pain run in all its reigning glory! Mark Henry went from fast forward material to going on one of the single greatest runs in the history of pro wrestling. His trash talkin', mean muggin', asskickin' ways made all his promos and matches credible. Three matches from the Hall of Pain run make the Top 24, but I wanted to make sure everything from the amazing three-way feud with Daniel Bryan and Big Show is covered. Starting with Okada/Omega, Meltzer has started rating what he believes to be really great matches as Six Stars again (there is precedent from the All Japan 90s days of him going to six stars). In my opinion, they only thing that is ever worthy of six stars is the Mark Henry fake retirement promo. It really tugs on the heartstring, when he tells his daughter that daddy is coming home it always gets me and then for him to turn on John Cena right now is just the best. It is just so pro wrestling and I love it!
Shawn Michaels vs Rey Mysterio - Smackdown 1/29/10
Two of the all-time greats that really never crossed paths much as Shawn was marching to retirement in a couple months. He must have realized he had not wrestled Rey since the Eddie tribute and wanted to get a match in and this was a great match that should be talked about more.
John Cena vs The Rock - WrestleMania XXVIII
The main event of the first WrestleMania I ever attended. Live, I remember thinking it was just ok. However, watching it back a couple times since I have always thought this was great. One of the best Clash of the Titans, Megastar vs Megastar match. This match where I think Cena finally transcended wrestling and really became a Megastar.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Batista vs Daniel Bryan -
WrestleMania XXX
The greatest feel-good ending to a WrestleMania! At the end of WrestleMania XXX you really feel like WWE is headed into another golden age with The Shield, Wyatt Family, Cesaro and with Daniel Bryan at the helm and unfortunately that was completely desolated by the summer.
Antonio Cesaro vs Sheamus - Main Event 06/05/13
Sheamus vs Cesaro - Smackdown 6/14/13
Antonio Cesaro vs William Regal - NXT 12/25/13
John Cena vs Cesaro w/Real Americans - RAW 2/17/14
Speaking of the awesomeness of Cesaro, here are three amazing Cesaro matches from 2013. The year 2013 is amazing and there are probably so many great TV matches I have not seen, but you should track down as much Cesaro from 2013 because he was so great. Also anytime Cesaro vs Sheamus hook it up, you know it going to be great. The WWE's hoss division was on fire during 2013.
NXT Champion Paige vs Emma - NXT Arrival 2/27/14
In my opinion, this is the first great WWE women's match, not Charlotte vs Nattie and this should be remembered fondly as kicking off American wrestling fans and WWE management taking women's wrestling seriously.
World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Christian - WWE Over The Limit 2011
World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan - Extreme Rules 2012 2 out of 3 Falls
CM Punk vs The Undertaker - WrestleMania XXIX
WWE Champion John Cena vs Daniel Bryan - Summerslam 2013
Why I put these four matches together is that I think most wrestling fans would rate these matches in their Top 24, but for whatever reason they just don't hit that mark for me. I think they are great matches and I enjoyed matching them (Punk vs Taker, I got to see in person!), BUT they just don't kick me the ass the same way the Top 24 do.
The Shield vs Ryback, John Cena, Sheamus - WWE Elimination Chamber 2013
WWE World Tag Champs Brothers Rhodes vs The Shield vs. The Usos - Hell In A Cell 2013
John Cena w/Mark Henry & Big E. vs Seth Rollins w/The Shield - Smackdown! 12/27/13
The Shield vs Wyatt Family - WWE RAW 3/3/14
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins - RAW 8/18/14 Falls Count Anywhere
The Shield were a huge breath of fresh air upon their arrival in late 2012. Their chaotic swarming, havoc full court press style is unlike anything seen in WWE and maybe anywhere in pro wrestling. Their tag team matches became must see television with every match being organic and dripping with urgent. This is just a small sampling of the greatness of The Shield.
World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler vs Alberto Del Rio - Payback 2013
Two wrestlers that I would not expect to have a classic together were Ziggler and Del Rio. Ziggler was never meant to be a El Hijo De Senor Perfecto, he should have been Ricky Morton Jr. selling his ass off in a face in peril segments. His selling is sublime. Del Rio is such an inconsistent. He is more miss than hit, but he hits, he hits hard. This match is built around Ziggler's concussion and its damn near perfect for they are trying to do.
WWE Champion John Cena vs Batista - Extreme Rules 2010 Last Man Standing
This is the great match of their three-match series that served as a sendoff for Batista. Batista was positioned as Cena's equal in 2005, but it became apparent by 2006 and especially by 2007 that John Cena was The Man and Batista was always going to be below him so it made since for him to leave. He had major feuds with pretty much every main eventer at the time and the only one left was Cena. Their best match is the one-off from Summerslam 2008, but this is also a great watch.
CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio - Over The Limit 2010 Hair vs SXE Pledge
The height of the Straight Edge Society and CM Punk's great gimmick as a hardline leader of an anti-alcohol, anti-drug stable. Punk vs Mysterio is an overlooked great feud and this is their best match together.
WWE US Champion The Miz vs Daniel Bryan - WWE Night of Champions 2010
WWE Champion The Miz vs John Morrison - RAW 1/3/11 Falls Count Anywhere
Contrary to popular belief, Miz did have great matches before 2016 and here is the proof. The Bryan vs Miz match from 2010 is a great blowoff to their NXT mentor/student angle, which was just so genius to have Bryan be Miz's protege to raise the dander of all the Daniel Bryan fans. The Miz vs Morrison is another feather in the cap of Morrison as he has another great in a style that seemingly not conducive for these two to have a great match. Neither man is considered violent, BUT Morrison actually is violent and Miz is a great chickenshit so it works out well.
WWE Champion Rey Mysterio vs John Cena - RAW 7/25/11
WWE Champion CM Punk vs Interim WWE Champion John Cena - Summerslam 2011
WWE Champion CM Punk vs John Cena - WWE Night of Champions 2012
Cena vs Punk had two high-profile matches that did not make my Top 24, which speaks more to the greatness of this era moreso than a slight to these matches which I rated both at ****1/2. The Summerslam match is overlooked in favor of the Money In The Bank because the LA crowd is not as raucous as Chicago (MITB '11 Chicago crowd may be the most raucous American crowd of all time) and also the finish with Kevin Nash's return and Del Rio's cash-in leaves a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. The Night of Champions match builds the foundation for the excellent RAW match as a match that is built around scouting and defensive wrestling. Cena vs Mysterio is often overlooked great match between two of the all-time greats that only had one match together. It was so great to see them mix it up AND also have a great match to boot.
Brock Lesnar vs Triple H - Extreme Rules 2013 Steel Cage
WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs Brock Lesnar - Summerslam 2014
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs John Cena - Night of Champions 2014
As a big Brock fanboy, I have been over the moon how well his run since 2012 has gone. The Summerslam 2014 match is famous. I think it is a ***** angle, but it is more than angle than a match and I would rather highlight other great matches than this. Much like the Summerslam 2011 match, the subsequent Night of Champions 2014 rematch is forgotten in part due to an imbecilic run-in by Seth Rollins but it is also an excellent match. Finally, everyone remembers the Brock Lesnar vs HHH feud for the egg they laid at WrestleMania XXIX and trust me I was there live in New York and the match sucked and I watched it back and it still sucked. However, the other two matches were excellent and as you can see only one of those two matches are listed, indicating that yes, my beloved Summerslam 2012 made the Top 24 matches of this era.
WWE Champion CM Punk vs Mark Henry - RAW 4/2/12
My last cut and it pains me to do it, but I had to. It made my Top 100 WWF/E matches of all time, but in this case I could add two 2013 NXT matches that weren't allowed in that voting. In fact that I think about it, I should add those two matches to my final list hosted on this site. This meant I had to cut this match. I loved this match so much while it was happening that I called my brother up and we watched it together in real time and marked out. That's how good it was. Mark Henry's trash talk was ***** in this match and we should gotten mic'd up Mark Henry every night.
I love these two together. The video package before this is amazing. Great emotional babyface return promo by Big Show. Then Mark Henry doesn't want to give him a match so Big Show chokeslams him through a table and hits with a chair. Fuck yeah! Big Show starts off red hot and has Mark Henry reeling. Henry wants his title to go home. Big Show gets him back in the ring and Mark Henry hits a flying chop block. BIG BODYSLAM BY MARK HENRY! Good leg work. I like that once Big Show gets out he cant hold Mark Henry's weight. They have a great slugfest on their knees which means they are about Rey Mysterio's height. Damn! Big Show gets the best of it. Look at Mark Henry BUMP N FEED for Big Show. Look I love respecting size and all that but you got to be impressed by Mark Henry there. Plus he is the smaller man in the match. That's always mind blowing when Mark Henry is the smaller man. Big Show HUGE BODYSLAM on the Worlds Strongest Man! He is calling for the Chokeslam, Bang, 1-2-NO! Awesome. Mark Henry gets the Worlds Strongest Slam for two. Mark Henry is incredulous. He thinks to himself the only way to top it is go to the top. CHOKESLAM OFF THE TOP! HOLY SHIT! 1-2-NO! What are they going to have do to finish each other off? Big Show now goes to the top...Mark Henry meets him...No...NO...OH MY GOD...THEY BROKE THE GODDAMN RING!!! The crowd lost their fucking shit for that. This was a great super heavyweight slugfest and the finish run was really well done but that finish puts it over the top. Best pure superheavyweight match of all time!
Terrific David vs Goliath match! Reminds me how great both wrestlers are but especially the Undertaker. So much of this match hinges on him. How giving he is? Hoes does he set up Rey's offense? How does he respect the size differential but not make it a squash? I think Taker registered a perfect note. The way he tries to back Rey into corner with his gargantuan presence. The fear you feel for Rey Rey. The looming dread marching forth. Rey gets a flurry and then Taker just hurls him over the top rope to the floor. Treating him like a gnat. Great way to establish the size difference mattering. Rey switches up his strategy and want to use a springboard. Make sense. Taker punches him right out of the sky. Awesome! Loved the Rey rana counter to the chokeslam into the 619 attempt. Taker catches looking for a Tombstone and Rey busts up Taker's nose real good plenty of blood with some knees. Didn't Rey break Taker's orbital bone? Rey really has it out for the Deadman. Taker is always cutting Rey off with his power and his strikes. Again he sets up Rey's offense by using a missed move going for a big boot but posting himself. Allowing Rey to get in hope spots like a dropkick to the leg against post or the Asai Moonsault. This is a masterful performance by both men. Taker is just manhandling him, but again Rey dropkicks him on the Zombie Situp (why did no one else think of that???) and then the springboard splash. Great nearfall! Taker is bleeding profusely. I thought the finish was great with Rey avoiding the Last Ride. Hitting a 619, springboard dropkick to back for another 619 but when he goes for the West Coast Pop Taker catches and gives him a HUGE LAST RIDE! Absolute perfect David vs Goliath match by two of the greatest of all time. I am really glad I watched this. Forgot how damn good Undertaker was at this point.
First and foremost, this match ruled! You will note neither man is champion so what is hanging above the ring. A clipboard! Yes, a clipboard to be No. 1 Contender, not exactly the coolest thing ever. Sheamus is coming off a 10 month main event run against Cena, Orton & HHH. At this point, WWE was moving onto Wade Barrett & The Miz. They did not shunt Sheamus into midcard hell and instead they kept him warm by having him win a King of the Ring Tournament, which allowed him to wear a cool crown to the ring and let people know he is still important. The way the IC & US titles were being booked this was the better option. They feuded him with Morrison as a means to elevate both guys. Morrison was in an interesting position. WWE lost a lot of maine event talent in 2010 (Batista, Shawn Michaels, HHH, Jericho) and the remaining main event talent was all babyfaces (Cena, Orton, Edge, Rey & Taker). So WWE needed heels, which is why Sheamus, Swagger, Kane, Barrett & Miz were all being pushed. Morrison as an up coming babyface was actually in a less fortunate spot being behind five heavy hitters. But enough about booking, lets talk about how great this match is.
John Morrison is way better than I remembered. I always thought he was a nancy boy like Kofi Kingston, but this dude hits hard and his spots actually look like they hurt because he is hurling his entire body at Sheamus. I thought the shine was really good. Lots of Morrison flying into your screen from crazy angles and just wiping Sheamus out. I really liked the test of strength over the ladder and how Morrison won and hit a crazy flip dive on Sheamus. Sheamus was great establishing that he is a bully but one that is being thwarted by speed. Then the heat segment happened and I remembered why I love pro wrestling. Morrison set up the ladder in a stupid spot and this was the only notable issue with the match is they kept setting the ladder up in stupid places. The spots for the most part were great just wish the set up was better. Ok enough complaining. So they do the spot where Morrison's knee is caught in the ladder. Sheamus then TIPS THE LADDER OVER!!! OH MY GOD! Sheamus then absolutely destroys the knee for like the next five minute. Great violence. Morrison is so great being this tenacious competitor coming back grabbing the ankle or the ladder. I liked the one time he kicked the ladder away from Sheamus just a little bit. Sheamus just started beating the piss out of him. I think my favorite spot was when Sheamus used the ladder was a lever to extend the pressure of a single leg crab and then slam the ladder on the back of Morrison's leg. I thought the Morrison comeback was really well done. It was all about headshots to Sheamus. Tripping Sheamus into the ladder, a kick to the head. Ringing Sheamus' bell while also selling the leg. The dueling ladders is when they really got the crowd into it. Morrison really ROARED with a comeback here winning the battle and hitting a big clothesline to send Sheamus out of the ring. I loved Sheamus coming back in with a Brogue Kick to the bad leg sending Morrison flying off the ladder. There were some great "nearfalls" for both Sheamus and Morrison. I liked how Morrison would actually grab the contract and have Sheamus knock him off. Made it seem so close. Since the beginning of the match they set up a ladder across the apron of the ring and the announce table. Terrible setup and execution of the spot. Definitely a low-point. I thought the actual finish was great. They used the Parkoor background of Morrison to ricochet off the rope while on the ladder into a wicked kick before grabbing the contract. With the Miz as champion and their history as a tag team this made perfect booking sense.
To me this was a modernized version of the Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon II classic. Just excellent knee psychology from the vicious Sheamus attack, the great selling of Morrison throughout and a smart, well-designed comeback. Where this gets hurts just a tad is how the spots were set up and that lame spot at the end where Sheamus goes through a ladder. Small complaints watch this match as it is just killer pro wrestling. 2010 is an incredibly weak year for pro wrestling globally this has a pretty damn good chance to be Match of the Year for 2010.
This has to be Wade Barrett’s career match right? Holy flying fuck this was awesome! I really need to re-watch Sheamus vs Cesaro from Main Event because I think this maybe even better. Hard-hitting, stiff brutal contest with a bomb-trading finish run and an insane finish. I loved Sheamus taking everything Barrett and hitting him twofold so he has to powder. Most impactful back heel trip ever by Sheamus. Look at those knee lifts by Sheamus in order to hit a Suplex. I love knee lifts. So manny great kneelifts. Barrett bum rushes Sheamus on a criss Cross sending him over the top rope and Sheamus whacks his funny bone. Sheamus sells like a champ. Barrett spends the entire middle third trying to knock Sheamus’ head off in unique and brutal ways. Sheamus is is peppering in hard, stiff hope spots and Barrett is snuffing every rally almost immediately with wicked shots of his own. Everything is so urgent! This is pro wrestling! Sheamus just says fuck it and basically hits Barrett so fucking hard he can’t cut him off. This is match that got over on stiffness and struggle. Not nearfalls! They actually chanted “This Is Awesome”. Insane. Then they traded Bombs but everything was convincing and made sense. These two have deep Arsenals. White Noise, Battering Ram, Cloverleaf, Beats of the Balrog, Irish Curse Backbreaker vs Mule Kick, Blackhole Slam, and Wasteland. The way they did the finish with both men charging and who could pull the trigger on the killshot was fucking epic! Loved this to death! Sleeper pick for WWE MOTY for 2013 watch it and weep manly tears of joy!
P.S. Redman Report WWE MOTY 2013 Countdown is the greatest list ever Made.
The beginning of the match was truly something interesting and dare I say innovative. I'd call it highspot brawling. I'd never seen it really done up until this point. They were doing brawling highspots but with minimal brawling in between. It was war of attrition style brawling centered around big time highspots. I really liked how everything was set up as a counter. I think in current wrestling there are too many hits. Each of the wrestlers have BIG TIME Irish Whips that set then up for wanting to do announce table spots. Each time, they thwarted in dramatic fashion. First HHH tackling Undertaker into a Cole Mine explosion and then HHH taking a hellacious back drop off the announce table. The first person to hit a big time offensive move is Undertaker hits his suicidal tope which I am such a mark for. Then it is right back to the counters as HHH hits a Spinebuster to a running Undertaker through an announce table. This ends Act I. I thought this was really lean, mean highspot-oriented wrestling.
I think Act II was where they dragged but it was necessary to get to Act III. Act II is the worst excesses of Pro Wrestling NOAH with none of its connective tissue. I can at least dig the escalation. Chokeslam vs Spinebuster. Chair is introduced by HHH but used against him. Pedigree vs Last Ride. I will say HHH's moves were better set up because they were true counters and had desperation to them. Tombstone ->1-2-NO! HHH DDTs on the Chair and that sets Pedigree #2. I think the selling especially from the Undertaker was really good in this stretch. He sold how incredulous he was that HHH would not stay down and then sold being concussed really well. This ends Act II and now we go to Act III.
What separates Pedigree #3 from Pedigree #2 is we all believed Pedigree #3 actually had a chance of winning the match. Now we have entered the part of the match where we actually believe a finish can happen. This is also perhaps the greatest use of WWE Masterpiece Theatre. I think Savage vs Warrior is better, but this is pretty damn great. Undertaker's selling is fucking off the charts. Some of the best selling of all time. He totally has the Old Gunslinger going to out in a Blaze of Glory at the OK Corral down pat. HHH was great at being the remorseless asshole that was basically willing to kill this man dead to win the match. Chairshots were brutal, a protected chair shot to the head. That moment when Undertaker reaches up to choke HHH and HHH does NOT sell. Damn how good was that. How many times have we seen Undertaker use his other worldy powers to vanquish his opponent at the last second. Not today says HHH. Great example of how no selling can be such an effective tool. From there Undertaker has to pull himself up by the ropes. He is staggered on jelly legs with his fists balled up. My God, we are seeing the Undertaker...vulnerable. Fucking brilliant. HHH slashes the throat and hoists him up for the Tombstone nails it! Man Alive that place went fucking nuts! HHH sold it so well. This prompts HHH to get the sledgehammer which is great escalation. Undertaker, The Undertaker, is on his back squirming for the bottom rope trying to pull himself to safety. He is like a giant version of Ricky Morton. Holy shit, selling to another level. Taker gets him in Hell's Gate. Great sell job by Triple H, loved the last ditch pick up of Sledgehammer only to drop it again and then go unconscious. What a finish!
Bonus points for Undertaker's after the match. It is very telling Triple H gets to his feet first and walks away first, while Undertaker lays motionless for quite sometime before collapsing off the apron to the floor in a powerful moment. Then they have to cart the Deadman away up the ramp. Wow! Talk about vulnerability and putting the story over!
Some of the best character acting in pro wrestling history! They take you on a journey through selling that is sublime. The middle drags this down and does not make sense as the brawling spots were higher end than the middle. That's nitpicking that ending is the cinematic journey that Shawn Michaels always wanted to take you on.
Where the hell has this Alberto Del Rio and where did he go? I have always thought Del Rio was mercurial. One week, he would be intense, passionate and urgent. Now the next week, he would look listless, bored, going through the motions and looking he would rather be anywhere else in the world. I thought he squandered a surefire amazing heel gimmick as the Mexican Million Dollar Man mixed with a little of Randy Orton's Legacy/Destiny gimmick based on Del Rio being second generation. Here he looked like an amazing babyface. His selling was off the charts great, definitely his strong point in this match. I really liked how scrappy and plucky he was in this. He was always peppering in shots. His performance dripped with effort against impossible odds. Now it is time to introduce what really made this match a classic in my eyes and that was Big Show's performance.
Del Rio's performance was enhanced so much by how fucking great Big Show was in this. Big Show looked like The Giant he should have always been. He was Mount Everest in this match. He was registering pain. He was not selling. He was never bumping. He was just going down to one knee if he must and that was after wicked chairshot after wicked chair shot. He was pulverizing Del Rio. Swatting him like an annoying gnat. He was imposing his will with ease. So all the work Del Rio was putting in was magnified by how well Big Show played the Giant role. I really liked how they built the hope spots. They went from wild strikes to chairshots to Del Rio trying to rip Big Show's arm off (Big Show's howling was almost Vader levels of awesome). I liked how Big Show dropped Del Rio hard on the apron and then Del Rio just let himself bounce onto the floor. It was Del Rio that had to take the count. I liked how many Pyrrhic victories there were for Del Rio. It made you believe the situation was hopeless. From this hope spot, we get the big one when Del Rio hits a desperation dropkick and Big Show falls through a table and now Big Show is finally counted down, but gets up. I LOVED the part where Del Rio is trying to desperately to fell the Giant Redwood with clothesline only for BIG SHOW TO CHOKESLAM HIM! YES! Big Show does not bump for shit! Yes! They do a great job now escalating the "nearfalls" for Big Show. Big Show PLOWS Del Rio through the barricade. Great sell job by Del Rio how he goes limp and his upper is right up against chair exposing his teeth. He gets up and then Big Show hits his KO Punch and Del Rio is fucking out. Then in clever spot he slides out of the ring and lands on his feet! He is up! I dig. Now it is time for the grand finale. Big Show charges at him with the stairs but knocks himself silly with the stairs against the steel ringpost when Del Rio ducks. Del Rio RAMS Big Show multiple time with the Steel Stairs selling through the pain the whole time and then topples the announce table on Big Show!
I cant say enough about this match. I thought the character work was superb! Amazing babyface performance from Del Rio and an even better Giant Heel performance from Big Show. I thought the plot of this match was flawless, just perfect escalation. Dont sleep on this match!
 |
| HALL OF PAIN~! |
Mark Henry vs Big Show - Money In The Bank 2011
Mark Henry vs Sheamus - Summerslam 2011
World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry vs Daniel Bryan - Smackdown 11/4/11
World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry vs Daniel Bryan - Smackdown 11/11/11
World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry vs Big Show - Survivor Series 2011
World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry vs Daniel Bryan - Smackdown 11/29/11 Steel Cage
World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs Big Show - Smackdown 1/6/12
World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs The Big Show - Smackdown 1/13/13 No DQ
World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs Mark Henry - SD! 1/20/12 Lumberjack
World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs Mark Henry vs Big Show - Royal Rumble 2012 Steel Cage Match
WWE Champion John Cena vs Mark Henry - Money In The Bank 2013
The Hall of Pain run in all its reigning glory! Mark Henry went from fast forward material to going on one of the single greatest runs in the history of pro wrestling. His trash talkin', mean muggin', asskickin' ways made all his promos and matches credible. Three matches from the Hall of Pain run make the Top 24, but I wanted to make sure everything from the amazing three-way feud with Daniel Bryan and Big Show is covered. Starting with Okada/Omega, Meltzer has started rating what he believes to be really great matches as Six Stars again (there is precedent from the All Japan 90s days of him going to six stars). In my opinion, they only thing that is ever worthy of six stars is the Mark Henry fake retirement promo. It really tugs on the heartstring, when he tells his daughter that daddy is coming home it always gets me and then for him to turn on John Cena right now is just the best. It is just so pro wrestling and I love it!
Shawn Michaels vs Rey Mysterio - Smackdown 1/29/10
Two of the all-time greats that really never crossed paths much as Shawn was marching to retirement in a couple months. He must have realized he had not wrestled Rey since the Eddie tribute and wanted to get a match in and this was a great match that should be talked about more.
John Cena vs The Rock - WrestleMania XXVIII
The main event of the first WrestleMania I ever attended. Live, I remember thinking it was just ok. However, watching it back a couple times since I have always thought this was great. One of the best Clash of the Titans, Megastar vs Megastar match. This match where I think Cena finally transcended wrestling and really became a Megastar.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Batista vs Daniel Bryan -
WrestleMania XXX
The greatest feel-good ending to a WrestleMania! At the end of WrestleMania XXX you really feel like WWE is headed into another golden age with The Shield, Wyatt Family, Cesaro and with Daniel Bryan at the helm and unfortunately that was completely desolated by the summer.
Antonio Cesaro vs Sheamus - Main Event 06/05/13
Sheamus vs Cesaro - Smackdown 6/14/13
Antonio Cesaro vs William Regal - NXT 12/25/13
John Cena vs Cesaro w/Real Americans - RAW 2/17/14
Speaking of the awesomeness of Cesaro, here are three amazing Cesaro matches from 2013. The year 2013 is amazing and there are probably so many great TV matches I have not seen, but you should track down as much Cesaro from 2013 because he was so great. Also anytime Cesaro vs Sheamus hook it up, you know it going to be great. The WWE's hoss division was on fire during 2013.
NXT Champion Paige vs Emma - NXT Arrival 2/27/14
In my opinion, this is the first great WWE women's match, not Charlotte vs Nattie and this should be remembered fondly as kicking off American wrestling fans and WWE management taking women's wrestling seriously.
World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Christian - WWE Over The Limit 2011
World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan - Extreme Rules 2012 2 out of 3 Falls
CM Punk vs The Undertaker - WrestleMania XXIX
WWE Champion John Cena vs Daniel Bryan - Summerslam 2013
Why I put these four matches together is that I think most wrestling fans would rate these matches in their Top 24, but for whatever reason they just don't hit that mark for me. I think they are great matches and I enjoyed matching them (Punk vs Taker, I got to see in person!), BUT they just don't kick me the ass the same way the Top 24 do.
The Shield vs Ryback, John Cena, Sheamus - WWE Elimination Chamber 2013
WWE World Tag Champs Brothers Rhodes vs The Shield vs. The Usos - Hell In A Cell 2013
John Cena w/Mark Henry & Big E. vs Seth Rollins w/The Shield - Smackdown! 12/27/13
The Shield vs Wyatt Family - WWE RAW 3/3/14
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins - RAW 8/18/14 Falls Count Anywhere
The Shield were a huge breath of fresh air upon their arrival in late 2012. Their chaotic swarming, havoc full court press style is unlike anything seen in WWE and maybe anywhere in pro wrestling. Their tag team matches became must see television with every match being organic and dripping with urgent. This is just a small sampling of the greatness of The Shield.
World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler vs Alberto Del Rio - Payback 2013
Two wrestlers that I would not expect to have a classic together were Ziggler and Del Rio. Ziggler was never meant to be a El Hijo De Senor Perfecto, he should have been Ricky Morton Jr. selling his ass off in a face in peril segments. His selling is sublime. Del Rio is such an inconsistent. He is more miss than hit, but he hits, he hits hard. This match is built around Ziggler's concussion and its damn near perfect for they are trying to do.
WWE Champion John Cena vs Batista - Extreme Rules 2010 Last Man Standing
This is the great match of their three-match series that served as a sendoff for Batista. Batista was positioned as Cena's equal in 2005, but it became apparent by 2006 and especially by 2007 that John Cena was The Man and Batista was always going to be below him so it made since for him to leave. He had major feuds with pretty much every main eventer at the time and the only one left was Cena. Their best match is the one-off from Summerslam 2008, but this is also a great watch.
CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio - Over The Limit 2010 Hair vs SXE Pledge
The height of the Straight Edge Society and CM Punk's great gimmick as a hardline leader of an anti-alcohol, anti-drug stable. Punk vs Mysterio is an overlooked great feud and this is their best match together.
WWE US Champion The Miz vs Daniel Bryan - WWE Night of Champions 2010
WWE Champion The Miz vs John Morrison - RAW 1/3/11 Falls Count Anywhere
Contrary to popular belief, Miz did have great matches before 2016 and here is the proof. The Bryan vs Miz match from 2010 is a great blowoff to their NXT mentor/student angle, which was just so genius to have Bryan be Miz's protege to raise the dander of all the Daniel Bryan fans. The Miz vs Morrison is another feather in the cap of Morrison as he has another great in a style that seemingly not conducive for these two to have a great match. Neither man is considered violent, BUT Morrison actually is violent and Miz is a great chickenshit so it works out well.
WWE Champion Rey Mysterio vs John Cena - RAW 7/25/11
WWE Champion CM Punk vs Interim WWE Champion John Cena - Summerslam 2011
WWE Champion CM Punk vs John Cena - WWE Night of Champions 2012
Cena vs Punk had two high-profile matches that did not make my Top 24, which speaks more to the greatness of this era moreso than a slight to these matches which I rated both at ****1/2. The Summerslam match is overlooked in favor of the Money In The Bank because the LA crowd is not as raucous as Chicago (MITB '11 Chicago crowd may be the most raucous American crowd of all time) and also the finish with Kevin Nash's return and Del Rio's cash-in leaves a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. The Night of Champions match builds the foundation for the excellent RAW match as a match that is built around scouting and defensive wrestling. Cena vs Mysterio is often overlooked great match between two of the all-time greats that only had one match together. It was so great to see them mix it up AND also have a great match to boot.
Brock Lesnar vs Triple H - Extreme Rules 2013 Steel Cage
WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs Brock Lesnar - Summerslam 2014
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs John Cena - Night of Champions 2014
As a big Brock fanboy, I have been over the moon how well his run since 2012 has gone. The Summerslam 2014 match is famous. I think it is a ***** angle, but it is more than angle than a match and I would rather highlight other great matches than this. Much like the Summerslam 2011 match, the subsequent Night of Champions 2014 rematch is forgotten in part due to an imbecilic run-in by Seth Rollins but it is also an excellent match. Finally, everyone remembers the Brock Lesnar vs HHH feud for the egg they laid at WrestleMania XXIX and trust me I was there live in New York and the match sucked and I watched it back and it still sucked. However, the other two matches were excellent and as you can see only one of those two matches are listed, indicating that yes, my beloved Summerslam 2012 made the Top 24 matches of this era.
WWE Champion CM Punk vs Mark Henry - RAW 4/2/12
My last cut and it pains me to do it, but I had to. It made my Top 100 WWF/E matches of all time, but in this case I could add two 2013 NXT matches that weren't allowed in that voting. In fact that I think about it, I should add those two matches to my final list hosted on this site. This meant I had to cut this match. I loved this match so much while it was happening that I called my brother up and we watched it together in real time and marked out. That's how good it was. Mark Henry's trash talk was ***** in this match and we should gotten mic'd up Mark Henry every night.
Top 24 Matches of WWE 2010-2014
#24. World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry vs Big Show - Vengeance 2011
I love these two together. The video package before this is amazing. Great emotional babyface return promo by Big Show. Then Mark Henry doesn't want to give him a match so Big Show chokeslams him through a table and hits with a chair. Fuck yeah! Big Show starts off red hot and has Mark Henry reeling. Henry wants his title to go home. Big Show gets him back in the ring and Mark Henry hits a flying chop block. BIG BODYSLAM BY MARK HENRY! Good leg work. I like that once Big Show gets out he cant hold Mark Henry's weight. They have a great slugfest on their knees which means they are about Rey Mysterio's height. Damn! Big Show gets the best of it. Look at Mark Henry BUMP N FEED for Big Show. Look I love respecting size and all that but you got to be impressed by Mark Henry there. Plus he is the smaller man in the match. That's always mind blowing when Mark Henry is the smaller man. Big Show HUGE BODYSLAM on the Worlds Strongest Man! He is calling for the Chokeslam, Bang, 1-2-NO! Awesome. Mark Henry gets the Worlds Strongest Slam for two. Mark Henry is incredulous. He thinks to himself the only way to top it is go to the top. CHOKESLAM OFF THE TOP! HOLY SHIT! 1-2-NO! What are they going to have do to finish each other off? Big Show now goes to the top...Mark Henry meets him...No...NO...OH MY GOD...THEY BROKE THE GODDAMN RING!!! The crowd lost their fucking shit for that. This was a great super heavyweight slugfest and the finish run was really well done but that finish puts it over the top. Best pure superheavyweight match of all time!
#23. World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker vs Rey Mysterio - Royal Rumble 2010
Terrific David vs Goliath match! Reminds me how great both wrestlers are but especially the Undertaker. So much of this match hinges on him. How giving he is? Hoes does he set up Rey's offense? How does he respect the size differential but not make it a squash? I think Taker registered a perfect note. The way he tries to back Rey into corner with his gargantuan presence. The fear you feel for Rey Rey. The looming dread marching forth. Rey gets a flurry and then Taker just hurls him over the top rope to the floor. Treating him like a gnat. Great way to establish the size difference mattering. Rey switches up his strategy and want to use a springboard. Make sense. Taker punches him right out of the sky. Awesome! Loved the Rey rana counter to the chokeslam into the 619 attempt. Taker catches looking for a Tombstone and Rey busts up Taker's nose real good plenty of blood with some knees. Didn't Rey break Taker's orbital bone? Rey really has it out for the Deadman. Taker is always cutting Rey off with his power and his strikes. Again he sets up Rey's offense by using a missed move going for a big boot but posting himself. Allowing Rey to get in hope spots like a dropkick to the leg against post or the Asai Moonsault. This is a masterful performance by both men. Taker is just manhandling him, but again Rey dropkicks him on the Zombie Situp (why did no one else think of that???) and then the springboard splash. Great nearfall! Taker is bleeding profusely. I thought the finish was great with Rey avoiding the Last Ride. Hitting a 619, springboard dropkick to back for another 619 but when he goes for the West Coast Pop Taker catches and gives him a HUGE LAST RIDE! Absolute perfect David vs Goliath match by two of the greatest of all time. I am really glad I watched this. Forgot how damn good Undertaker was at this point.
#22. King Sheamus vs John Morrison - TLC 2010 Ladder Match
First and foremost, this match ruled! You will note neither man is champion so what is hanging above the ring. A clipboard! Yes, a clipboard to be No. 1 Contender, not exactly the coolest thing ever. Sheamus is coming off a 10 month main event run against Cena, Orton & HHH. At this point, WWE was moving onto Wade Barrett & The Miz. They did not shunt Sheamus into midcard hell and instead they kept him warm by having him win a King of the Ring Tournament, which allowed him to wear a cool crown to the ring and let people know he is still important. The way the IC & US titles were being booked this was the better option. They feuded him with Morrison as a means to elevate both guys. Morrison was in an interesting position. WWE lost a lot of maine event talent in 2010 (Batista, Shawn Michaels, HHH, Jericho) and the remaining main event talent was all babyfaces (Cena, Orton, Edge, Rey & Taker). So WWE needed heels, which is why Sheamus, Swagger, Kane, Barrett & Miz were all being pushed. Morrison as an up coming babyface was actually in a less fortunate spot being behind five heavy hitters. But enough about booking, lets talk about how great this match is.
John Morrison is way better than I remembered. I always thought he was a nancy boy like Kofi Kingston, but this dude hits hard and his spots actually look like they hurt because he is hurling his entire body at Sheamus. I thought the shine was really good. Lots of Morrison flying into your screen from crazy angles and just wiping Sheamus out. I really liked the test of strength over the ladder and how Morrison won and hit a crazy flip dive on Sheamus. Sheamus was great establishing that he is a bully but one that is being thwarted by speed. Then the heat segment happened and I remembered why I love pro wrestling. Morrison set up the ladder in a stupid spot and this was the only notable issue with the match is they kept setting the ladder up in stupid places. The spots for the most part were great just wish the set up was better. Ok enough complaining. So they do the spot where Morrison's knee is caught in the ladder. Sheamus then TIPS THE LADDER OVER!!! OH MY GOD! Sheamus then absolutely destroys the knee for like the next five minute. Great violence. Morrison is so great being this tenacious competitor coming back grabbing the ankle or the ladder. I liked the one time he kicked the ladder away from Sheamus just a little bit. Sheamus just started beating the piss out of him. I think my favorite spot was when Sheamus used the ladder was a lever to extend the pressure of a single leg crab and then slam the ladder on the back of Morrison's leg. I thought the Morrison comeback was really well done. It was all about headshots to Sheamus. Tripping Sheamus into the ladder, a kick to the head. Ringing Sheamus' bell while also selling the leg. The dueling ladders is when they really got the crowd into it. Morrison really ROARED with a comeback here winning the battle and hitting a big clothesline to send Sheamus out of the ring. I loved Sheamus coming back in with a Brogue Kick to the bad leg sending Morrison flying off the ladder. There were some great "nearfalls" for both Sheamus and Morrison. I liked how Morrison would actually grab the contract and have Sheamus knock him off. Made it seem so close. Since the beginning of the match they set up a ladder across the apron of the ring and the announce table. Terrible setup and execution of the spot. Definitely a low-point. I thought the actual finish was great. They used the Parkoor background of Morrison to ricochet off the rope while on the ladder into a wicked kick before grabbing the contract. With the Miz as champion and their history as a tag team this made perfect booking sense.
To me this was a modernized version of the Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon II classic. Just excellent knee psychology from the vicious Sheamus attack, the great selling of Morrison throughout and a smart, well-designed comeback. Where this gets hurts just a tad is how the spots were set up and that lame spot at the end where Sheamus goes through a ladder. Small complaints watch this match as it is just killer pro wrestling. 2010 is an incredibly weak year for pro wrestling globally this has a pretty damn good chance to be Match of the Year for 2010.
#21. WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett vs Sheamus - Main Event 5/29/13
This has to be Wade Barrett’s career match right? Holy flying fuck this was awesome! I really need to re-watch Sheamus vs Cesaro from Main Event because I think this maybe even better. Hard-hitting, stiff brutal contest with a bomb-trading finish run and an insane finish. I loved Sheamus taking everything Barrett and hitting him twofold so he has to powder. Most impactful back heel trip ever by Sheamus. Look at those knee lifts by Sheamus in order to hit a Suplex. I love knee lifts. So manny great kneelifts. Barrett bum rushes Sheamus on a criss Cross sending him over the top rope and Sheamus whacks his funny bone. Sheamus sells like a champ. Barrett spends the entire middle third trying to knock Sheamus’ head off in unique and brutal ways. Sheamus is is peppering in hard, stiff hope spots and Barrett is snuffing every rally almost immediately with wicked shots of his own. Everything is so urgent! This is pro wrestling! Sheamus just says fuck it and basically hits Barrett so fucking hard he can’t cut him off. This is match that got over on stiffness and struggle. Not nearfalls! They actually chanted “This Is Awesome”. Insane. Then they traded Bombs but everything was convincing and made sense. These two have deep Arsenals. White Noise, Battering Ram, Cloverleaf, Beats of the Balrog, Irish Curse Backbreaker vs Mule Kick, Blackhole Slam, and Wasteland. The way they did the finish with both men charging and who could pull the trigger on the killshot was fucking epic! Loved this to death! Sleeper pick for WWE MOTY for 2013 watch it and weep manly tears of joy!
P.S. Redman Report WWE MOTY 2013 Countdown is the greatest list ever Made.
#20. The Undertaker vs Triple H - WrestleMania XVII
The beginning of the match was truly something interesting and dare I say innovative. I'd call it highspot brawling. I'd never seen it really done up until this point. They were doing brawling highspots but with minimal brawling in between. It was war of attrition style brawling centered around big time highspots. I really liked how everything was set up as a counter. I think in current wrestling there are too many hits. Each of the wrestlers have BIG TIME Irish Whips that set then up for wanting to do announce table spots. Each time, they thwarted in dramatic fashion. First HHH tackling Undertaker into a Cole Mine explosion and then HHH taking a hellacious back drop off the announce table. The first person to hit a big time offensive move is Undertaker hits his suicidal tope which I am such a mark for. Then it is right back to the counters as HHH hits a Spinebuster to a running Undertaker through an announce table. This ends Act I. I thought this was really lean, mean highspot-oriented wrestling.
I think Act II was where they dragged but it was necessary to get to Act III. Act II is the worst excesses of Pro Wrestling NOAH with none of its connective tissue. I can at least dig the escalation. Chokeslam vs Spinebuster. Chair is introduced by HHH but used against him. Pedigree vs Last Ride. I will say HHH's moves were better set up because they were true counters and had desperation to them. Tombstone ->1-2-NO! HHH DDTs on the Chair and that sets Pedigree #2. I think the selling especially from the Undertaker was really good in this stretch. He sold how incredulous he was that HHH would not stay down and then sold being concussed really well. This ends Act II and now we go to Act III.
What separates Pedigree #3 from Pedigree #2 is we all believed Pedigree #3 actually had a chance of winning the match. Now we have entered the part of the match where we actually believe a finish can happen. This is also perhaps the greatest use of WWE Masterpiece Theatre. I think Savage vs Warrior is better, but this is pretty damn great. Undertaker's selling is fucking off the charts. Some of the best selling of all time. He totally has the Old Gunslinger going to out in a Blaze of Glory at the OK Corral down pat. HHH was great at being the remorseless asshole that was basically willing to kill this man dead to win the match. Chairshots were brutal, a protected chair shot to the head. That moment when Undertaker reaches up to choke HHH and HHH does NOT sell. Damn how good was that. How many times have we seen Undertaker use his other worldy powers to vanquish his opponent at the last second. Not today says HHH. Great example of how no selling can be such an effective tool. From there Undertaker has to pull himself up by the ropes. He is staggered on jelly legs with his fists balled up. My God, we are seeing the Undertaker...vulnerable. Fucking brilliant. HHH slashes the throat and hoists him up for the Tombstone nails it! Man Alive that place went fucking nuts! HHH sold it so well. This prompts HHH to get the sledgehammer which is great escalation. Undertaker, The Undertaker, is on his back squirming for the bottom rope trying to pull himself to safety. He is like a giant version of Ricky Morton. Holy shit, selling to another level. Taker gets him in Hell's Gate. Great sell job by Triple H, loved the last ditch pick up of Sledgehammer only to drop it again and then go unconscious. What a finish!
Bonus points for Undertaker's after the match. It is very telling Triple H gets to his feet first and walks away first, while Undertaker lays motionless for quite sometime before collapsing off the apron to the floor in a powerful moment. Then they have to cart the Deadman away up the ramp. Wow! Talk about vulnerability and putting the story over!
Some of the best character acting in pro wrestling history! They take you on a journey through selling that is sublime. The middle drags this down and does not make sense as the brawling spots were higher end than the middle. That's nitpicking that ending is the cinematic journey that Shawn Michaels always wanted to take you on.
#19. World Heavyweight Champion The Big Show vs Alberto Del Rio - Smackdown 1/11/13 Last Man Standing Match
Where the hell has this Alberto Del Rio and where did he go? I have always thought Del Rio was mercurial. One week, he would be intense, passionate and urgent. Now the next week, he would look listless, bored, going through the motions and looking he would rather be anywhere else in the world. I thought he squandered a surefire amazing heel gimmick as the Mexican Million Dollar Man mixed with a little of Randy Orton's Legacy/Destiny gimmick based on Del Rio being second generation. Here he looked like an amazing babyface. His selling was off the charts great, definitely his strong point in this match. I really liked how scrappy and plucky he was in this. He was always peppering in shots. His performance dripped with effort against impossible odds. Now it is time to introduce what really made this match a classic in my eyes and that was Big Show's performance.
Del Rio's performance was enhanced so much by how fucking great Big Show was in this. Big Show looked like The Giant he should have always been. He was Mount Everest in this match. He was registering pain. He was not selling. He was never bumping. He was just going down to one knee if he must and that was after wicked chairshot after wicked chair shot. He was pulverizing Del Rio. Swatting him like an annoying gnat. He was imposing his will with ease. So all the work Del Rio was putting in was magnified by how well Big Show played the Giant role. I really liked how they built the hope spots. They went from wild strikes to chairshots to Del Rio trying to rip Big Show's arm off (Big Show's howling was almost Vader levels of awesome). I liked how Big Show dropped Del Rio hard on the apron and then Del Rio just let himself bounce onto the floor. It was Del Rio that had to take the count. I liked how many Pyrrhic victories there were for Del Rio. It made you believe the situation was hopeless. From this hope spot, we get the big one when Del Rio hits a desperation dropkick and Big Show falls through a table and now Big Show is finally counted down, but gets up. I LOVED the part where Del Rio is trying to desperately to fell the Giant Redwood with clothesline only for BIG SHOW TO CHOKESLAM HIM! YES! Big Show does not bump for shit! Yes! They do a great job now escalating the "nearfalls" for Big Show. Big Show PLOWS Del Rio through the barricade. Great sell job by Del Rio how he goes limp and his upper is right up against chair exposing his teeth. He gets up and then Big Show hits his KO Punch and Del Rio is fucking out. Then in clever spot he slides out of the ring and lands on his feet! He is up! I dig. Now it is time for the grand finale. Big Show charges at him with the stairs but knocks himself silly with the stairs against the steel ringpost when Del Rio ducks. Del Rio RAMS Big Show multiple time with the Steel Stairs selling through the pain the whole time and then topples the announce table on Big Show!
I cant say enough about this match. I thought the character work was superb! Amazing babyface performance from Del Rio and an even better Giant Heel performance from Big Show. I thought the plot of this match was flawless, just perfect escalation. Dont sleep on this match!
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