WWE knows how to give us the goods, and despite some of the shows not being the best overall pay per views(Battleground, anyone?) in 2014, we were shown several matches worth talking about today. This is my list of the best wrestling matches in WWE for the year 2014.
Before we begin with the top ten list, I’d like to discuss the runners up:
Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt, Royal Rumble – The match was fun from bell to bell, but Daniel Bryan’s direction at the time was completely clear as mud. He’d been booked as one of the top guys in late 2013, and all of a sudden he was feuding with Wyatt and had no title direction in sight. The match was the only standout piece of action on the 2014 Royal Rumble card(other than Daniel Bryan not being the 30th entrant in the Rumble match itself and the crowd going ballistic over it). In the end, Bryan put over Bray to the sister abigail and what we were left with was the pay per view end to a very strange rivalry(they would go on to have issues on Raw and Smackdown until Bryan ultimately joined the Wyatts only to sabotage them and get Bray alone inside a steel cage). The match was noteworthy, but it just didn’t quite measure up as one of the ten best in 2014.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs Brock Lesnar, Summerslam – Cena haters loved this one! Brock absolutely destroyed John Cena in what is largely considered the most dominant World Title victory in WWE history. Brock was left standing tall with both belts at the end of this one, but you had to know it would only be a matter of time before the leader of the CeNation would be back to challenge for the gold once again…and again.
WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos vs Rowan/Harper, Two out of Three Falls Match, Battleground – I ranked Battleground as the worst overall pay per view in 2014, but this match was the one true highlight of the show. The Usos’ chemistry mixed with the raw power utilized by the Wyatt family members always made for a great story. In the end, the Usos came out on top and continued their run with the tag team gold in what I consider to be the best two on two tag team match in 2014 and, quite arguably, one of the best Tag Team Title matches in WWE history.
With those three clashes out of the way, let’s get down to business!
10. Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose, Hell in a Cell Match, Hell in a Cell 2014
After witnessing their lumberjack match at Summerslam and their back and forth craziness on Raw, this match was highlight anticipated. Lots of members of the WWE Universe wanted to see this match go on last at the HIAC event instead of Cena/Orton, and they were treated to a nice surprise.
Half the match took place before the bell rang. Rollins and Ambrose flat out went into battle and barely came out in one piece. One the bell rang, we saw nearly fourteen minutes of action that ended in an unusual way. Bray Wyatt made his return and jumped Ambrose and in doing so, the eater of worlds helped Seth Rollins pick up the victory. Seth might have won the match, but the war will probably go on for a long time to come in WWE.
9. NXT Divas Champion Charlotte vs Natalya, NXT TakeOver
Every single women’s wrestling match in the history of WrestleMania added together wouldn’t even add up to a tenth of the quality of this particular matchup. Both ladies were given plenty of time to showcase their skills and what we got was probably the best women’s wrestling match in WWE history(clocking in around 17 minutes of action).
Natalya is grossly underutilized when it comes to WWE telvision and showing off her wrestling ability, and here she was really allowed to showcase her stuff. Charlotte already possesses as much athleticism as her daddy(Nature Boy Ric Flair) in his prime, and she’s consistently delivered quality matches with everyone she’s set foot with in the ring.
Matches like these need to happen more often, or at least more often on WWE pay per view.
8. Shield vs Wyatts Elimination Chamber
It was highly anticipated as an epic encounter, and these six future stars went to war! The crowd was heavily invested and these guys absolutely destroyed one another. Every performer in the match brought something different to the table, and in the end we saw a possible Shield breakup teased as the Wyatts were able to leave that February evening in Minneapolis as the dominant group.
The match went 22 minutes and from bell to bell, we were witnesses to all sorts of crazy action. There really wasn’t a loser here as everyone was elevated to new heights and the crowd was left blown away.
Feels a bit ironic that the eater of worlds was pushed so heavily in January and February when he would go to be conquered by one John Cena. Guess that’s just how it goes when you’re new to the roster and pitted against Mr. Cena in a rivalry. Back to focus…
7. Sami Zayn vs Cesaro, NXT ArRival
Antonio Cesaro was a guy who hasn’t quite “connected with the audience” according to Vince McMahon. Perhaps that’s why he was stuck going back and forth to NXT. Whatever the reason, we should consider ourselves fortunate as fans of the product that we were treated to this particular contest.
Sami Zayn’s big story here was that he couldn’t quite get the one up on Cesaro, and they’d already given us a classic two out of three falls match in 2013 in which Cesaro came out on top. In this matchup, Zayn hit some huge spots and went to war with Cesaro for twenty three minutes. Unfortunately for Sami and despite his best efforts, Cesaro got the victory once again.
It was a show stealer. Adrian Neville would beat Bo Dallas in a ladder match for the NXT Championship later in the night, but all anybody was talking about was the work that Cesaro and Zayn did together. This might be one of those matches that I talk about for years and years because of the nonstop action that we witnessed.
6. The Shield vs Evolution, Extreme Rules
Evolution had reunited to destroy the Shield. I wasn’t excited to see Batista competing again, nor did I think Triple H had anything left to prove. Boy was I wrong on both accounts! Dave and Hunter worked their tails off in this rivalry to make it interesting and delivered one of the best six man tag team matches I’ve ever seen.
Randy Orton, Batista and Triple H all sold a massive beating, but also handed one out to the young up and comers known as the Shield. When all was said and done, Seth Rollins hit a huge high spot in the audience where he crashed onto the group and allowed Roman Reigns to get the pin on Batista in the center of the ring. It was an outstanding 20 minutes of chaos and it deserves to be recognized as the best six man tag in WWE for the year 2014.
Epic clash. Nonstop action. Loved it. They couldn’t duplicate it or produce a better match the next time they fought(despite their best efforts in a very good elimination match at Payback). If you haven’t seen this one, you should seek it out immediately as you won’t be disappointed.
5. John Cena vs Bray Wyatt, Last Man Standing Match, Payback
This one is interesting. I didn’t fall it love with the match when it happened, but I really feel like it has more to do with the placement of it on the show and the weird build of the rivalry. Watching this match two other times since the pay per view, I’ve come to the realization that it’s an excellent last man standing match, and it’s actually one of the best last man standing matches in WWE history. The spot with Cena throwing the steps was outstanding as Bray sold it like a superstar. John Cena delivered big here with Bray Wyatt, and it was much needed after their oddball Mania match and their flop of a cage match at Extreme Rules.
Say what you want about Bray Wyatt’s physique or about John Cena’s lack of wrestling ability. Bray may not look like a jacked up muscle head, but he can tell a story in the ring as good as anyone else, and his ability to get the crowd invested in a match is top notch. As for Cena, the guy can flat out give you the goods when the scene demands it. WrestleMania may not be his high point of excellent performances, but he’s had some amazing matches at forgotten shows(vs Edge at Unforgiven 06, vs Umaga at the Rumble in 07) much like this one. This match is entirely underrated and does not get the recognition it deserves.
4. Team Cena vs Team Authority, Survivor Series
Team Cena consisted of John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, the Big Show, Ryback, and Erick Rowan and Team Authority consisted of Seth Rollins as the Team Captain, Mark Henry, Luke Harper, Kane and Rusev. The stakes had never been higher with the Authority’s power being on the line for the villains and John Cena’s team having their careers on the line.
The match was basic at the start, and Seth Rollins showed his passion by getting involved in every possible way and staying very enthusiastic for his team. Rusev ended up being counted out, Henry got knocked out, and Rowan and Ryback were eliminated first for the faces. Big Show then turned on John Cena and knocked him out before walking out of the match and eliminating himself(but not before shaking the hand of Triple H).
Dolph Ziggler was left alone to make the comeback. He knocked off Kane with a Zig Zag, and rolled up Harper with a school boy to even things up against Seth Rollins. After some fun back and forth wrestling, Triple H couldn’t resist getting involved over and over to help Rollins win at any cost. Just as villain referee Scott Armstrong was about to count the pinfall for Rollins, we were treated to the WWE debut of Sting!
Sting came down the aisle, faced off with Triple H and then drove him to the mat with a scorpion deathdrop when provoked. Sting placed Ziggler over Rollins and referee came in to make the count as Sting walked to the back. The Authority was defeated, out of power and we were all left shocked!
I wrote about this one live when it happened. It was an outstanding wrestling matched mixed with unparallelled storytelling and will truly be remembered as one of the most exciting debuts mashed with a comeback story that we’ll ever have the chance to see. To say this match made the entire show worth staying up for is a gross understatement.
3. Tyson Kidd vs Tyler Breeze vs Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville, TakeOver Fatal 4-Way
As you can see by the placement of this one, NXT was a high quality product in 2014 and it delivered a solid show each and every week. The productions put together as “specials” for the WWE Network have been outstanding.
Tyson Kidd brought speed, agility and technical expertise to this one, and complemented with the charisma of one Tyler Breeze to a nice degree as they were the heels in the match. Our “face” stars in the moment were Zayn and Neville, and both men were able to keep the crowd roaring with their high spots and big moments.
Four of the best professional wrestlers on the planet with each one possessing unique skills to put together an amazing story was what we were granted the privilege of seeing at this particular event. This is another match I won’t soon be forgetting.
2. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Batista vs Daniel Bryan, WrestleMania XXX
Though his opening match with Triple H isn’t on the list, Daniel Bryan shined like the star that he is on WWE’s grandest stage of WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans.
Triple threat matches for World Titles usually deliver nicely in WWE, and this one was nothing short of awesome!
The story here was Batista made his big return at the Royal Rumble and won it. Fans were not happy. Daniel Bryan did the occupy-Raw segment and bribed his way into the qualifying match against Triple H in the opener of WrestleMania after not being booked to compete in the 2014 Royal Rumble. Nice save, WWE.
The match was an underdog story with Bryan coming in with a hurt shoulder after suffering a beatdown from Triple H earlier in the night(stemming from Bryan defeating the game with the flying knee in another great match). Randy Orton was really the glue who kept everything together in the match as all three men went to war. The Authority(Triple H and Stephanie) tried to intervene and got knocked out by Daniel Bryan. Batista tapped out to the yes lock and the crowd went crazy.This sort of match is what WWE is all about: The crowd was explosive, the stakes were huge, and the new hero of the WWE Universe stood tall as the New Orleans crowd chanted Yes alongside their new WWE World Heavyweight Champion!
Despite that matching being sensational, there was just one other match that just came out a half notch higher on my scale.
1. WWE NXT Champion Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn, NXT TakeOver: R Evolution
While not even on the main roster at this point, Zayn and Neville tore down the house with one of the best professional wrestling matches we’ve ever been privileged to witness. Both men were able to go for their big spots, counter one another when you least expected it, and deliver an all out mat classic that featured both a combination of mat wrestling, high flying and pure athleticism.
The underdog story of Sami Zayn finally realizing his dream and capturing the NXT Championship is exactly what you’d want to see on a WWE Network “special event.” Also, let’s not forget the effort put forth by Adrian Neville, who elevated Sami Zayn’s popularity to new heights with their series of matches that culminated in this unbelievable encounter.
Zayn is rumored to be heading to the main roster sometime in 2015, and Neville is rumored to be getting an underdog gimmick of his own on the main roster this spring. If the rumors are true, then we’re looking at some potentially excellent matchups on WWE TV in the near future.
That’s my list. I know not everyone will agree with my choices, but that’s the fun in everyone having an opinion, no? Make sure to leave some feedback – I read every critique, good or bad. Thanks for reading!
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