WWE's Top 10 PPV matches of the year so far

2015 has been a big year for the WWE. The main event of its first pay-per-view was a masterpiece, and so many matches this year have been incredible, since then. If this was a top ten list of WWE matches in general this year, it would just be listing John Cena’s United States Championship Open Challenge matches, so for this list I will be considering only pay-per-view matches.To make things clear, Elimination Chamber counts as a pay-per-view, but The Beast In The East and WWE at Madison Square Garden do not count.So what I will be considering are matches from the ten pay-per-views so far, and I will only enter one match per event. So despite how many great matches there were at WrestleMania, I’m only going to consider the best one.It should also be noted that I am considering things like shock value and high stakes, and not just pure wrestling quality. NXT is not being considered. This is an opinionised article. It is my own view and you do not have to agree with it.

#10 Luke Harper vs Dean Ambrose (Chicago Street Fight) - Extreme Rules

This match ended in a mess... But a good mess

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The Extreme Rules of this year was completely lacking as compared to the spectacle that it was last year. There were no standout matches or anything much to be remembered. The main event featured an SKO because Seth Rollins’ curb stomp had recently been banned, Rusev and John Cena bored everyone, and Dolph Ziggler kissed Sheamus’ pale arse

The only two stand out matches were The Big Show vs Roman Reigns in a Last Man Standing match and Dean Ambrose vs Luke Harper in a Chicago Street Fight.

While the former was a good match in itself, in fact, quite surprising, the thing that makes the opening match special was that it was nearly an hour long. Harper and Abrose brawled into the arena and eventually got into a car and drove off to somewhere while still wrestling! Because of the stipulation of the match, it had to continue, and after the next few matches had taken place, they came back to the arena and into the ring, where Harper was pinned. This was Ambrose’s first victory on pay-per-view as a singles’ competitor.

#9 Bray Wyatt vs Roman Reigns - Battleground

A lot of good could be taken from the match

Battleground wasn’t WWE’s strongest show of the year. Other than Kevin Owens vs John Cena III, there wasn’t much that stood out, except perhaps, this match.

The story of Bray Wyatt vs Roman Reigns was fresh and was something that was needed for both men. One was directionless until then, and the other had just stepped away from the title scene. The premise as well was good, with Bray Wyatt getting really personal and Roman Reigns looked vulnerable at times.

The match itself was a surprise. It was expected to be good by many, but perhaps not as good as it did end up being. Both men traded phases of offense between each other, and neither looked on the back foot. Bray Wyatt picked up with the win following an interference from a hooded man who was revealed to be Luke Harper, starting a great feud between The Wyatts and the remains of The SHIELD.

#8 Nikki Bella vs Charlotte (Divas\' Championship match) - Night Of Champions

The knee was targetted for the whole match

The only women’s match on this list, this match has a lot to brag about. Night Of Champions itself wasn’t the strongest pay-per-view. For male matches, the only great match was Seth Rollins vs John Cena, and what happened after that match was odd too, although I won’t get into the details of that.

The women’s match on the card was well booked. Going in, Nikki Bella had just conquered AJ Lee’s record of 295 days holding the Divas’ Championship (which was a great way to receive heel heat) and Charlotte had a vengeance on her mind from the past episode of Raw, Charlotte almost won the Divas’ Championship but pinned Brie Bella instead of Nikki, that led to a controversial finish.

That led to a stipulation on this match, that said that Nikki Bella would lose the Divas’ Championship no matter who is pinned and even if it is via count-out or disqualification.

At the start of the match, Charlotte suffered a kayfabe injury to her knee, which was exposed through the whole match by Nikki, who apparently made it worse with every blow. This made Charlotte’s signature move, the ‘Figure 8’ questionable.

Yet, with one move, Charlotte turned it around and then locked in her submission, causing Nikki Bella to tap out and lose her Divas’ Championship. Charlotte had won her first Divas’ championship and the celebrations, featuring her dad Ric Flair, were nothing short of emotional.

#7 Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reigns (Number One Contendor\'s match) - Fastlane

Fastlane was another show that was mediocre at best. Its best match was clearly the main event.

The previous month, WWE had received a lot of backlash for several reasons. Daniel Bryan had just returned from his long hiatus, and many fans wanted him to win the Royal Rumble. Roman Reigns was a favourite to win, but a large number of people on the internet did not want him to win.

Daniel Bryan entered the Royal Rumble at number ten to many people’s surprise and was eliminated even before Roman Reigns entered. Everything went downhill from there. Reigns entered to a rain of boos at number nineteen, and the ending of the match was questionable. Kane and The Big Show cleared the entire ring, eliminating fan favourite after fan favourite, until it was only Roman Reigns left. Reigns somehow eliminated both of them and the onslaught from the fans in attendance and on the internet began to pour in.

To compensate, WWE made the main event of Fastlane a match between Reigns and Bryan, stating that the winner would go on to face Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

The match delivered. Both men gave it their all, and it was especially a surprising performance from Bryan, who still looked a bit rusted. It was back and forth, but in the end Reigns came out on top.

Sure, this ending also received negative responses but there were some people who changed their minds. Reigns had proved himself in this match.

#6 Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins (WWE World Heavyweight Championship) - Payback

Probably the biggest mark out moment of the year

Payback was a relatively strong show for WWE. Rusev and John Cena put up a brutal I Quit match, there was a great two-out-of-three falls tag team match and more.

The main event, though, was something else. I could love this match only for the one Triple Powerbomb spot! It could have easily been overbooked, with the inclusion of Kane at ringside, but it was just right. Fatal Four Ways are always fun, but this was nostalgic at the same time.

There was a prominent SHIELD tease where Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose delivered a Triple Powerbomb to Randy Orton through the announce table (to a million cheers of course), and it looked like the three of them were back together as a unit. That is until Reigns and Ambrose targetted Rollins and Kane and took them out too. “Loser buys the beers” is an actual dialogue between Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose as they stepped back into the ring.

The match was a one-on-one match between the two for a while, until Rollins and Orton recovered, and after a series of events, Rollins pinned Orton for the win. It was a fun match from start to finish.

#5 Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose (Ladder match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship) - Money In The Bank

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have had an incredible rivalry so far, and this sure isn’t the end of it.

Going into this match, there was a lot already. After Payback, Dean Ambrose was the only one to challenge Seth Rollins to a match at Elimination Chamber, and the match witnessed a controversial ending. Seth Rollins knocked out a referee, and then Dean Ambrose delivered Dirty Deeds, and another official came down and counted to three, declaring Dean Ambrose the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

However, the other official, who knocked down, also declared Ambrose the winner, but by disqualification, so by standard rules, Rollins was still the champion. This led to another match at Money In The Bank, and this time, Rollins was out to prove to Triple H that he can do it himself.

Indeed, he did. In a hard-hitting, long match, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins tore the house down. There were big spots galore, and both men took a good beating. In the end, both of them were atop the ladder, and they both had their hands on the championship when they fell. As they hit the floor, Ambrose let go of the championship, leaving it with Rollins, and thus he retained his championship, all on his own. It was a well booked encounter overall.

#4 Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns - WrestleMania 31

This had all the feelings of a big match, and it was

This was a tough one. WrestleMania was incredible from top to bottom. I could have easily selected three or four matches for this, but I had to narrow it down to one. I had considered the Intercontinental Championship ladder match for a while, but in the end it had to be the main event.

Many, many fans expected this to be a bad match. The last time Brock Lesnar faced a powerhouse at WrestleMania, it was a disaster. And many fans had already labelled Roman Reigns as being a raw worker between the ropes.

What we got, though, was a shocker. It was a blood-filled match. Lesnar dominated, but Reigns kept staying in it, as resilient as can be. He was beaten to a pulp but stayed in it. Eventually, he would hit back, and by that time he had a bloody mouth. Both men would then exchange blows and eventually Lesnar’s face was completely red with blood, which many accuse of being a cause of blading.

Then, after kicking out of a Spear, Lesnar hit the fourth F5 of the match, and both men were down. Seth Rollins grabbed the opportunity and ran down to the ring, cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase, and after a few little spots, pinned Reigns to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and steal the spotlight at WrestleMania. It was a twisted ending to an unexpected match.

#3 Seth Rollins vs John Cena (Winner takes all match for the United States and WWE World Heavyweight Championship) - SummerSlam

Much like the previous entry, this was really hard to pinpoint. I could have easily named Kevin Owens vs Cesaro, or Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker, but this match stood out for me (not just because I am a massive Rollins mark). Unlike the popular opinion of the internet, I predicted Rollins would win, and that is just what happened.

As soon as Rollins entered I asked myself “What is that?” because he wore a white Power Ranger-like attire, and it seemed fitting because the match was something special.

Being almost twenty minutes long, it was incredible from start to finish, as have been most of John Cena’s matches this year. Near fall, after near fall, after near fall (in Michael Cole’s voice) and I was on the edge of my seat for the entire match. The stakes were really high and there was a reason for it.

I was even a fan of the ending. It made the entire Jon Stewart angle from earlier in the year make sense, and it tied in well, as well as create a fun heel turn. And not to mention Seth Rollins was truly the king of the mountain.

#2 Kevin Owens vs John Cena (Champion vs Champion) - Elimination Chamber

There were three matches between these two men this year, in succession, but I have focused on the first one for good reason.

John Cena was regularly issuing his United States Championship open challenge, and around that time NXT wrestlers would accept it, Sami Zayn being an example. One week, Kevin Owens came out, but instead of wrestling a match, he attacked Cena and laid him out. A match was made between the two men (non-title) at the upcoming WWE Network exclusive Elimination Chamber, and it was something nobody expected to see, and the caliber of the match went beyond expectations as well.

Kevin Owens, having backed out of the fight the other night on Raw, looked very strong as NXT Champion and matched up to John Cena, in every way possible. Mainstream audiences were introduced to Kevin Owens in the best way possible, and he was immediately made to look like a great asset to the WWE.

And that wasn’t even including the ending. After having kicked out of one Pop-up Powerbomb earlier in the match, Cena received another, and this time, the impossible happened. On his WWE debut, Kevin Owens defeated John Cena, completely clean.

As one would expect, the internet erupted and Kevin Owens was made into a huge star. Even though he lost the following two rematches, it didn’t matter. The impact of the first one stayed.

That leaves only the number one match.

#1 Seth Rollins vs John Cena vs Brock Lesnar (WWE World Heavyweight Championship) - Royal Rumble

I mentioned it in the introduction and I believe this match is the best match of the year, at least, so far.

Many have called it the greatest Triple Threat match of all time and that is justified by all three men. What made this match work so well, in my opinion, was how all three men were used individually. Brock Lesnar assumed immediate control and had it for a chunk of time, but then the unlikely pairing of John Cena and Seth Rollins managed to tone him down.

John Cena through the whole match was focused and driven, on his way to that coveted sixteenth world championship. And Seth Rollins was willing to do anything it took to win, and indeed, he pulled out all his tricks.

The match was well paced. It started out slow but then quickly picked up, and one spot changed it all. John Cena and Brock Lesnar were brawling outside and Cena managed to have Lesnar laid out on the announcer table. Seth Rollins then climbed to the top rope and delivered an elbow drop to Lesnar, drilling him right through the announcer table and reportedly breaking one of his ribs (kayfabe). Momentarily, Lesnar was out of the match, and Rollins and Cena wrestled on. They went back and forth until Rollins had Cena laid out. He climbed to the top rope and showed us first glimpses of his Phoenix Splash, which he sort of managed to hit on Cena.

In a sudden change of events, though, Lesnar rushed back into the ring out of nowhere and had Rollins up for the F5. Somehow Rollins managed to hit a curb stomp, and then attempted a second on, this time with his Money In The Bank briefcase underneath. As quick as light, Lesnar scooped Rollins up and delivered an F5, pinning him to retain his championship. The above image shows how much of an assault Lesnar took. The match asserted him as an even bigger monster than he already was, and that is something worth applauding.

We still haven’t seen Rollins effectively use the Phoenix Splash, and it’s clear WWE are saving that move only for really big occasions.

Will there be a match better than this in the final three pay-per-views remaining this year? If there was to be one from Hell In A Cell, my money would be on the match between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt, but that seems unlikely.

Anyway, do share your thoughts and opinions in the comments. Cheers.

Edited by Staff Editor