The 10 iconic WWE images that define the last decade

Over the past decade, WWE has provided their fans with some of the most exciting and historic stuff that has not only changed the fans' perspective but has also had its effect on the pro-wrestling business, as well.

Looking back at it, the past decade has seen WWE undergo major highs and lows, including the launch of the WWE Network and the billion-dollar deal signing with FOX. WWE also found its rhythm with its black-and-gold brand NXT, as the company creatively elevated some of NXT's top names to stardom including the likes of Rhea Ripley, Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa, and Keith Lee among other notable names.

However, the past 10 years have also seen WWE lose some of its veteran stars into forceful retirements, while some big names have also walked out on the company. Retirements, title wins and debuts included, the past decade has been host to some of the most memorable moments of all time.

And as we get set to close out on another year and another decade in this article, I've decided to pick 10 of the best images that have defined the WWE over the past 10 years and have had a major significance in the company's future.

New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE

#10 Edge's retirement

Almost within a week after his successful World Heavyweight Title defense over Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania XXVII, Edge decided to address the WWE Universe on the 11th April edition of Monday Night RAW when he gave an emotional speech reflecting on his professional wrestling career and also spoke on the realities of wrestling.

What followed next shocked fans all around the world, as 'The Rated R Superstar' spoke about his previous neck injury and cervical vertebral fusion, and further claimed that he had felt numbness in his arms. Fans in attendance and watching all around the world feared the worst, as Edge, with tears rolling down his eyes, eventually claimed that after further MRI testing the former WWE Champion was forced to retire.

Edge has since made a strong recovery and has returned to in-ring action. The Rated R Superstar ended up winning the 2021 Royal Rumble event and is poised to continue his quest for championship gold.

#9 Brock Lesnar returns

In 2004, following his infamous WrestleMania XX match against Goldberg, Brock Lesnar departed from the WWE in order to compete at the Land of the Rising Sun in New Japan Pro Wrestling. However, Lesnar then went on to pursue his dream of entering the Mixed Martial Arts scene, as he made his UFC debut in 2008 and competed for Dana White's promotion for almost three years.

In 2012, Lesnar had officially re-signed with the WWE and on 2nd April 2012, 'The Beast Incarnate' made his triumphant return to the company where he initially broke out as a Pro Wrestler. Upon his return to WWE, Lesnar immediately confronted John Cena, who was on the back of a historic loss against The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII.

Then-RAW General Manager John Laurinaitis claimed that Lesnar's return would bring back "legitimacy" back to WWE and that is exactly what the former WWE Champion did, as he laid waste to Cena by delivering an F-5 to mark his comeback.

Lesnar has since been a dominant force in the WWE. He did the unthinkable at WrestleMania XXX when he defeated the Undertaker and ended his streak.

#8 Roman Reigns' leukemia revelation

Roman Reigns had to vacate the Universal Championship due to leukemia

At SummerSlam 2018, Roman Reigns finally did the unthinkable and defeated Brock Lesnar in the main event of The Biggest Party of the Summer, as 'The Big Dog' finally won the coveted WWE Universal Championship for the very first time. In doing so, Reigns ended Lesnar's reign at 504 days and shifted his focus on Braun Strowman, as the two men re-ignited their feud.

With Reigns' Shield brethren Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose giving their best in order to make sure 'The Big Dog' retained the Universal Championship over 'The Monster Among Men', WWE announced a Universal Championship Triple Threat Match between Reigns, Strowman, and Lesnar for Crown Jewel.

However, on October 22nd, Roman Reigns kick-started an episode of Monday Night RAW by relinquishing his Universal Championship, much to everyone's shock announcing that he has been diagnosed with leukemia after 11 years of privately battling with it and being in remission.

Reigns has successfully made the recovery and is currently back in action.

#7 Daniel Bryan wins the World Title at WrestleMania XXX

In 2014, Daniel Bryan's voice was finally heard by people around the world and even by WWE, as 'The Leader of the Yes Movement' pretty much had the support of the entire WWE Universe and was on a mission to prove that he was not a 'B+ Player' that Triple H had billed him as.

Bryan's Yes Movement also saw him and his multiple fans occupy the ring on the 10th March episode of RAW, as it left an irate Triple H with no other option but to agree with Bryan's demand for a match at WrestleMania XXX.

At the event, Bryan defeated Triple H in order to insert himself into the WWE World Championship match between Randy Orton and Batista and despite notable interferences from The Authority and double team-ups between Orton and Batista, Bryan managed to overcome all the odds and capture the WWE World Title in the main event of 'Mania 30.

Bryan, winning the title against the odds is an underdog story that everybody still loves to talk about.

#6 WWE Evolution

On October 28, 2018, WWE hosted the first-ever Evolution pay-per-view, a PPV that solely consisted of women's matches and featured some of the biggest female Superstars in WWE history.

With three out of WWE's four women's championships being defended on the main card, former UFC Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey main-evented the night when she successfully defended her RAW Women's Championship against Nikki Bella. On the undercard, Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women's Championship, whereas Becky Lynch defended the SmackDown Women's Title in a grueling Match of the Year Contender against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing bout.

Evolution also played host to the finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic that saw Toni Storm beat Io Shirai and veterans in the form of Trish Stratus and Lita also competed in the first match of the evening. However, as seen above, it is the closing shot from WWE Evolution that truly made us believe that the Women's Revolution that initially began in 2015 was finally complete.

#5 Kofi Kingston's WWE Title win at WrestleMania 35

Kofi Kingston's journey to WrestleMania 35 will arguably go down as one of the greatest storylines in WWE history. Kingston, who originally replaced the injured Mustafa Ali, initially came close to winning the WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber match. This eventually led to Chairman Vince McMahon putting multiple objectives ahead of Kingston if he wished to challenge for the WWE Championship.

However, in the lead-up to WrestleMania 35, it was eventually Kingston's New Day partners Big E and Xavier Woods who won a Gauntlet Tag Team Match in order to earn a shot at the WWE Championship for the former. At the event, Kingston successfully defeated Daniel Bryan to win the WWE Title and in doing so, he made history by becoming the first-ever African-born WWE Champion in history, as well as WWE's 30th Triple Crown and 20th Grand Slam Champion.

Kofi has always had the adulation of the WWE universe and the Wrestlamania 35 win all but cemented his position as one of the top talents in the company.

#4 Becky Lynch wins the first-ever all women's WrestleMania main event

Over the past one year, Becky Lynch's rise to WWE's main event scene has been significant, with Ronda Rousey being more dominant than ever as RAW Women's Champion along with then-SmackDown Live Women's Champion Charlotte Flair, the three women were all set to make history at this year's WrestleMania 35.

Heading into WM 35, Becky Lynch won the Women's Royal Rumble Match and earned herself a shot at Rousey's RAW Women's Championship, however, after a suspension as per Vince McMahon's orders, Flair was introduced as Rousey's 'Mania opponent. But with Lynch deciding to violate her suspension over the next few weeks, the former SmackDown Women's Champion was eventually added back to the WrestleMania main event, as we had a Triple Threat Winner Takes All Match.

It was Lynch who walked out victorious as she won both the Raw and SmackDown Live Women's Championship to end the year's biggest annual WWE pay-per-view.

The match was well receivedd by both fans and critics alike.

#3 AJ Styles' debut

The Phenomenal One made his WWE debut in 2016

At Wrestle Kingdom 10, two of New Japan Pro Wrestling's absolute best made the headlines after an instant classic against each other, as Shinsuke Nakamura successfully defended his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against AJ Styles at the Tokyo Dome.

Following the match, however, reports immediately suggested that both Styles and Nakamura (along with the former's Bullet Club stablemates Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) had signed with WWE. With that being said, it was a matter of when, as the WWE Universe waited for the arrival of 'The Phenomenal One'. The man who led TNA from the front, put on numerous classics and had won gold all around the world, to finally arrive in WWE.

At Royal Rumble 2016, Roman Reigns was slated to defend his WWE Championship against 29 other men in the namesake match and with 'The Big Dog' entering at #1, he knew his hands were full on the night. With Rusev being eliminated at #2, the crowd awaited the third entry and much to everyone's shock, it was 'The Phenomenal One' who finally walked out into a WWE arena.

Styles' debut sent the entire WWE Universe into a frenzy, as the internet went bonkers over the debut of 'The Phenomenal One'.

#2 The Pipebomb

An unforgettable moment featuring the most iconic Superstar of the decade

On 27th June 2011, on what initially seemed like another regular weekly episode of Monday Night RAW, saw CM Punk interfere in a match between John Cena and R-Truth, as he got hold of a microphone, sat on the ramp, and broke the fourth wall by disregarding Vince McMahon and the rest of the McMahon Family while dropping the biggest truth bomb in the company's history.

In what is considered as the greatest promo in WWE history, Punk's promo marked the beginning of the infamous Summer of Punk, as the former WWE World Champion namedropped New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor and even Colt Cabana on live WWE TV.

Despite CM Punk's shocking exit from WWE in 2014, his pipebomb promo certainly had major implications in the pro-wrestling business, as the likes of Cody Rhodes and even John Cena have praised the promo in their own ways.

Truly a decade-defining moment that is most unlikely to ever be replicated again.

#1 The Undertaker's streak comes to a shocking end

For 21 WrestleManias in a row, The Undertaker competed and won in WWE's biggest annual pay-per-view of the year and in the man's own words, 'The Deadman' has been "collecting souls" for almost two decades at The Grandest Stage of Them All.

However, at WrestleMania XXX in 2014, having initially accepted Brock Lesnar's challenge to a match at the event, The Undertaker was set for another highly-awaited clash against 'The Beast Incarnate'. And with fans considering 'The Deadman' to come out on the winning side, as usual, that wasn't the case to be.

In what is considered to be "the most shocking result in WWE history", The Undertaker, after 25 minutes of grueling battle with Lesnar and three F-5s, fell short to 'The Beast Incarnate', who ended the streak by defeating The Undertaker for the first time in WrestleMania history.

At one point, it did seem like The Undertaker would retire undefeated at 'Mania history, however, that wasn't to be, as the image of 'The Deadman' reflecting on the infamous 21-1 is probably the most powerful image to define the past decade for WWE.

Edited by Shruti Sadbhav