WWE: Best match of the year

[mrfantastic111]

I just read an article about the top ten moments of this year so far. That had me thinking about the best matches, and what you guys all think were the best matches thus far on any WWE PPV or weekly television show.

Personally my favourite match thus far has been Punk Vs. Cena on RAW. That was a wrestlemania quality match, of which I would of been happy to have paid for. The piledriver was an amazing spot. Many of the newer/younger fans probably wouldn't have seen a piledriver on WWE TV before, thus probably initially expecting a powerbomb - hence the stunned looks on the faces of many. I don't even think the hardcore Punk fans cared that he lost to Cena because the match that we received was worth it. Nobody expected a match that good to be aired on RAW, and so I think that it deserves to win a Slammy this year (not that Slammys mean anything, but it's one of the only RAW matches that I go back and watch on youtube).

Other great matches include Hell No, Randy Vs. The Shield on RAW/SD!, Bryan Vs. Orton in a Street Fight on RAW, Undertaker Vs Punk at WM29.

Your thoughts?

 

[Da Solo]

Kofi vs. Cesaro on Main Event has been my personal favorite so far. That superplex from the apron was ridiculous, and I marked out when Trouble in Paradise hit literally out of nowhere. A great match and definitely a classic in my eyes.

A close second goes to Punk vs. Undertaker at WM this year. Undertaker rising up from the Anaconda Vise is one of the best visuals of the year, period.

 

[mrfantastic111]

Kofi vs. Cesaro on Main Event has been my personal favorite so far. That superplex from the apron was ridiculous, and I marked out when Trouble in Paradise hit literally out of nowhere. A great match and definitely a classic in my eyes.

That superplex was incredible, another one of those great feats of strength that Cesaro pulls out of his sleeve when you least expect it.

 

[The Butcher]

A lot of the top candidates are already spoken for. I'll throw in Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins from Raw last month and CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho from Payback.

 

[Dr. Mantis Toboggan, M.D.]

Haven't sat through a full RAW in a long time so I'm going with CM Punk vs. John Cena from a couple months ago or so. They were both doing moves that we all know are common but John Cena doing a standing hurricanrana was something I thought I'd never see and another poster above me stated the business about the piledriver. Very cool match, I don't think those 2 could have a bad one with each other.

 

[ThePhenomLives]

I'd say Daniel Bryan v. Seth Rollins. Bryan and Ziggler also had a terrific match not to long ago, can't remember if it was late last year or early this year, though.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I dunno if I can pick just one but my favorites this year, in no particular order were:

John Cena vs. CM Punk on Raw
Kofi Kingston vs. Antonio Cesaro on Main Event
Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins on Raw
CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho at Payback
The Undertaker vs. CM Punk at WrestleMania
Team Hell No & Randy Orton vs. The Shield on Raw & SD!

In my opinion, all of these were, at least, 4 star matches that flat out delivered, some in bigger ways than some people expected.

Cena vs. Punk on Raw reminded me a helluva lot of their match at MITB 2011. If it had had the sort of hype & build as MITB, it would have been right on the same level.

Kofi vs. Cesaro on Main Event was fantastic. The chemistry these two have with one another is on the same level as Punk vs. Jericho or Punk vs. Bryan. It showed, in my estimation, how heavily underrated both men are both in the eyes of some fans and WWE officials.

Bryan vs. Rollins was also just a fantastic, blow out match featuring two passionate, young, hungry talented guys who cut their teeth on the indy circuit. Rollins is someone that should have a great future in WWE. The guy can talk, he's athletic, he knows his way around the ring, knows how to tell a story and can go. The guy's a work horse just like Bryan.

Punk vs. Jericho was the match that we were all hoping it'd be. I've yet to see them have a bad match against each other but on an overall strong ppv card, this was the match that stole the show at Payback.

Taker vs. Punk told a different story than we saw from Taker vs. HBK & Taker vs. Triple H in that it was more along the lines of standard face vs. heel bit. That didn't make it any less entertaining in my opinion. Punk's shenanigans made people want to see him get his ass kicked while still delivering a competitive match that told a great story. Mission accomplished. The fact that Taker ultimately came out of his match with Punk healthier than he has in several years is another testament to Punk's talent as he knows how to help protect his opponent. Given the well documented history of Taker's injuries the past several years, that's saying something.

The six man tag matches between THN & Orton vs. The Shield is really around the time when Daniel Bryan's hot streak started. Bryan kicked it into another gear during these matches and stole the show. Everyone looked good, but Bryan's interaction with all three Shield members had everyone in the arena cheering their heads off. Great action, great storytelling and a piping hot crowd. Not much more you can ask for from anyone in any match.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Personally my favourite match thus far has been Punk Vs. Cena on RAW.

Agreed. The title implications of that match added tons of significance, but the way the two of them worked was incredible.....not to mention a slap in the face to folks who claim Cena can't wrestle.

Further, it wasn't a case of Punk leading Cena to a good match; not at all. They both wrestled to their full ability and kept up the ebb & flow that had us truly wondering who would come out on top.

Flawless?.....no, it wasn't. Frankly, a contest in which the performers are going full boat and keeping the tension high is rarely going to come off without mistakes.

If this was somehow voted match of the year, I'd love that it was given to us on Raw, rather than at an expensive PPV.

 

[Jack G]

I'm going a little different on this on; the match I think isn't my favourite because of the match itself, it's the aftermath.

Raw, post WM, Del Rio vs Swagger....Zigglers music hits! HE FINALLY CASHES IN! With the mix of anticipation to his eventual cashing-in, the ridiculously good crowd and the pure feeling I got when ziggler's music dropped. Perfect!

I'm not sure if any of the contestants in this years MITB could make such an impact with cashing in (but that's another thread).

What do you all think? I know it's not really the Swagger vs Del Rio match that was the greatest, but the anticipation during it is hard matched.

 

[BigThunder]

For me.

1. Cena/Punk (RAW)
2. Bryan/Rollins (RAW)
3. Punk/Undertaker (WM)
4. Punk/Jericho (Payback)
5. Del Rio/Ziggler (RAW)
6. Bryan/Orton (RAW)
7. Orton-Hell No/The Shield (Smackdown)
8. Kofi-Hell No/The Shield (RAW)
9. Ohno/Regal (NXT)
10. Kofi/Cesaro (Main Event)

And yes, Del Rio/Ziggler was short, but the drama and the psychology were perfect, and they did a great job of working the crowd until they finally got what they wanted to see, all while making both guys look strong. Great wrestling storytelling.

There are about ten other matches that could be on this list, and even one Divas match (Kaitlin/AJ) deserving to be in the top 20. Damn, it's been a good year so far.

 

[RedRegan1005]

Its tough to pick one. 2013 has been a good year so far as far as match quality goes. I really enjoyed Punk vs Undertaker at WM29 and Punk vs Jericho at Payback was main event quality. But I think the matches that have impressed me the most this year have been a numerous amount of the Shield six man tag matches. The just seemed to figure out a formula for putting on great six man tag matches.

 

[Redemption-2012]

John Cena vs CM Punk was the best match on Raw this year, as far as the best match of the entire year I'd have to go with CM Punk vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania. They tore it up and stole the show, the match was a masterpiece of two great superstars.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The two that stick out the most so far to me are CM Punk VS Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29 and CM Punk VS Chris Jericho at Payback.

I'll start with the Wrestlemania match. It had a rather tough act to follow. The past several years had seen Undertaker face incredibly tough opponents wishing to end the streak. Triple H for two years, Shawn Michaels in two of the best matches of all time in the two years before that, Edge the year before that, and even Batista surprised us with an excellent match at Wrestlemania 23. Not since Wrestlemania 22 with Mark Henry have we seen a match from Undertaker at the biggest show of the year that wasn't great. How in the world was CM Punk going to top all of that, let alone following 4 amazing matches against Trips and Michaels? Well, while he didn't top the matches against Trips/HBK, CM Punk delivered. He and Undertaker had the best match at Wrestlemania 29 and it's easily a match of the year candidate. The build going into it was solid as well.

My other match that really stands out among the rest is when Punk faced Jericho at WWE Payback. We all knew it had potential to be good, but they blew my expectations out of the water. It 100% lived up to Jericho and Heyman's hype for the match going into it. Punk getting another win while returning in his hometown just added to how great it already was. This match completely stole the show, even Cena & Ryback's 3 Stages of Hell couldn't top it. It went on to become my favorite match between Punk and Jericho, as well as a definite candidate for the best match of the year. I really couldn't have asked for more as a fan. I'm going to have to go with the Wrestlemania match in the end as the very best of the year in WWE so far, but don't get me wrong, this match is an extremely close 2nd. Anyone who missed it needs to watch it.

 

[sajsSAMynwa1892]

Bryan/Rollins on Raw or the Orton/Bryan street fight for me, Bryan has been the best thing about WWE this year. Both matches flowed logically, built to an exciting finish and no-one botched, unlike the Cena/Punk match which everyone else seems to think was the best. Also have to give a mention to the Lesnar/Triple H cage match, for whatever reason people don't give this match any credit but from a selling and psychology point of view it was incredible.

 

[CMBryan94]

1.CM Punk vs Undertaker - 10/10
2.CM Punk vs Chris Jericho - 10/10 Payback
3.CM Punk vs John Cena 10/10
4.Shield vs Bryan, Kane og Kingston – 9,5/10
5,Shield vs Bryan, Kane og Taker 9,5/10
6.Shield vs Hell No – 9,5/10
7.Swagger vs ADR SD – 9,5/10
8.Rollins vs Bryan - 9/10
9.Ambrose vs Bryan 9/10
10.M Punk vs Chris Jericho 9/10 RAW

Punk, Shield and Hell No, without doubt the 3 best things in WWE this year.

 

[Broski_of_the_week]

Only the last poster has named the match that really stood out for me and Im surprised its not been mentioned before. The Undertaker and Team Hell No v The Shield in my mind was the match of the year so far. It was the first time Taker had been wrestling on TV in years and imo The Shield's biggest match theyve had to date. As for the match quality, Team Hell No and the Shield have managed to put on fantastic and fresh feeling matches v each other time and time again and with the added 'special-ness' of having the Undertaker in their corner just made this match that little bit bigger and better than the other (and there have been a fair few) top quality matches of 2013.

Special Mentions should go to Rollins v Bryan on RAW, Jericho v Punk at Payback and Ryback v Great Khali like two weeks ago, what a match!

 

[Yawa]

Bryan/Rollins. No other competition thus far.

 

[HBsam31]

My expectations of Punk/Taker at Maina honestly were not that high. With all the reports about Undertaker's health, not to mention the previous Mania Undertaker matches that these two had to follow. Well they delivered and then some. Definitely the best match on the Wrestlemania 29 card, and my second favorite match of the year. Imo the best match was Cena vs Punk from Raw. They went a little overboard on the false finishes, but those two worked their asses off. I never understand the Cena can't wrestle business. When he is called upon he delivers. The pulled everything out for this match, and was a rare treat on free tv.

 

[ADLegend21]

1.) CM Punk vs John Cena on Raw
2.)Kofi Kingston vs Antonio Cesaro

and my third pick, because it honestly came out of nowhere for me but I loved it Kassius Ohno vs William Regal on NXT. Regal put on a show with Ohno and it literally went back and forth and was one of the most brutal non-gimmick matches I've ever seen since I started watching in 1999.

 

[Nate DaMac]

I'm going to list a couple of matches that I haven't seen here, just to show NXT some love. First is the Regal/Ohno match which is my favorite match of the year so far. The only down side to that match was having to see Regal's flabby ass flailing about but the match was done masterfully. The psychology was phenomenal, the selling from both guys (but especially Regal, he looked flat out dead sometimes) was incredible. The only thing I would have changed? Regal should have won with the Regal Stretch. He spent all of that time working on his hand and ribs, it didn't really make sense for him to win with a running knee to the head.

The other one would be the Cesaro/Zayn match from a couple weeks ago. If Cesaro worked like that on the main shows, he'd be on his way toward being a huge star.

 

[Pedigree1]

For someone like Cena he sure gets shitted on an awful lot! That man has put on some many great matches its no surprise at least from me its Cena VS Punk on Raw. Yes they delivered yet again a terrific match. Damn those two guys can tell a story in the ring cant they? Its just incredible that every single time these guys are put together in a ring magic happens.

This is no disrespect to Kofi Vs Cesaro which was my second favorite i just think Cena Vs Punk is tops so far.

 

[sajsSAMynwa1892]

For someone like Cena he sure gets shitted on an awful lot! That man has put on some many great matches its no surprise at least from me its Cena VS Punk on Raw. Yes they delivered yet again a terrific match. Damn those two guys can tell a story in the ring cant they? Its just incredible that every single time these guys are put together in a ring magic happens.

This is no disrespect to Kofi Vs Cesaro which was my second favorite i just think Cena Vs Punk is tops so far.

The thing I got from that match was they were "pulling out the stops to win", but Cena's selling was(as usual) awful, and he botched some of those "stops". I enjoyed the match, but from a selling and story telling point of view was far inferior to the Triple H/Lesnar cage match. It was also nowhere near as creative as the Bryan/Rollins match. You aren't alone though, a lot of people prefer that Punk/Cena match....

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I was torn between Punk VS Cena on Raw and Punk VS Jericho at Payback, but I'm going with Punk VS Cena on Raw for now.

I honestly expected it to be a throwaway match, because there was no way in hell WWE would substitute Punk in for Cena at Wrestlemania 29 for Rock VS Punk III. But as the match progressed, and the close falls became more and more frequent, I changed my mind. Punk and Cena threw everything they had at each other, and it was a great story of Cena fighting to hold on to his only shot at redemption, and Punk giving it his all to have another shot at becoming WWE Champion.

It reached a point where I got so hooked into the match, I seriously believed in Punk having a legit shot at being in the WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania. Maybe WWE will do a triple threat? Maybe Cena loses and faces someone else at Mania? The possibilities kept running through my head, until Cena finally scored the pinfall.

Epic, epic match, and John Cena finally got the monkey off of his back by beating Punk, giving him some real momentum heading into Wrestlemania.

Jericho VS Punk blew me away. Not as good as their match from Extreme Rules, but it's pretty damn close. Punk needed a worthwhile opponent, and Jericho was the perfect choice. A surefire show stealer, and for my money, Punk VS Jericho was better than Ryback VS Cena II.

Undertaker VS Punk from Wrestlemania is a close third for me. I want to bump it up higher, but you could make a legit case for Lesnar VS HHH II being the better match at Wrestlemania 29.

We still have some time left in 2013, and I'm sure Lesnar VS Punk at Summerslam will make the list of potential candidates for MOTY picks. But right now, Punk VS Cena from Raw has to be the front-runner.

 

[HillBillyJim]

1) Punk vs Taker WM 29
2) Bryan vs Rollins RAW
3) Kofi vs Cesaro Main Event

^ At first I thought that match would be a junker like the others on that show but as it went on it was getting better and better. Kofi had his high flying style, which went great with Cesaros raw power. Bryan vs rollins was a 5 star match. DB is the breakout star of 2013, and im glad hes being used right. Punk Taker was a perfect match. period. 2013 has had a ton of good matches, just wish they were more consistently on.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

My favorite would have to go to Punk vs. Cena on RAW by far for the simple fact it was the only match this year that I really got into. Although Punk vs. Taker, Punk vs. Jericho, Bryan vs. Orton, Team Hell No/Orton vs. Shield on Smackdown were good, they were just good, nothing spectacular. To be honest I didn't think Punk vs. Taker was that good and I thought it was vastly overrated.

Punk vs. Cena have great chemistry and their characters play off each other so well. Couple that with their feud and everything leading up to their match on RAW I don't think that any match this year in WWE came even close to what those 2 did together on RAW.