WWE.com: 50 Greatest WWE Championship Matches Ever

[stealthamo]

Don't exactly know about that Cena/Mysterio match at 20. I don't really remember about that being spectacular. Aside from that, it's a fairly solid list, besides the problems already stated by others (Ironman match being overrated, understandably no Benoit matches). Though I haven't seen any of the 70's matches, so I can't judge those.

[Error]

Maybe I just missed it but is HBK/Austin at Mania not on there?

[repomark]

Apr 24, 2013 10:24:24 GMT -5 Jedi-El of Tomorrow said:

Rock vs Triple H at Backlash 2000, needs to be on the list.

This was my number 1 so was quite surprised it never made it.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

50. Underrated match due to the controversy, one of the best brawls I've ever seen
49. Not seen it but damn well going to now
48. A very good match but really not what I'd call one of Foley's best. I feel like rather than appreciating the match the fans were just waiting for the screwjob.
47. Not seen it but knowing Backlund this will've been great
46. Not seen
45. Every single one of these two's matches as close to a five-star classic as you can get, for my money. Amazing chemistry.
44. Not seen it yet. WHY HAVE I NOT SEEN IT YET?
43. I cannot IMAGINE the crowd reaction to this.
42. Not seen
41. Very good match but I didn't find it very memorable outside of HBK's injury
40. I've never thought this match was that great, although Foley is my favourite wrestler
39. I watched this when it happened and I remember basically nothing
38. I'd bounce this up at least 20 places. INCREDIBLE match, real psychology.
37. Even Jericho thought this match kinda sucked
36. Great match, great heat.
35. Not seen
34. Not seen
33. Not seen in ages
32. Fantastic psychology in this match, great back and forth, a hot crowd and the right winner in the end.
31. Not seen
30. Good match, hot crowd and good booking
29. The right winner at the right time, and a fantastic match. Austin was on FIRE this year
28. Not looked up the list, but Punk and Cena have had at least two matches better than this one
27. Not seen
26. Not seen
25. Austin and Rock's matches were all brawls at this point, and I don't really rate them
24. INCREDIBLE match, and as a side note, I love how hilariously Jericho seems to have been buried in the writing of this entry
23. Truly magnificent match, this one.
22. Not seen
21. An excellent match but not one I'd put this high up
20. Nope.
19. Fantastic match, and Brock throwing Taker around like nothing is just scary
18. Not seen
17. Great match, shame that RVD didn't get that many classic matches in WWE.
16. Probably the greatest match Foley had as far as real wrestling is concerned. Who knew these two would have such great chemistry?
15. Not seen
14. This is how you do TLC, man
13. Hardcore matches don't come much better.
12. Not seen
11. Not seen
10. Hot crowd, the perfect amount of interference, great commentary - the perfect storm, although I'd say Trips/Mankind is better
9. Fantastic match, what Mania is all about
8. Never seen a match with a story like this, really fantastic
7. Not seen
6. Seriously is this guy just trying to appeal to smarks? This was the quintessential spectacle match
5. Few matches made the title seem as important as this one.
4. Without doubt a five-star match although I might even argue that their recent Raw match was a little better technically... just less compelling story-wise
3. Nah
2. YES
1. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[repomark]

Some missing gems:

Triple H v the Rock - Backlash 2000
Kurt Angle v Eddie Guerrero - Wrestlemania 20
CM Punk v The Miz v Alberto Del Rio - TLC 2011
CM Punk v Dolph Ziggler - Royal Rumble 2011
CM Punk v Chris Jericho - Wrestlemania 28
Kurt Angle v Chris Benoit - Royal Rumble 2003
John Cena v Chris Jericho - Summerslam 2005
Bret Hitman Hart v Bob Backlund - Survivor Series 94
Shawn Michaels v Diesel - In Your House Good Friends Better Enemies
Diesel v Bret Hitman Hart - Survivor Series 95
Brock Lesnar v Big Show - Judgement Day 2003
Shawn Michaels v Vader - Summerslam 96
Triple H v Cactus Jack - No Way Out 2000
John Cena v Umaga - Royal Rumble 2007

[TGM]

The iron man match from Mania 12 no way deserves to be number 1. It has to be the most frequently touted best matches of all time when it is anything but.

[Steveweiser]

I've said it many times, and I'll say it here - Bret/Shawn from Mania 12 is the most overrated match of all time. The fact it's 60 minutes and no falls tips you off that nothing exceptional happens in the first 40 minutes or so of the match, and, although part of it was local traffic related, a lot of fans infamously left during the match, which does not say great things about keeping the crowd. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very good match, and an great exhibition of chain wrestling and endurance. But it is not this all time great match that the WWE reveres. A great moment at the end sure with HBK winning, but not an all time great match from start to finish, no way.

[rnrk supports BLM]

Apr 24, 2013 14:02:58 GMT -5 stealthamo said:

Don't exactly know about that Cena/Mysterio match at 20. I don't really remember about that being spectacular.

Match of the year, IMO. Hell of a lot better than Cena/Punk at MITB a few weeks earlier.

[Steveweiser]

It was reading through all this that I realised that WWE counted both Rey and Cena's reigns whilst Punk was still the champion. I always thought since Punk returned and beat Cena at SummerSlam that it was ruled that Punk was the champion all this time, and that Mysterio and Cena's interim reigns didn't count, but obviously they do.

[willyjakes]

Interesting how the WWE continues to blow smoke up that prick Shawn Michaels ass by listing his win over Bret as the greatest WWF title match of all time? That was an absolute snooze-fest and ushered in a lame championship run by an upper mid carder. Warrior-Hogan at 6 is laughable. That's easily 1 with the 1992 Rumble 1A. Deal with it WWE and stop trying to elevate Michaels to the Hogan/Warrior/Flair level of greatness.

you could even see empty seats in the crowd (of not even 19,000...this is wrestlemania mind you) as Bret walks away with the belt prior to overtime being declared. Hogan/Warrior had the most electric ending in WWF history in front of 67,000 and it gets disrespected?

[bytor]

I picked this list apart at my other forum. I think only 17 of their matches would have made my own personal list. They left out way too much and picked the lesser matches in certain series. All in all, a pretty weird list.

I think the Ironman is a total snoozefest too, but "WWE trying to elevate Michaels into Warrior level of greatness" is one of the funniest things I've read here yet. And I find it much more believable that Shawn Michaels would have a match at #1 than Hulk Hogan having a match at #3.

[cool guy]

Cena/Umaga is the most glaring omission that I know of. I'd at least least swap it with the Cena/Batista match, there's no way that one measures up.

[stealthamo]

I guess I'll throw out my two cents on all of these matches in full.


50. Memorable? Yes. Match itself was alright, but I don't really remember it too well.r
49. Haven't seen it since it happened, but I remember it being pretty solid.
48. Very good match, definitely one of Foley's more memorable ones.
47. Haven't seen.
46. All I remember about this is Cena AA'ing Batista through the stage.
45. I haven't seen this in a while. Need to re-watch this one.
44. One of my favorite matches from last year for sure.
43. Would love to see the crowd reaction from this.
42. Haven't seen, as far as I remember.
41. Pretty good, though all I really remember is Michael's injury and the casket burning.
40. Great when it happened, but it's a lot harder to watch now with the chairshots.
39. Eh, Punk/Jericho wasn't that memorable. All I recall is the elbow drop through the table.
38. Really enjoyed this match, but again I'd have to re-watch to really appreciate.
37. Eh, nothing really special about it aside from the titles unifying.
36. Really good match, though really weird to see the transition from old guard to new (wasn't watching at the time).
35. Haven't seen.
34. All I remember is that this was a very violent match.
33. Pretty good match, was surprised Angle was there after getting knocked loopy from the table spot.
32. Good match made better by the crowd.
31. I think this was the cage match. It was really good, and the ending was (at the time) something new.
30. Only remember Biker Taker at the end.
29. Haven't seen.
28. It was good, but I don't think I'd put it on here.
27. Most of the early Mania main events blend together, so I can't really comment.
26. Only seen bits and pieces.
25. Don't really remember Austin/Rock matches outside of Mania.
24. Why is this here? It never happened. Seriously though, good match made better by the story/crowd.
23. Haven't seen in a while, but I remember it being great.
22. Haven't seen.
21. Again, been a while since I've seen it, remember it being alright.
20. Don't really get why this is here. I honestly don't remember a thing about it.
19. Haven't seen.
18. Haven't seen in full.
17. Another instance of the crowd making a match better.
16. Great match, though the clusterf*** of an ending takes it down a peg.
15. Eh? I don't remember this being that special.
14. Haven't seen.
13. Brutal match. Still cringe when I see the pedigree in the tacks.
12. I've always really liked this match, but I'm a bit of an Owen mark.
11. Been years since I've seen it, so I can't really say.
10. The atmosphere made this made, especially when Austin came out.
9. Being there live, this was fantastic. I just wish the outcome had been different.
8. Probably one of the best underdog matches ever. With JR's commentary, you really felt like Hardy could pull it off.
7. Haven't seen in full.
6. It was alright, but not that great.
5. One of the best Rumbles ever, and Heenan/Gorilla were fantastic.
4. Probably the best match I've ever seen as it was happening. Great match made even better by that crowd.
3. For historical purposes, I can see why this is up here. Probably the most memorable wrestling match ever.
2. Would probably be my #1. Great match made fantastic because of the atmosphere.
1. Alright, but overrated. Pretty boring until it gets to the end.

[misconduct was wrong]

If all you do is just watch the HBK/Hart ironman match then ya it's boring and dated. If I remember correctly though the buildup to that match was what puts it up there at #1. They had a bunch of training montage videos of the Hart dungeon, and Lothario's gym where Michaels trained at. Giving insights on their training methods and mentalities. I don't think the gym training thing had been shown before. It really built up the aura of two top level ATHLETES preparing for a super bowl type event. It was also interesting to me because HBK and Hart still had their unique styles.

I think you guys are forgetting the whole spectacle and build up to that match. Everything about it was incredibly unique to the business at that time. I'd absolutely have it at #1.

[thegame415]

I can't believe I'm the first one to mention how high Cena vs HBK from WM 23 is on the list.

[willyjakes]

Apr 25, 2013 12:53:51 GMT -5 bytor said:

I picked this list apart at my other forum. I think only 17 of their matches would have made my own personal list. They left out way too much and picked the lesser matches in certain series. All in all, a pretty weird list.

I think the Ironman is a total snoozefest too, but "WWE trying to elevate Michaels into Warrior level of greatness" is one of the funniest things I've read here yet. And I find it much more believable that Shawn Michaels would have a match at #1 than Hulk Hogan having a match at #3.

I'm not saying Warrior is a better wrestler than Shawn. Clearly he's not. I just feel Warrior had better starpower and a higher peak. Warrior/Hogan and Hogan/Andre were landmark events in the sport that got incredible buzz.

Hogan is also not with the WWE at the moment and working for its competitor. So of course it's time to minimize his accomplishments as well.

[willyjakes]

Apr 25, 2013 22:26:04 GMT -5 misconduct was wrong said:

If all you do is just watch the HBK/Hart ironman match then ya it's boring and dated. If I remember correctly though the buildup to that match was what puts it up there at #1. They had a bunch of training montage videos of the Hart dungeon, and Lothario's gym where Michaels trained at. Giving insights on their training methods and mentalities. I don't think the gym training thing had been shown before. It really built up the aura of two top level ATHLETES preparing for a super bowl type event. It was also interesting to me because HBK and Hart still had their unique styles.

I think you guys are forgetting the whole spectacle and build up to that match. Everything about it was incredibly unique to the business at that time. I'd absolutely have it at #1.

The WWF was in a downturn at the time because a lot of the top superstar talent left and guys like Michaels and Hart floated to the top. Despite all the montages, nobody really cared much who would win. That's why the arena was emptying out before the match even ended

Did that happen at Wrestlemania 3? or 6?

Wrestlemania 12 was just not a spectacle. And the boyhood dream stuff was lame

you had to have at least a few falls to build tension ("Michaels down 2-1, can he pin Bret here in the final 8 minutes to tie it!") but they didn't even do that

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Apr 26, 2013 7:53:42 GMT -5 willyjakes said:

Hogan is also not with the WWE at the moment and working for its competitor. So of course it's time to minimize his accomplishments as well.

Admittedly, what else of Hogan's championship matches could you put on there in regards to match quality and/or historical significance? They've already got the WrestleMania matches against Andre (#3), Warrior (#6), Savage (#11) on there, plus his title win over Sheik (#18) and the cage match with Orndorff (#31).

[willyjakes]

Apr 26, 2013 8:15:14 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

Apr 26, 2013 7:53:42 GMT -5 willyjakes said:

Hogan is also not with the WWE at the moment and working for its competitor. So of course it's time to minimize his accomplishments as well.

Admittedly, what else of Hogan's championship matches could you put on there in regards to match quality and/or historical significance? They've already got the WrestleMania matches against Andre (#3), Warrior (#6), Savage (#11) on there, plus his title win over Sheik (#18) and the cage match with Orndorff (#31).

Not sure really. Hogan-Slaughter WM7 was a good match and a nice moment. So maybe that

Also, his match against UT at Tuesday in Texas was terrific.