The year was 2008, Barack Obama was being voted President, the New England Patriots choked in the Super Bowl, and John Cena was only three years into his run as the face of WWE. It was a different time.
Thankfully, the WWE product was actually pretty good in 2008. Things were not perfect by any means but there were many long-term stories told to perfection that year.
Those stories played out not only on Raw and SmackDown, but on pay-per-view as well and provided many of the best matches of the year.
As such, these are the 11 best WWE pay-per-view matches of 2008.
11. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho – Great American Bash
I will tell you right now, you will be seeing quite a bit of Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho on this list. Their rivalry in 2008 stands as one of the best rivalries in WWE history and some of the best work of either man’s career.
Their match at the Great American Bash was square in the middle of their rivalry. Jericho had turned heel, putting Michaels’ face through the Jeritron 5000 on Raw and this was Michaels’ first chance at revenge.
He managed to get some offense in, no doubt, but this match was not Michaels’ night. Jericho split him open with a back elbow and Michaels was a bloody mess. This was one of the last proper blade jobs in WWE history and Michaels made it count.
The match was a tremendous way to subvert expectations with a referee stoppage finish and it delayed the ultimate payoff of Michaels’ revenge a little while longer. Not the best of their feud, but we’ll get to that.
10. Batista vs. John Cena – SummerSlam
Batista and John Cena had mirrored their careers up to June of 2008.
They had both been called up from OVW in 2002, won their first world titles at WrestleMania 21, switched brands in 2005, won Royal Rumbles, and become three-time World Champions.
So when Batista was drafted to Raw in 2008, WWE immediately started planting seeds for a match with Cena. The match in question took place at SummerSlam.
For two guys who are not known for being the most graceful in the ring, their match delivered on the hype. This was the biggest match of the Summer on Raw and it would have been easy to screw this up.
Thankfully, they didn’t and in a rare case of Cena losing clean as a sheet, Batista pinned him with a Batista Bomb. Very solid stuff adding to Cena’s particularly poor SummerSlam win/loss record.
9. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho – Judgment Day
Hey, it’s Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho again! In perhaps their least memorable match of 2008, Michaels and Jericho battled at Judgment Day in an all-babyface match.
Their rivalry was just getting started at this point with Michaels revealed he had feigned a knee injury during his match with Batista the month prior. Jericho was hurt by Michaels lying to him and the two had a snug but ultimately sporting contest.
They were possibly the two best workers in WWE at the time so even a low-key affair would result in a great match. Michaels Superkicked Jericho off the apron in a great spot but it was Michaels reversing the Walls of Jericho into a roll-up that sealed the deal.
The two had a tense handshake after the match but they wouldn’t be shaking hands much longer.
8. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga vs. JBL – No Way Out
One of the best examples of a number one contender’s match with multiple legitimate potential winners.
The Raw Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out was a star-studded affair with six top stars battling for a chance to face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXIV.
JBL and Umaga weren’t likely as a heel vs. heel match surely wouldn’t headline WrestleMania, but the other four? All fair game. Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy had all challenged Orton for the title on pay-per-view in the months before this show, and could all feasibly face him again at ‘Mania.
The match had intrigue but it was also great in its own right. Jericho and Michaels were the first two so that was a good start. JBL and Umaga were the first two eliminated so a solid follow-up.
Then the uber-popular Jeff Hardy made it to the final two to face rival Triple H. The crowd wanted Hardy to win as he was fresh off his match with Orton at the Royal Rumble, but it was Triple H’s night.
He had a lot of nights during this time, didn’t he?
7. Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Edge – Armageddon
If you were a Jeff Hardy fan, Armageddon 2008 holds a special place in your heart. On the surface, this is a great Triple Threat Match, but if you watch until the end, it is the setting of one of the most cathartic world title wins in WWE history.
Hardy had been trying to become WWE Champion for most of 2008. However, personal setbacks derailed those plans early in the year and then Triple H stood in his way during the Fall.
Fans were about ready to throw in the towel and give up hope on Hardy being champion. Armageddon was the last shot. Thankfully, it was the one Hardy needed.
The match is very good with great nearfalls that built to a classic finish. Hardy was crotched on the top rope when Triple H hit Edge with a Pedigree. Hardy was then able to recover and hit the Swanton Bomb to break up the pin and get the win himself.
Saying this was an incredible moment does not do it justice.
6. Royal Rumble Match
Boy, the 2008 Royal Rumble match is fun. Even taking the surprise John Cena return out of the equation, this is a very fun Rumble with lots of entertaining spots and returns throughout.
But also, holy s**t that John Cena return. Cena had torn his pectoral muscle in October and was to be sidelined for 6-12 months. Sure enough, the clock ticks down on the number 30 entrant and its John Cena returning after *checks notes* 3-4 months!
No one will ever be able to convince me that John Cena is not a robot.
If you are someone who gets a kick out of a Royal Rumble where there are endless bodies in the ring, this is the one for you. It belongs on the shortlist of best Royal Rumble matches and the best matches of 2008.
5. Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy – No Mercy
I absolutely adore this match. After losing the Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven by one second, Jeff Hardy became the number one contender to face Triple H at No Mercy.
As far as a straight-up singles match, this might be the best of Hardy’s career and one of the best of Triple H’s career as well.
Triple H worked as the veteran babyface while Hardy worked as the underdog and everything they did clicked. It wasn’t super flashy but the match was exciting and the people were solidly invested.
Older fans wanted Triple H while the younger members of the crowd cheered for Hardy. Ultimately, Hardy hit a Swanton Bomb but was trapped with a crucifix pin for the win, furthering the story of Hardy being just one second away.
I love this match, I’m going to go watch it again.
4. The Undertaker vs. Edge – WrestleMania XXIV
Always a good thing when the main event of WrestleMania is one of the best matches of your calendar year.
In this case, The Undertaker and Edge battled in the main event of WrestleMania XXIV over the World Heavyweight Championship. To this point, this was the best WrestleMania match The Undertaker had had.
Edge countered every one of Undertaker’s moves in this match. This just continued to play off of Edge having been a thorn in Undertaker’s side for the previous year.
Ultimately it built to the end where Edge was able to once again hit a Spear only to land right in Undertaker’s guard where he locked in the then-unnamed Hell’s Gate for the win.
A tremendous WrestleMania main event and one that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough.
3. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho – Unforgiven
Did you forget about Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho? Well, they’re back. They’re back with probably the most violent match of their rivalry.
After Michaels’ injury at the Great American Bash, he announced his retirement at SummerSlam only for Jericho to ruin the moment and accidentally punch Michaels’ wife Rebecca in the face.
This set up their Unsanctioned Match at Unforgiven. Jericho and his protege Lance Cade did beat on Michaels with a chair but this match was designed for Michaels to get his revenge.
Michaels put Jericho and Cade through multiple tables, whipped Jericho with his belt, and punched him repeatedly until the referee called off the match. This could have been the final chapter in this rivalry, but somehow they managed to get even better.
2. The Undertaker vs. Edge – SummerSlam
The high quality of WWE content in 2008 was due in large part to the rivalries of Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho, and Edge and The Undertaker. The latter dueled on SmackDown for the first half of the year with the ultimate blowoff coming at SummerSlam.
In the only Hell in a Cell match in SummerSlam history, Undertaker exacted revenge on Edge for the last year and a half of torment he had been put through.
Edge, meanwhile, being unfamiliar with his surroundings, elected to use tables, ladders, and chairs, to try and even the odds. It did not work. The Undertaker hit Edge with everything he could before eventually winning and chokeslamming him through the mat down to actual goddamn Hell.
The ending is WWE wackiness at its finest but the match is one of the best of the year. But not THE best. That honor goes to…
1. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho – No Mercy
Feels only right that these two start and end this list. Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho saved the best for last in their rivalry, putting on one of the best ladder matches ever at No Mercy.
Jericho had weaseled his way into becoming World Heavyweight Champion at Unforgiven and now had to defend it against his greatest rival.
The best ladder matches to me are the ones that tell a story that will stand the test of time even as the spots evolve and become outdated. That is what this match does so well.
Jericho kicked a ladder into the post and it ricocheted into Michaels’ injured eye and that was only the beginning. There were so many great and creative spots in this match that worked to tell an excellent story.
Jericho and Michaels had not only the best rivalry of 2008, but the best match of the year as well.
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