By 2010 WWE was deep into the PG Era. Words like ass were being censored on television and the Nexus was being beaten on pay-per-view.
It was certainly a strange year for WWE as they had yet to hit the next surge in popularity brought on by CM Punk’s pipebomb.
There were a number of very good pay-per-view matches in 2010, but not as many as there were in 2009 or 2010. That being said, these are the 11 best WWE pay-per-view matches of 2010.
11. Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz – Night of Champions
When Daniel Bryan debuted for WWE in 2010 he was ahead of the curve. Aside from CM Punk, Bryan was one of the first indie darlings to make their way to WWE.
This was a time before the likes of Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, and Kevin Owens. That being said, Bryan showed why he was a cut above his peers in the ring as soon as he got the chance.
At Night of Champions, Bryan took on his NXT Pro The Miz for the United States Championship. The US Title hadn’t been given much attention around this time but this was a match that felt important and more than lived up to the hype.
An excellent first pay-per-view singles match for Daniel Bryan and one of the best pay-per-view matches The Miz has ever had.
10. The Undertaker vs. Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk vs. John Morrison vs. R-Truth – Elimination Chamber
While it appeared fairly obvious who would win the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match in 2010, few expected just how it would go down.
With Edge having won the Royal Rumble, rival Chris Jericho seemed like the obvious candidate to win the World Heavyweight Championship and defend it at WrestleMania. In the Elimination Chamber, there were a number of notable highlights.
CM Punk gave a sermon mid-match to a chorus of boos before being eliminated by Rey Mysterio. This was followed by a star-making performance from John Morrison before Shawn Michaels broke into the cage and Superkicked The Undertaker.
Michaels allowed his hated nemesis Chris Jericho to win the world title just so Undertaker would be motivated to face him at WrestleMania. A very solid Elimination Chamber match with an all-time great finish.
9. WrestleMania Money in the Bank Ladder Match
WrestleMania XXVI was the last WrestleMania to feature a Money in the Bank ladder match. Thankfully, these matches rarely disappoint and this was no different. Well, maybe just the winner.
This was the most crowded Money in the Bank in history with a whopping ten entrants and it certainly led to an insane amount of spots. Some were spectacular, some were absurd but rarely will you ever have a bad time watching one of these matches.
Jack Swagger was a strange choice to win, a decision made even more odd by his subsequent World Title run but that has little bearing on the match itself. This is a very fun match on a fun WrestleMania, Luke Owen be damned.
8. Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match
From one Money in the Bank match to another, the Raw Money in the Bank match at the inaugural Money in the Bank pay-per-view was a star-studded affair with a mix of established main eventers and up-and-coming talent.
There was also a mix of styles here with old-school workers like Chris Jericho and Edge, a powerhouse in Mark Henry, and high-flyers John Morrison and Evan Bourne.
The match wasn’t quite as memorable as other Money in the Bank matches but upon a rewatch it is definitely a good time. The Miz winning is what this match is most remembered for and fair play to that.
7. Chris Jericho vs. Evan Bourne – Fatal 4-Way
Remember when WWE wanted to push Evan Bourne really hard for like two weeks? If you weren’t watching WWE in June 2010 you probably won’t!
Thankfully we got an excellent match between Bourne and Chris Jericho for our trouble. If anyone ever tries to say the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view was worthless, tell them to go back and watch this match.
Bourne was never given much of a chance in WWE due to his size and lack of promo ability, but he could work. Similar to Daniel Bryan, Bourne was an indie star signed to WWE before that became the cool thing to do.
As a result, he was one of the better workers on the roster for the time despite not picking up many wins. This match with Chris Jericho was the biggest singles win of his WWE career and also probably his best match.
6. SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Finishing off the trifecta of 2010 Money in the Bank matches is the SmackDown Money in the Bank match.
This was the most exciting of the three matches and the one with the most structure as well. This was also the start of Big Show’s “I’m too big for your tiny furniture so I’ll bring my own” phase.
Big Show was too big for the tiny worthless ladders in this match and brought his own massive ladder. The whole match ended up built around this gargantuan ladder and it allowed for some fun spots unique to this match.
5. Chris Jericho vs. Edge – WrestleMania XXVI
An often overlooked match in the history of WrestleMania, Chris Jericho and Edge had a great match over the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVI.
These two Canadians had history dating back to 2002 with their feud taking shape when Jericho was drafted to SmackDown in 2009. The two formed a very brief tag team reigning as the Unified Tag Team Champions before Edge tore his Achilles tendon only two weeks into their reign.
Jericho slammed his former partner, calling him injury prone before Edge won the Royal Rumble and set up this excellent back and forth match.
Jericho would end up with the rare WrestleMania win, beating Edge with a Codebreaker after working over his injured ankle for the majority of the match.
4. John Morrison vs. Sheamus – TLC
Experts at the time called this a star-making match for John Morrison. It should have been, but unfortunately he left WWE a year later.
While that does take some of the shine off of this match, what with it being a number one contender’s ladder match and all, the match itself is still one of the most underrated ladder matches in WWE history.
A match built more on the clash of styles than extreme high-flying, Sheamus and Morrison capped off a neat little rivalry with a fantastic match.
The finish of Sheamus tipping the ladder backwards with Morrison stopping himself on the top rope and pushing himself back kicking Sheamus in the face and landing the ladder back where it was remains an all-time classic ladder match finish.
3. Edge vs. Kane vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio – TLC
Boy, there sure weren’t a ton of singles matches on this list, were there? This trend continued at TLC as we got a Fatal 4-Way TLC match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
As seems to be the case with many of the matches from 2010, this one is one of the most forgotten TLC matches ever despite its quality.
TLC matches almost always do better with more people involved. The original match was supposed to be just Edge vs. Kane and boy that probably would have been a tough watch. Thankfully, Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio were both added to the match and the four men tore the house down.
If you haven’t watched this TLC match in a while do yourself a favor and check it out again.
2. John Cena vs. Batista – Extreme Rules
John Cena and Batista rivalry over the WWE Championship in 2010 was pretty good, all things considered. Their best match, however, was not at WrestleMania, but at Extreme Rules one month later.
Their Last Man Standing match was exciting and memorable with Batista shouting at a young fan that he hates him. Classic stuff. Batista’s best work almost always seems to come when he is a heel and is allowed to let loose a bit more and this match was one of those times.
It also had a very memorable finish which is either great or terrible depending on how much wackiness you want in your wrestling.
Cena was unable to keep Batista down for the ten count and duct-taped his legs around the ring post. Batista was unable to stand despite being fully conscious but rules are rules and Cena was declared the winner.
1. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania XXVI
There have been years where the battle for the top spot has been a toss-up. This was not one of those years. Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker’s rematch of their classic bout from WrestleMania XXV equalled its predecessor and delivered the best WWE match of 2010 bar none.
The story and the stakes were impeccable here. Michaels was unable to cope with his loss in 2009 and fought tooth and nail to get a rematch with the Deadman. He was so confident he put his career on the line.
Sure enough, beating The Undertaker proved to be an insurmountable task with Michaels dropping the fall after a Power Tombstone. The match had everything you want in a WrestleMania main event and Shawn Michaels never wrestled again.
Shut up, he never wrestled again.
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