There have been more than a few strange years for WWE but 2013 was definitely one of them. A strangely solid year on pay-per-view with frustrating television (a trend for this company for the last decade).
2013 continued to see the transition towards a more workrate-focused product in WWE with stars like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and The Shield regularly putting on pay-per-view classics.
There may have been more than a fair share of questionable moves, but this is a list of positivity. These are the eleven best WWE pay-per-view matches of 2013.
11. The Shield vs. John Cena, Sheamus & Ryback – Elimination Chamber
The Shield was the most protected act in WWE since Bobby Lashley when they debuted. Hell, I went to see a house show in February 2013 and The Shield were being protected even on that non-televised show, getting DQed in the main event.
Around that same time, they battled John Cena, Sheamus and Ryback at Elimination Chamber. While not as good as their debut TLC match (for obvious reasons), this match further showed why The Shield worked so well as a trio.
Despite the main event talent of their opponents, The Shield worked as an incredible unit, continuing to overwhelm their opponents. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns all showed their strengths here and got a big win over three main eventers.
10. World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match
This is one of the most unique Money in the Bank matches in history for one reason, every participant was a heel. WWE did a weird thing in 2013 where the World Heavyweight Championship ladder match featured all heels and the WWE Championship match featured all babyfaces.
A bizarre choice but honestly, it kinda worked. This match forced fans to choose which heel they were going to turn babyface by nececity. That person ended up being Cody Rhodes.
Rhodes became the babyface of the match through a great performance only to be stabbed in the back by tag partner Damien Sandow for the win. How did Sandow do as Mr. Money in the Bank? Well, we don’t need to talk about that part.
9. Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H – Extreme Rules
The Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar rivalry was largely forgettable due to their boring WrestleMania match, but at Extreme Rules 2013, they actually put on a pretty entertaining Steel Cage match.
Triple H’s very best matches often come with a big stipulation attached. This was another example of that as these two tore the house down in the main event.
A rare B-Show appearance from Lesnar was capped off with a big win over his rival, getting the win back from WrestleMania.
8. Jack Swagger vs. Chris Jericho vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton vs. Kane – Elimination Chamber
The 2013 Elimination Chamber match was a somewhat baffling affair. The lineup included five exceptional main event talents… and Jack Swagger. The winner would get a shot at World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania 29.
Everyone involved seemed like a great candidate for such a match… except Jack Swagger. Who won? Jack Swagger obviously.
This is a pretty underrated Elimination Chamber match all things considered as the likes of Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton mixed it up while Mark Henry and Kane powered through.
The best Chamber matches often have multiple plausible winners and that does apply here. However, part of that is that you should pick a good one.
7. The Rock vs. CM Punk – Royal Rumble
Some fans were distraught that CM Punk’s 434 day WWE Championship reign was ended by The Rock. Truthfully, if you were watching at the time, the writing was on the wall going in.
WWE was clearly positioning John Cena to once again challenge the WWE Champion at WrestleMania and a rematch with The Rock was the most WWE answer. Thankfully, we at least got a great match out of The Rock and CM Punk at the Royal Rumble.
The two had better chemistry than Rock and Cena and they had a better match than either of Rock’s WrestleMania main events with Cena.
6. Brothers Rhodes vs. The Usos vs. The Shield – Hell in a Cell
The rivalry between The Shield and the Brothers Rhodes was likely the best thing Cody Rhodes did while in WWE. The two teams battled at Battleground in a very emotional match, won by Cody and Dustin getting them their jobs back.
One month later at Hell in a Cell, Cody and Dustin decided they weren’t going to stop at their jobs. They wanted the WWE Tag Team Championship too. Add The Usos to the mix and you have the recipe for a really great match. Sure enough, that’s what we got.
One of the rare times that the WWE Tag Team Championship actually felt important in the last decade, and one of the best main roster tag team matches as well.
5. WWE Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match
We spoke earlier about the all-babyface Money in the Bank ladder match in 2013 and here it is. With this much talent involved, how could it not be a classic?
An excellent mix of stars including internet favorites like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Christian, as well as WWE mainstays Randy Orton and Sheamus, and the returning Rob Van Dam. That truly is an all-star lineup.
There was plenty of drama in this match with Paul Heyman turning on CM Punk and Orton spoiling the return of RVD. A fantastic ladder match and one of the better Money in the Bank matches in history quite honestly.
4. CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho – Payback
The CM Punk and Chris Jericho rivalry is probably remembered better for their WrestleMania XXVIII match. However, none of their 2012 matches come close to the quality of their match at Payback 2013.
Punk was asked to come back from his hiatus early to help WWE with their Chicago pay-per-view. While he wasn’t happy about it, it did lead to one of the best matches of the year.
Punk and Jericho fired on all cylinders and they had the best match the two had had together to this point in their careers.
3. The Undertaker vs. CM Punk – WrestleMania 29
When CM Punk challenged The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29, The Streak seemed like a mythical concept. The Undertaker had had the best match at each WrestleMania since 2007. That is an incredible streak in its own right.
CM Punk and The Undertaker continued that streak in 2013 with by far the best match of the night at WrestleMania 29. There were incredible moments like Punk hitting The Undertaker with the urn and hitting an amazing elbow drop onto the announce table.
In the end The Undertaker proved victorious and it seemed like the streak would never be broken. Little did we know that this would be the last great WrestleMania match The Undertaker would have.
2. Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena – SummerSlam
SummerSlam 2013 was a tremendous show headlined by two very similar yet very different matches. Both of the headlining matches featured an extremely popular former independent wrestler taking on a big, muscular WWE creation.
In the main event, Daniel Bryan took on John Cena for the WWE Championship. Bryan had been World Heavyweight Champion, but this was his first real foray into the main event scene. They merged their WWE and independent styles into an excellent main event match.
Bryan firing up in a classic G1 Climax-esque fashion and beating John Cena with a running knee was an incredible moment and a noticeable shift towards a willingness to push Daniel Bryan… even if there was still a lot of work to be done.
1. CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar – SummerSlam
Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena was the main event of SummerSlam 2013, but CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar ever-so-slightly beat it out for the spot of the match of the night. Not only that, but WWE’s match of the year as well.
Bryan and Cena had a wrestling match. This was a fight. Punk and Lesnar had an incredible Extreme Rules match that mixed together Lesnar’s MMA background and the wackiness of pro wrestling.
Punk was very frustrated with WWE at the time but it goes without saying that he had an incredible 2013 judging by how many times he has appeared on this list. Of all the great matches he had in 2013, this was the best of them.
He may not have won the match, but he has earned the top spot on another WrestleTalk list. And really, what more could you want than that?
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