Some consider 2014 to be the real dropoff point of the WWE product. CM Punk left the company, Daniel Bryan’s injury essentially sidelined him for the better part of four years, The Shield broke up, internet fans had a lot to be sad about.
That being said, as I continued to move closer to present day it is getting harder to make decisions about the contents of these lists. Also, the quality of the matches overall continues to improve.
While the storytelling of WWE was not particularly good during this time, the pay-per-view matches had reached a level of consistency that is very admirable.
These are the eleven best WWE pay-per-view matches of 2014.
11. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt – Royal Rumble
The early days of Bray Wyatt were so fun. His character had yet to devolve into a spooky witch man and he was allowed to go out and just wrestle. With that in mind, who better to wrestle than Daniel Bryan?
Their rivalry had built through the Fall and by the time they got to the Royal Rumble, there had been a few very memorable moments. Bryan on top of the cage on Raw anyone?
At the Royal Rumble 2014, Bryan and Wyatt just had a very enjoyable wrestling match. This is one of the best examples of Wyatt being able to hang with the best wrestlers in the world when he doesn’t have worms projected onto the mat or something.
10. The Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan – Battleground
There are few matches that have emerged from WWE’s Battleground pay-per-views as classic matches. However, this match from Battleground 2014 is definitely one of them.
The Usos put the WWE Tag Team Championship on the line against Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in one of the most underrated tag team matches in WWE history. The two teams had a tremendous amount of chemistry and the clash of two massive men battling the agile Usos was a great dynamic.
This was one of the last big matches Harper and Rowan had before breaking up in late 2014. However, thankfully, they would find their way back to each other in time.
9. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton – SummerSlam
Roman Reigns still had a long way to go to be a great worker when The Shield broke up in 2014. That made it all the more impressive when his SummerSlam match with Randy Orton was one of the best matches of the night.
This was Reigns’ first big singles match of his career and this could have been a make-or-break moment. If this match bombed, who knows how WWE looks at Reigns after this? Oh, who am I kidding they were gonna make Roman Reigns happen no matter what.
An early addition to the list of Reigns’ best matches, this is also a worthy inclusion on the list of the best Randy Orton matches as well.
8. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H – WrestleMania XXX
One of the best opening matches in WrestleMania history, the Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority storyline ran throughout the show and it started with this fantastic bout.
Also one of the best straight-up singles matches of Triple H’s career, this was a perfect blend of Triple H’s old-school style and Bryan’s new age independent style. Add in the incredible reaction the match got and you have a recipe for success.
While it seems impossible that Bryan would lose this match in hindsight, considering Bryan had lost consistently since SummerSlam, there was a fear that Triple H could win. Thankfully he didn’t because this match would certainly not be on this list otherwise.
7. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family – Elimination Chamber
In my own subjective opinion, this match is at number one on the year. I absolutely love this match with all my heart.
The Shield and The Wyatt Family were two of the best factions WWE had put together when they wrestled at Elimination Chamber 2014. They were totally unique and both very popular with a clash happening at the perfect time.
The Wyatts were on the rise having debuted the previous Summer while cracks were forming in The Shield. During the match, both teams were able to keep their composure and execute an incredible display of teamwork.
The transitions The Shield utilized in this match were otherwordly before they were ultimately overpowered by The Wyatts. This is as good a six-man tag team match as you will see in WWE.
6. John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – Payback
John Cena and Bray Wyatt certainly had a lot of highs and lows in 2014. Many point to this feud as the beginning of Wyatt’s downward spiral as he lost to Cena at WrestleMania XXX.
Throw in a terrible Steel Cage match at Extreme Rules and people were pretty sick of this rivalry by the time Payback arrived.
However, this is where the highs come in, as Cena and Wyatt had one of the best matches of the year. The two battled in a Last Man Standing match that won Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Match of the Year award for what that’s worth.
It wasn’t quite enough to save Wyatt’s 2014, but it was by far the best wrestling match he and Cena have had together.
5. Money in the Bank Ladder Match
There had been a steady string of stellar Money in the Bank ladder matches at the time of Money in the Bank 2014. Thankfully, this match was perhaps the best one WWE had done to this point.
The hottest thing going into this match was the breakup of The Shield. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose both competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match and brought the intensity of their feud to the match.
The other competitors added to the match as well with Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger and Rob Van Dam all throwing in great moments amid Rollins and Ambrose’s destruction.
4. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar – SummerSlam
Brock Lesnar killed John Cena. Even years later, it is inconceivable that this actually took place.
Lesnar had just defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania and was set to challenge for the WWE Championship. The original plan was for Lesnar to face Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam. With all due respect to Bryan, it is hard to imagine that match having quite the same impact that the Cena match did.
Bryan was very popular but always the underdog, especially after fighting The Authority for eight months.
Cena, on the other hand, was the most WWE-branded star since Hulk Hogan and him losing an extended squash match in this fashion was unfathomable. My god was it ever great though.
3. Team WWE vs. Team Authority – Survivor Series
Survivor Series matches are very hit and miss in WWE. The majority of them are fairly meaningless and forgettable but every once in a while a great one slips through.
The Authority had run its course by Fall of 2014 and a Survivor Series match was scheduled where if John Cena’s team won The Authority would have to go away forever (yeah, as if).
A stellar 43-minute match, there were tons of twists and turns with ongoing stories weaving this match together.
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were on opposite sides, Big Show turned heel (again), and John Cena was eliminated early forcing Dolph Ziggler to be the sole survivor.
Oh, and Sting debuted. Just a minor moment, very easy to forget about.
2. The Shield vs. Evolution – Extreme Rules
It had been many years since Evolution had wrestled as a unit when they battled The Shield at Extreme Rules 2014.
This was a moment where Randy Orton, Batista, and Triple H completely passed the torch to this group of young stars. Between this match and the rematch at Payback, The Shield proved that in 2014 they were the superior faction of the two.
Additionally, this was just a fantastic match. The Shield was such a dynamic trio with three distinct performers with unique styles that all complemented each other perfectly.
There is a good chance there has never been a WWE faction more successful with three more unique performers than The Shield and this was their best match as a group.
1. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista – WrestleMania XXX
The main event of WrestleMania always gets bonus points when it comes to lists like this one. The amount of spectacle that goes into a main event match at WrestleMania is still unparalleled in wrestling and when the match is great it is truly magical.
Daniel Bryan had beaten Triple H in the opening match of WrestleMania XXX and won the right to compete for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event.
Randy Orton and Batista tried to team up in this match to take out Daniel Bryan, which almost worked, hitting a powerbomb-RKO combo through an announcement.
However, this was finally Bryan’s night, submitting Batista with the Yes Lock to the response of tens of thousands of emotional fans.
Bryan’s title reign never got off the ground due to injury but we will always have this match.
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