Evil Vito
01-01-2020, 12:45 AM
Suppose it makes sense to do a thread like this to close out the decade. What were your favorite matches, moments, shows etc of the past decade in the wrestling world?
I'm going in chronological order:
1. The Nexus debuts
Can't believe that this is a few months away from being a decade old. Their initial debut produced some of the coolest visuals I can remember seeing in wrestling. Eight guys emerging from the crowd in matching armbands, killing everyone in the ring and at ringside, tearing everything up. The complete nerdgasm at seeing American Dragon spit right in John Cena's face. The angle ended up flopping a couple months later, but that initial debut was the rare angle that completely captured my interest and had me not being able to wait for the next week's Raw.
2. CM Punk's pipebomb
It's gotta be here. Punk himself has admitted that he's grown to hate the term "pipebomb" as it gave rise to a whole bunch of worked shoots in the years since. But that first night while he sat on the stage in Vegas and dissed everyone from Cena to Hogan to Rock to the USA Network, bringing up New Japan and ROH, eviscerating Vince and the McMahon family. It was just so fucking cool and kept me engaged in the Punk/Cena program. Speaking of which...
3. Money in the Bank 2011
Hand in hand with the above but aside from WrestleMania 30 which will show up later, this was probably my favorite WWE PPV of the decade. Punk/Cena was a complete masterclass in storytelling in front of a lightning hot crowd. Orton and Christian had a really good match. The MITB concept hadn't been totally played out yet so both ladder matches were fun and Bryan winning was a huge shock. Hell there was even a fun Mark Henry vs. Big Show match. Great show.
4. The Streak Ends
This has to get a spot on the list just for being the single most shocking moment of the decade. I was one of the many who didn't know if the Streak would ever actually end. And like with most Taker WM matches, it got to a point where it became impossible to bite on the false finishes. Third F5? He's gonna kick out. And when he didn't, my stomach just dropped. Heyman's "OH MY GOD" reaction summed it all up perfectly, and I remember refreshing the thread to just find a sea of "WHAT THE FUCK?" posts. They got us all.
5. Daniel Bryan wins the title at WrestleMania 30
Second WM30 moment but the two moments were so distinctly different I had to separate them. This was really just perfect all around. They should've had him win the Royal Rumble in 2014, something even Batista acknowledged. But they still ended up getting where they needed to go, and the final payoff to that moment was just perfect. To me that moment felt like the endgame to WWE, I could've stopped watching right there and there and been happy with a good decision made.
6. Sting debuts in WWE
I'm running out of list space, so this could've been a toss-up between Sting's debut or Styles' debut. I have to give Sting the tiebreaker though. As someone who started watching wrestling with WCW, the idea of Sting in a WWE ring was just something I could only believe when I see it. As is the case with most WWE-related things on this list, the follow up to this moment was pretty lame but as a singular moment I'll always remember it.
7. The Final Deletion
It seems you either loved the Broken Universe or you hated it. Personally, I was in the group that loved it. Matt Hardy finds a way to reinvent himself yet again in 2016 and in the process bring relevance to a TNA brand than had been a total non-factor all decade. It just stood out as something fun and different that all the performers involved were having a blast with. Love it or hate it, it got people talking and the Hardys suddenly being the coolest thing on the indies in late 2016/early 2017 managed to get them one last WWE run and one of the biggest pops in Mania history.
8. Wrestle Kingdom 12
Sadly, I didn't discover New Japan in time to enjoy Okada/Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 11. But I heard about it, watched it after the fact, and that was enough to get me following the product throughout 2017. The G1 Climax that year really hooked me and told a great story, and it ultimately led to me watching my first Wrestle Kingdom in 2018. Got up and watched live, distinctly remember having a moment where there were three matches left and I realized the show was already four hours deep...I was shocked at how fast it flew by because I was enjoying myself so much.
9. WrestleMania 35 Weekend
A personal one for me but I spent the whole weekend in NYC doing my own thing, got a hotel and saw 4 shows. Probably the most fun weekend I had all year. Maybe it's cheating combining multiple moments into one for this but in the span of three days I got to be there live to see Johnny Gargano win the NXT Title, Kazuchika Okada win the IWGP Title, Kofi Kingston win the WWE Title, and Becky Lynch win the Women's title in the first ever all-women's WM main event. I lost my voice from cheering. It was a glorious weekend.
10. Double or Nothing
This is really the emergence of AEW as a whole but Double or Nothing probably highlights it best, that show had me hooked the whole time and filled me with a sense of optimism at having a new alternative from WWE to watch. Between AEW, NXT, and NJPW there is more than enough stuff out there I enjoy to get my wrestling fix.
I'm going in chronological order:
1. The Nexus debuts
Can't believe that this is a few months away from being a decade old. Their initial debut produced some of the coolest visuals I can remember seeing in wrestling. Eight guys emerging from the crowd in matching armbands, killing everyone in the ring and at ringside, tearing everything up. The complete nerdgasm at seeing American Dragon spit right in John Cena's face. The angle ended up flopping a couple months later, but that initial debut was the rare angle that completely captured my interest and had me not being able to wait for the next week's Raw.
2. CM Punk's pipebomb
It's gotta be here. Punk himself has admitted that he's grown to hate the term "pipebomb" as it gave rise to a whole bunch of worked shoots in the years since. But that first night while he sat on the stage in Vegas and dissed everyone from Cena to Hogan to Rock to the USA Network, bringing up New Japan and ROH, eviscerating Vince and the McMahon family. It was just so fucking cool and kept me engaged in the Punk/Cena program. Speaking of which...
3. Money in the Bank 2011
Hand in hand with the above but aside from WrestleMania 30 which will show up later, this was probably my favorite WWE PPV of the decade. Punk/Cena was a complete masterclass in storytelling in front of a lightning hot crowd. Orton and Christian had a really good match. The MITB concept hadn't been totally played out yet so both ladder matches were fun and Bryan winning was a huge shock. Hell there was even a fun Mark Henry vs. Big Show match. Great show.
4. The Streak Ends
This has to get a spot on the list just for being the single most shocking moment of the decade. I was one of the many who didn't know if the Streak would ever actually end. And like with most Taker WM matches, it got to a point where it became impossible to bite on the false finishes. Third F5? He's gonna kick out. And when he didn't, my stomach just dropped. Heyman's "OH MY GOD" reaction summed it all up perfectly, and I remember refreshing the thread to just find a sea of "WHAT THE FUCK?" posts. They got us all.
5. Daniel Bryan wins the title at WrestleMania 30
Second WM30 moment but the two moments were so distinctly different I had to separate them. This was really just perfect all around. They should've had him win the Royal Rumble in 2014, something even Batista acknowledged. But they still ended up getting where they needed to go, and the final payoff to that moment was just perfect. To me that moment felt like the endgame to WWE, I could've stopped watching right there and there and been happy with a good decision made.
6. Sting debuts in WWE
I'm running out of list space, so this could've been a toss-up between Sting's debut or Styles' debut. I have to give Sting the tiebreaker though. As someone who started watching wrestling with WCW, the idea of Sting in a WWE ring was just something I could only believe when I see it. As is the case with most WWE-related things on this list, the follow up to this moment was pretty lame but as a singular moment I'll always remember it.
7. The Final Deletion
It seems you either loved the Broken Universe or you hated it. Personally, I was in the group that loved it. Matt Hardy finds a way to reinvent himself yet again in 2016 and in the process bring relevance to a TNA brand than had been a total non-factor all decade. It just stood out as something fun and different that all the performers involved were having a blast with. Love it or hate it, it got people talking and the Hardys suddenly being the coolest thing on the indies in late 2016/early 2017 managed to get them one last WWE run and one of the biggest pops in Mania history.
8. Wrestle Kingdom 12
Sadly, I didn't discover New Japan in time to enjoy Okada/Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 11. But I heard about it, watched it after the fact, and that was enough to get me following the product throughout 2017. The G1 Climax that year really hooked me and told a great story, and it ultimately led to me watching my first Wrestle Kingdom in 2018. Got up and watched live, distinctly remember having a moment where there were three matches left and I realized the show was already four hours deep...I was shocked at how fast it flew by because I was enjoying myself so much.
9. WrestleMania 35 Weekend
A personal one for me but I spent the whole weekend in NYC doing my own thing, got a hotel and saw 4 shows. Probably the most fun weekend I had all year. Maybe it's cheating combining multiple moments into one for this but in the span of three days I got to be there live to see Johnny Gargano win the NXT Title, Kazuchika Okada win the IWGP Title, Kofi Kingston win the WWE Title, and Becky Lynch win the Women's title in the first ever all-women's WM main event. I lost my voice from cheering. It was a glorious weekend.
10. Double or Nothing
This is really the emergence of AEW as a whole but Double or Nothing probably highlights it best, that show had me hooked the whole time and filled me with a sense of optimism at having a new alternative from WWE to watch. Between AEW, NXT, and NJPW there is more than enough stuff out there I enjoy to get my wrestling fix.