8 Times Game Of Thrones Booked Pro Wrestling Better Than WWE

8. Ned Vs. Jaime

To watch Game of Thrones is to watch a masterclass of classic pro wrestling booking. Episode 5 of the first season saw the writers deliver on a solid build to give us GoTW’s first main event. “The Lion and The Wolf” sees Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister face off inside a literal “ring” of soldiers.

The show spends the first four episodes putting both men over as two of the most respected fighters in the seven kingdoms. Ned is the tough and gritty northern war veteran and Jaime is the preternaturally skilled son of the most powerful man in westeros. We even get a good promo battle out of it:

Jaime: “People have been swinging at me for years and they always seem to miss”

Ned: “You’ve chosen your opponents wisely then”

This is Flair/Steamboat if Steamboat were better on the mic.

The match itself ends in a DQ finish when the Gold Cloak stabs Ned in the back of the leg, but even that’s done in the name of character development for Jaime, who KOs the offending soldier and shows the audience that there might just be some semblance of honor hiding beneath the surface.