Lewis Howse's 10 Favourite WWE Matches Of All-Time

By Lewis Howse / May 11, 2016

When I was asked to produce a list of my ten favourite WWE matches of all-time for the inaugural issue of the WhatCulture wrestling magazine, I thought it sounded like fun. I'd compile my own, see where it slotted into the 100 Greatest WWE Matches Of All Time, and bask in the knowledge of how right I inevitably was.

Then, as I sat and tried to come up with ten bouts I realised it wasn't really as fun as I'd thought and my mind slowly started to melt away...

The thing is, it's quite hard picking favourites or bests, especially for something as definitive like this. I must have went through a good five or six different drafts before submitting as I played politics with myself and added and took away different matches for various reasons.

'Oh, I can't use that because X'. 'Well, I have to put that one in because Y'. It went on and on like that until, finally, I was left with something which I felt good about. Now, were I to submit a list six moths from now it would most likely be different but, for the time being, I'm happy with what I've got.

I was also somewhat surprised by some of my own selections because, although I've featured some of my favourite wrestlers of all-time, there are others on there that I never dreamed would be involved in matches I loved so dearly. I guess that's the beauty of wrestling: the surprise factor.

I hope that you, dear reader, may be surprised by what I've chosen (and the order in which they appear). 

Here goes...

10. Cactus Jack Vs. Triple H - Royal Rumble 2000

The first WWE pay-per-view I remember watching in its entirety was the 2000 Royal Rumble. I caught the wrestling bug in late '99 and was thrilled that the terrestrial television channel Channel Four would be carrying some major shows the following year. The Royal Rumble was the first of those to be broadcast.

I had seen some VHS tapes of shows from from 1996 to 1999 before that, but this was the first show I taped and watched as soon as I got home from school that day. While the debut of Tazz, the first ever Tag Team Table Match between the Hardys and the Dudleys and the Miss Rumble Swimsuit Competition certainly left an impression on young me, it was the brutal WWF Title Street Fight between Cactus Jack and Triple H which lasted longest in the memory.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing as these two psychopaths battered each other with trash cans and stairs and chairs and slammed each other on the floor and through the announcer's table. It was mayhem. Beautiful, controlled mayhem, full of drama. The decisive Pedigree on the thumbtacks just about exploded my brain.

Watching it again in later years as my understanding of the mechanics of wrestling evolved, I began to appreciate it for different reasons. Yes, it was wonderfully violent and the bumps and stunts were impressive, but what struck me was the story of the match and how well they built it so that the violence just escalated to a crescendo.

It's a five-star match and one of the only hardcore style matches (not really my cup of tea) that I can go back and watch regularly and not get bored of or turned off by. This was also the beginning of an impeccable in-ring year for The Game, and you can really see how he was blossoming into a confident ring general and bona fide main event player.

As for Foley, he's had some great matches over the years, but this may just be his finest hour.