10 Awesome Wrestling Matches On Otherwise Terrible WWE Shows

7. Daniel Bryan Vs. Kofi Kingston - WrestleMania 35

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As somebody who attended WrestleMania 35 live, it was a brutal experience. The New Jersey weather frosted over as soon as the sun went in, and everybody in that stadium in effect lived through the ice age, the show went that long.

It was so unreasonably long, god damn. AEW pay-per-views are too long and this was an AEW PPV and a half at least (without the excellent action).

So many matches were just...there, playing out to no heat as around 60,000 people wondered why they were even happening. Again, the modern standard is such that something like Finn Bálor Vs. Bobby Lashley wasn't actively bad, but everybody who watched it thought the same thing: "Ah for heaven's sake. Not another one!"

Daniel Bryan Vs. Kofi Kingston however was a stone cold classic. Bryan, and this should be impossible but it was a day ending in Y, performed in character and reality as the unbeatable best wrestler ever. He crafted the match, exerting total control over Kofi, to drag the performance of a lifetime out of his opponent. Kofi, really for the first time in his career, got nasty and vicious in response. The storytelling was outstanding. Kofi had reveal his own dragon within just to survive.

He beat the hell out of Danielson, and what an intoxicating twist. He was spirited and sympathetic and then he just blew Danielson away.

Awesome, violent, earned justice that tweaked the classic underdog story to perfection.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!