10 Best WWE Pay-Per-Views Of The Decade

6. SummerSlam 2013

Royal Rumble 2018 Sasha Banks Trish Stratus
WWE.com

Even after a 'Ring Of Fire' opener that foreshadowed the burning heap of sh*t that was Bray Wyatt's entire career, SummerSlam 2013 was an explosively fun show propped up by two huge matches featuring four bonafide stars.

Shortly before AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan marginally bettered his battle with 'The Beast', CM Punk's spirited fight with Brock Lesnar represented the former UFC Champion's finest all-round effort since returning to WWE a year earlier. Enthused by a programme for the first time since his lengthy WWE Title run was punctuated earlier that year, Punk was a ball of a fury against his bigger foe and lost nothing in what turned out to be his last headline-worthy match.

His spiritual successor fared better in a main event that made for one of the company's best matches of the decade. Hand-picked challenger Daniel Bryan defeated WWE Champion John Cena before surrendering the strap to opportunistic Money In The Bank winner (and secret Authority hitman) Randy Orton. The sad scene drew the sympathy intended on night one, but begat an unstoppable snowball of adoration for the 'Yes Man' that rolled all the way to WrestleMania.

But more on that later.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett