10 Great Wrestling Matches Hidden On Terrible Pay Per Views

3. The Usos Vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan - WWE Battleground 2014

Bryan Wyatt
WWE.com

Battleground 2014 was almost the definitive filler Pay Per View - headlined by a blah and almost insultingly predictable Fatal Four-Way main event, designed to both crown John Cena as a transitional champion and tease what WWE thought was a tantalising prospect in Cena Vs. Roman Reigns.

The muted crowd reaction confirmed otherwise.

It peaked after the first match, a scintillating Two Out of Three Falls affair. The stipulation practically guarantees dramatic tension, and even though it invariably results in a babyface disadvantage, predictability gives way to genuine investment when it's wrestled well - and this match was executed with an awesome degree of quality. It remains the best non-NXT tag match of the modern era.

Like Bryan Vs. Wyatt before it, part of its power lies in the awesome talent of Harper in particular. The plight of The Usos looked dire in the face of his frightening power game - when he starts matching them by launching himself through the ropes with his still jaw-dropping suicide dives, their task looks impossible.

Watching it back now, one can understand WWE's reluctance to turn The Usos; in their pomp, they were incredible babyfaces, able to deftly time their and make credible their comebacks to maximise the crowd response.

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!