10 Most Vicious WWE Grudge Matches Ever

9. AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn - Payback 2013

The first ever Payback was something of a revelation to some. These days, what with the NXT Divas and the so-called Divas Revolution, WWE fans are becoming used to the fact that the company's women's wrestling division doesn't suck as much as it used to.

However, three years ago AJ Lee and Kaitlyn were ahead of their time, producing a match that rivalled and even exceeded those delivered by the guys on the same card. They had nearly ten minutes, an unheard-of luxury for women's wrestling in the WWE back then - but more than that, the angle the match capped off was a killer.

Former best friends who'd come up through training and tagged together (ahhh, the Chickbusters... we miss you), AJ and Kaitlyn had fallen out spectacularly over the last few months, and we'd been there to see every nasty moment of it.

AJ was the heel, a calculated manipulator zeroing in on her first Diva's Championship, who'd played mind games with her former bestie by having her believe for weeks that she had a secret admirer, humiliating her on live television. She was also a member of what the fans had nicknamed 'Team Rocket', comprising her, a never-hotter Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston, still in his imposing enforcer phase.

Kaitlyn was the babyface, a bodybuilder with a temper and a thin skin. The story of the match was that AJ's carefully crafted abuse had ratcheted her up to snapping point, leaving her unstable and prone to making mistakes. AJ was giving up significant levels of size and strength, and had put the time into making sure she was in Kaitlyn's head to compensate. Kaitlyn's rage-fuelled desire for revenge gave her the edge at first, but her lack of focus cost her in the end, just as the challenger had planned for.

Throughout, the pair never forgot that this was the story of a deep friendship gone septic - it was in every look of furious hurt that Kaitlyn gave her opponent, every half-smile from AJ as she gained the upper hand. Finally, AJ beat her rival with the Black Widow submission, making Kaitlyn tap out despite herself.

The match trended on Twitter, and completely won the fans over, getting 'This Is Awesome' chants - and from a Chicago crowd anxious to see CM Punk again after a two-month absence from WWE television. The feud would continue to Money In The Bank the following month, but this was the gold standard, and they couldn't top it.