This is likely to be the most controversial choice on the list. It was met with a quite a mixed critical reception, unlike the remainder of the top 10. To some reviewers, it was one of the most enjoyable in-ring stories told all year. To others, it was underwhelming. If you explore the requisite essentials to achieve high critical marks, though, you would be hard pressed to definitively state a case against Cena vs. Wyatt at WrestleMania being one of the ten best of 2014. Mania XXX was the night when Wyatt proved himself unique to all his peers. 2014 has been a year of young upstarts trying to break through the glass ceiling. Each of them has their strengths, but Wyatt is the most compelling storyteller. His grasp of the psychological aspects of pro wrestling are second to none in the modern era, not just amongst his developmental class peer group but the entire roster. It was at Mania where he put his full skill set on display. The basic angle of his feud with Cena was that he wanted to prove to the world that the Golden Boy was less a superhero and more a monster. If his eloquent promos were too linguistically deep for the masses to catch onto the premise, then surely his in-ring mastery of the cerebral arts helped bring everyone up to speed. Though his Joker-esque attempt to bring the protagonist down to the antagonist's level failed, the manner in which he tried to accomplish his goal took Bray Wyatt to another level. The greatest thing about pro wrestling is the variety that it offers to its fanbase, in regards to the genres of stories it can tell. Wyatt vs. Cena was never going to be a match that catered to the masses, but hopefully the general audience found enjoyment in it. If Jake Roberts had ever been given the chance to work a 20-minute match in his prime on a major event, this might very well have been what it would have looked like.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
