8 Best WWE Matches Of The Last Decade - According To Dave Meltzer

Wrestling fans can be a hard bunch to please sometimes, and perhaps none more so than Dave Meltzer - the industry's most prominent journalist - who has awarded a five-star rating to just a handful of WWE matches in history.

Whilst some believe there are more matches worthy of the honour than officially given credit for, the fact that the elusive five star rating is reserved for only the very best wrestling encounters has given the Wrestling Observer Newsletter scores a certain legitimacy that they might otherwise lack.

That's why it meant so much when Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada were given a once-in-a-generation six out of five score at Wrestle Kingdom (which they then followed up with a six-and-a-half out of five score) a few months later in their sequel at Dominion. Those types of matches are rare.

In WWE's case, they are as yet nonexistant - but they have had a few that have come close in recent years, and as they continue to scour the global indie scene for new talent, you can expect that this list will be a much bigger one in two or three years' time.

Rating: 4.75/5

You know you're a bit special when you manage to put on one of the best WWE matches of the last decade at the age of 20. But that's what Tyler Bate accomplished alongside Pete Dunne, himself just 23, at NXT's Chicago show back in May (the most recent effort to feature on this list).

Aside from expert technique and high-flying action - things this match, between two of wrestling's brightest prospects, had in abundance - it was the story-telling more than anything that made it so memorable. Dunne was defeated in his first meeting with Bate back at the inaugural UK Championship tournament in January, and just as looked like the Dudley-born competitor had his number, Dunne pulled it out the bag to snatch victory.

It was rated just short of the full five stars, but you fancy these two will cross paths again somewhere down the road.