1. Career vs. Title – WWE Intercontinental Title: The Miz [c] w/ Maryse vs. Dolph Ziggler (No Mercy 10/9/16)
WWE these days doesn’t do a lot of great blowoff matches. Most feuds just limp to a close, or there’s a screwy finish because they have to get to the next thing. This is a great match that wrapped up a great story. Last month, Miz and Ziggler had two matches that rank among the best WWE matches this year. This was the Greatest Hits of those two, with less of the surprise factor of Miz and Ziggler having such a good match together, but a payoff to those two matches along with a stronger finish that came together perfectly. The pop for the kickout after the Spirit Squad run-in and Skullcrushing Finale, as well as the pop for the 3-count, was incredible.
2. Hell in a Cell – RAW Women’s Title: Sasha Banks [c] vs. Charlotte (Hell in a Cell 10/30/16)
Really good gimmick match, and the first Cell match in years outside of maybe Brock/Taker that felt like a true final war. These two ladies got locked in a cage and though the angle at the start was goofy, once Sasha flipped her shit on the medics this became some kind of postmodern Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard type thing. Sometimes all wrestling needs is a lot of hate and screams of agony. The crazy bumps by Sasha didn’t hurt (well, except for her! hey-o!). Tons of memorable moments, and though the finish played pretty flat watching it live, I thought it was a great capper to this type of match.
3. Hell in a Cell – WWE Universal Title: Kevin Owens [c] vs. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell 10/30/16)
A spectacle of a wrestling match… really liked how different both top Cell matches were. This was like a great TLC car crash. Rollins ran through all his shit at warp speed and everything looked really impactful which is the first time I’ve really noticed that since his return, and Owens stepped up his usually reliable dickishness another level. The big table spot was built to really well and even though Rollins couldn’t get Owens up for it at first, the deadlift is going to grow more legendary with time. The Jericho stuff dragged on a bit too long but this was a ton of fun. A match you can show to your pals and go “See!? I’m not weird! This is cool!”
4. Triple Threat Match – WWE World Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose (No Mercy 10/9/16)
Tremendous sprint, like a Ted Petty Invitational finals with three big huge WWE superstars. Just non-stop craziness in front of a fired up crowd, with tons of impressive moves strung together really well. Last few minutes were absolute insanity. Another silly finish took away from it a bit, but this was wild. If it happened on in 2004 it’d be heralded as the greatest match of all-time.
5. Dolph Ziggler, Rhyno & Heath Slater vs. The Miz & The Spirit Squad w/ Maryse (SmackDown 10/18/16)
This was a super basic match brought to another level by everything mattering. The Squad looked like two guys after a full-time gig, Dolph sold big, Miz was a dick, and Rhyno/Heath were way over with Heath rocking the hot tag. This thing shows all that is great about SmackDown since the brand split – everyone has a part and plays it well, and five guys who would probably be irrelevant on RAW look like absolute superstars. Really good.
6. Hell in a Cell – WWE U.S. Title: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Rusev w/ Lana (Hell in a Cell 10/30/16)
One of those GOOD SHOW type of WWE matches – not a ton of life to it til the last half, but man was it a fun last half. Both guys have a fun dynamic and them clobbering each other just works. Rusev did a bunch of cool stuff – his Superman punch bump, Machka kick counter of the spear, and chain-assisted Accolade were highlights – and the last half felt like a damn fight.
7. WWE Women’s Title: Charlotte [c] vs. Sasha Banks (RAW 10/3/16)
This might go down as Charlotte Flair’s breakout wrestling performance on the main roster. Some of the early stuff was rough, and the matches with Becky were more Becky than Charlotte… but this right here felt like everything coming together – working over Sasha, bumping around for her, talking shit, taunting, and of course her going all Neville with the dive to the outside. As I said on the Weekly Review, this was a good match that will probably be sold in the pantheon of WWE history as a great match. But it WAS a good match.
8. If Dean Wins, He Gets a WWE World Title Match: AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose w/ James Ellsworth (SmackDown 10/25/16)
A match that, a lot like Rusev/Reigns, didn’t really click with me early but got great towards the end. AJ’s hundredth good performance since his debut, and Dean continues to click well with him. Basically the Cliffnotes of the Backlash match, which I loved.
9. AJ Styles vs. James Ellsworth (Special Guest Referee: Dean Ambrose) (SmackDown 10/11/16) and WWE World Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. James Ellsworth (SmackDown 10/18/16)
Pairing these two together. These were such fun matches, with everybody playing their roles perfectly. Ellsworth as the completely outmatched underdog, Styles as the vicious bad guy that sometimes looks like a goof, and Ambrose as the top guy just along for the ride. Ambrose’s performance as ref in the first one is legit one of his best performances ever. The second one has AJ not being able to apply a chinlock on chinless Ellsworth and the No Chin Music, which are fantastic pieces of professional wrestling. A couple shockingly great near falls in these things here too. Two hoots and a half, so that’s three hoots.
10. Handicap Match: Braun Strowman vs. The Mile-High Trio (RAW 10/17/16)
I’d understand an argument for any of the first few Honorable Mentions being here, but this is such a phenomenal TV squash match with Braun Strowman wiping the floor with three goofy-looking scrubs. Just total domination, with a couple amazing spots like Braun’s big splash, or throwing one of the job guys onto the others, or chasing one of them down. This thing might be looked at as when it all started coming together for Big Country.
Almas/Cedric vs. The Revival was a fun abbreviated Revival tag, while the HIAC Kickoff with the cruiserweights was one of the better cruiserweight matches on the main roster. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss also deserves a shoutout as a match given time that ended up being one of the best matches out of SmackDown.
Honorable Mentions: Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Round 1: Andrade “Cien” Almas & Cedric Alexander vs. The Revival (NXT 10/5/16), Sin Cara, Lince Dorado & Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese, Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari (Hell in a Cell Kickoff 10/30/16), TJ Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick (RAW 10/3/16), American Alpha & The Hype Bros vs. The Vaudevillains & The Ascension (No Mercy Kickoff 10/9/16), Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss (SmackDown 10/18/16), WWE U.S. Title: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Chris Jericho w/ Kevin Owens (RAW 10/31/16), Bayley vs. Nia Jax (RAW 10/31/16), Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: TJ Perkins & Kota Ibushi vs. Lince Dorado & Mustafa Ali (NXT 10/26/16)
Roman Reigns & Sasha Banks vs. Rusev & Charlotte w/ Lana (RAW 10/10/16), If Chris Jericho Wins, He Enters the WWE Universal Title Match at Hell in a Cell: Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho (RAW 10/10/16), Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho (RAW 10/17/16), Team RAW Qualifier Battle Royal (RAW 10/31/16), Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann & Lince Dorado vs. Tony Nese & Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari (RAW 10/31/16), Big E w/ Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. Sheamus w/ Cesaro (RAW 10/17/16), Naomi vs. Natalya (Main Event 10/4/16), Rhyno & Heath Slater vs. The Ascension (Main Event 10/4/16), Neville vs. Curtis Axel (Superstars 10/7/16), SmackDown Tag Team Title: Rhyno & Heath Slater [c] vs. The Usos (No Mercy 10/9/16), Survivor Series Qualifying Match: The Hype Bros vs. The Ascension (SmackDown 10/25/16), Survivor Series Team Captain Match: Nikki Bella vs. Natalya (SmackDown 10/25/16), SmackDown Tag Team Title: Rhyno & Heath Slater [c] vs. The Spirit Squad (10/25/16), Handicap Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. The Spirit Squad (SmackDown 10/11/16), TJ Perkins, Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann vs. Brian Kendrick, Tony Nese & Drew Gulak (RAW 10/17/16), TM61 vs. Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss (NXT 10/12/16)
