2016 saw the end of Superstars and a couple different incarnations of Main Event – a place for Kevin Owens, Zack Ryder and Rusev to do their thing, the SmackDown C-Show, and now the RAW C-Show. There were quite a few solid matches you may have missed if you weren’t keeping up with these shows (and I would not blame you), and they are listed below. I’d put the Top 10 up with 75% of what’s been on RAW, SmackDown and PPV this year.
1. Ryback vs. Rusev (Main Event 1/26/16)
Two big heavyweights throwing bombs at each other and building to a super hot finish. If Ring of Honor talent didn’t take over WWE, I would be fine with this being what wrestling is.
2. Zack Ryder vs. Heath Slater w/ Curtis Axel and Adam Rose (Main Event 2/9/16)
Felt like two guys who were treading water got told to go out and impress the Old Man and see if he’d give them a shot. With IC Title and Tag Title runs this year, it might have worked. The Outcasts outnumbered Ryder who played face-in-peril freakishly well, and the last few minutes are SO hot.
3. Zack Ryder vs. Sheamus (Main Event 6/7/16)
Great WWE type of match, with well-timed signature spots and a hot finish. Felt like a damn PPV main event.
4. Jack Swagger vs. Rusev w/ Lana (Superstars 9/2/16)
Rusev and Swagger have this unreal chemistry and just click every time. He’s selling his ribs here thanks to an attack from Roman Reigns on Monday, and while he controls a lot of the match every movement of his seems like it’s a desperate decision to avoid more damage. His facial expressions and sell of the ankle lock are epic, and Swagger’s collapse after trying to fight out of the Accolade is great. So good, so pro wrestling.
5. Sin Cara vs. Rusev (Main Event 6/7/16)
This is like 5-minutes of a Rusev squash and then they just tack on another 10 and make it look like Sin Cara could actually beat Rusev. Crowd totally buys it. What a blast.
6. Jack Swagger vs. Kevin Owens (Main Event 1/26/16)
Jack Swagger gets plugged into a Kevin Owens formula match (chinlocks, shit talk, hot finish) and it works really well. Great pacing and counters as well as high-end Owens shit talk. Wish this Swagger showed up more often.
7. Jack Swagger vs. Viktor (Main Event 6/14/16)
This was like something out of the god damn G1 Climax (and Viktor had a low key run in New Japan as The Shadow in 2003, so there’s that), with snug work and big time drama towards the finish. There’s a jumping knee Viktor hits on Swagger towards the end that is just so fucking beautiful. I don’t know where this came from but man was it fun.
8. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens (Main Event 4/12/16)
For the first half of the year, KO would pull out all these weird masterpieces on Main Event that brought the crowd into a frenzy, all while he made fun of Rich Brennan. Ziggler sells, Owens’ a beast, awesome finish.
9. Kevin Owens vs. Jack Swagger (Main Event 4/26/16)
Just like the January one – another KO Main Event Masterpiece.
10. The New Day vs. Social Outcasts (Main Event 5/24/16)
A really fun match worked around Xavier Woods being extra powerful because he legitimately lost his luggage and had to wear Big E’s singlet.
11. Apollo Crews vs. Bubba Ray Dudley w/ D-Von Dudley (Main Event 6/14/16)
Bubba Ray works a simple heel shtick that reminds you it still plays in 2016, and Apollo’s athletics get peppered in at all the right times.
12. Zack Ryder vs. Rusev (Main Event 6/21/16)
Rusev does his monster thing and Ryder does his underdog-who-might-just-surprise-you thing and it totally clicks.
13. Paige vs. Naomi (Main Event 2/23/16)
Loved this for how unique it was… it wasn’t your standard “heel beats up face, chinlock, face comeback, back-and-forth finish” C-Show affair – it really felt like both were putting it all on the line, going back-and-forth and building to a big crescendo. Tremendous near falls at the end and a surprise finish. A great match that didn’t follow any usual tropes.
14. Sami Zayn vs. Curtis Axel (Superstars 7/15/16)
Really effective WWE formula match brought up by Zayn being Zayn and Social Outcasts shenanigans. Crowd was way into it.
15. Apollo Crews vs. Luke Harper (Main Event 11/15/16)
What the C-Shows are all about… two guys that don’t often get to shine given like 10 minutes to do so. Harper does fun stuff around Crews’ spots with fun reactions and a couple sweet counters, including a well-timed superkick after Crews does a backflip off the apron.
16. The New Day vs. The Ascension (Main Event 4/5/16)
As the list winds down, there are going to be quite a few matches that can really only be described as “good formula WWE tag” – fun exchanges early, a solid beatdown, and a hot finish. A lot of matches are like this, and when they are done well it really is something special. This is the first of those. It is fun. But you have been warned.
17. Paige vs. Emma (Main Event 4/5/16)
The best Paige and Emma got to do on the main roster… strong match.
18. Zack Ryder vs. Tyler Breeze (Main Event 3/8/16)
Ryder was all fired up heading into Mania and had a good little match with Tyler Breeze who at this point still had some light in his eyes.
19. Kalisto vs. Heath Slater w/ Social Outcasts (Main Event 4/12/16)
Really fun match, with Kalisto doing the flying and the selling and the bumping and Slater and his Outcasts bringing the shenanigans.
20. The Usos vs. The Ascension (Superstars 3/11/16)
A good formula WWE tag… one of the matches that woke me up to The Usos being quietly really really good.
21. The Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension (Main Event 3/15/16)
A good formula WWE tag… the Lucha Dragons have great chemistry with the usually questionable Ascension.
22. Neville vs. Viktor w/ Konnor (Superstars 3/4/16)
One of those matches that made it so frustrating that WWE was doing nothing with Neville for so long. Neville looks great here and Viktor reminds you he’s pretty solid.
23. Natalya vs. Summer Rae (Superstars 3/4/16)
Summer Rae had a few really solid matches on Superstars/Main Event with Natalya and Becky Lynch… this was the best of them.
23. Zack Ryder vs. Baron Corbin (Main Event 5/10/16)
High-end squash match for the still-new Baron Corbin. Ryder rules.
24. Zack Ryder vs. Alberto del Rio (Main Event 5/17/16)
Del Rio kind of stunk in 2016 but sometimes he reminds you he’s pretty good, like the 2/3 Falls Match with Kalisto and this match.
25. Enzo & Big Cass vs. The Vaudevillains (Main Event 5/31/16)
A good formula WWE tag… Enzo & Big Cass have got their shtick down and Aiden English is really fun to watch.
