In a WWE Universe content with consistency over in-ring triumphs, Roman Reigns and Big E are your kings. Also Sheamus. Always Sheamus.
1. Edge vs. Seth Rollins (SmackDown 9/10/21)
But first, Edge and Seth Rollins. Their SummerSlam match felt more about them winning a crowd back with build-up, while this had less neck work and more stuff like Rollins doing a Glam Slam and Edge a plancha. In the end, of course, Edge Gave It His All. As certified company men (for now) they wrestle a certain type of match, and that match isn’t perfect but live on TV at MSG it felt like one of the best possible things.
2. Triple Threat Match: Big E vs. Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley (RAW 9/20/21)
WWE has been good at one thing throughout their time and that’s two large wrestlers wrestling. Over time the two jumped to three, because that’s just how time works. This random RAW main event between three large wrestlers kept the hits coming and had new champ Big E looking like a stud — a serious “blast!”
3. Winner Faces Damian Priest for the U.S. Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus (RAW 9/6/21)
It feels a little less meaningful every time, but Drew and Sheamus chopped and suplexed each other into exhaustion over a couple commercial breaks. Everything was sold and timed as if it was done by two masters of their craft or something. Good match that stood out in the content farm.
4. Extreme Rules – WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns [c] vs. “The Demon” Finn Balor (Extreme Rules 9/26/21)
5. WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Finn Balor (SmackDown 9/3/21)
The Extreme Rules match is of the stupidest wrestling matches I have ever seen, but in between the smoke and red lights (and man jolted back to life by smoke and red lights), these two wrestle really well together. A few weeks prior, they skipped the smoke and red lights and had a pretty great preview of what their PPV could have been… if it wasn’t for the smoke and red lights. Still though — goddamn do these two work well together.
6. SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Bianca Belair (Extreme Rules 9/26/21)
This match is stopped short with a run-in by the returning Sasha Banks, but until then it’s 15 minutes of championship wrestling: babyface Bianca shows off how strong she is and Becky plays heel without being annoying about it.
7. Montez Ford vs. Roman Reigns (SmackDown 9/24/21)
WWE doesn’t always want to admit it, but they can still be pretty good at pro wrestling. Here a talented young tag team guy went up against The Guy in a TV main event and though he did not win, he showed enough grit and determination that the viewer might think to themselves: Hey, maybe he could be The Guy in the future. Ford brought it here: overcompensating for his frame with overhead chops, cool under pressure when the commentary table spontaneously combusted, and of course his usual high-jumps and personality.
8. The New Day vs. Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles & Omos (Extreme Rules 9/26/21)
The surprises in the 2021 New Day 6-man are few but the work remains fun, especially with Big E in the WWE Champion role and Kofi & Woods so established that Bobby and AJ were clearly receptive to any spot they pitched. Kofi took heat, E tossed AJ, and Omos was a certified “Colossus.” An overthought WWE finish was pulled off really well here too.
9. Triple Threat Match – WWE U.S. Title: Damian Priest [c] vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus (Extreme Rules 9/26/21)
Here was a bunch of action I hasten to guess was designed to make Damian look strong, and by golly they did that. As an added bonus it had Jeff Hardy still going hard (if not hitting perfectly) and Sheamus doing the Hardy fingers. Bell-to-bell it didn’t reach the levels of match #2 on this list, though there were a few near falls at the end here that absolutely popped the crowd more.
10. SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Usos [c] vs. Street Profits (SmackDown 9/10/21)
10a. SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Usos [c] vs. Street Profits (Extreme Rules 9/26/21)
10b. SmackDown Tag Team Championship Contender’s Match: The Usos vs. Street Profits (SmackDown 9/3/21)
All three of the Street Profits/Usos tags this month were varying levels of good, though they were all missing something (usually TV time) to go anywhere higher. The Usos continue to pull off a few epic near falls during any match they’re in, while the speed on Ford’s double handspring in that 9/10 SmackDown match in particular is a thing to marvel at.
Honorable Mentions: Steel Cage Match – WWE Title: Big E [c] vs. Bobby Lashley w/ MVP (RAW 9/27/21), Riddle vs. AJ Styles w/ Omos (RAW 9/27/21), Kay Lee Ray vs. Ember Moon (NXT 9/7/21), The New Day vs. Roman Reigns & The Usos (RAW 9/20/21), Moustache Mountain vs. Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter (NXT UK 9/30/21), Charlie Dempsey vs. Josh Morrell (NXT UK 9/30/21)
Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins (SmackDown 9/3/21), Tommaso Ciampa & Bron Breakker vs. Pete Dunne & Ridge Holland (NXT 9/21/21), Brutus & Julius Creed vs. Chuckie Viola & Paxton Averill (NXT 9/7/21), The Creed Brothers vs. Dan Jarmon & Trevor Skelly (NXT 9/14/21), Handicap Match: Odyssey Jones vs. Darren Ciapetta & Cary Millman (NXT 9/21/21)
