Best WWE matches of 2016

               In my opinion 2016 has been a pretty great year for WWE. The draft in July, has shaken things up, and has made things a lot better. Although there is still a a few weeks left of 2016, I thought it was a good time to reflect on the fifteen but since last night, now sixteen best matches of the year. These are matches you should definitely look up and watch if you’re a fan, the type of matches you’d show people if you wanted to show them what WWE is all about. Enjoy (this is all my opinion, not all will agree)

16. Royal Rumble match -WWE title on the line- Royal Rumble

               I know some weren’t happy about the outcome with Triple H taking the rumble win, but it was also awesome to see him mix it up with some of the younger talent like Ambrose and Bray Wyatt. Plus, it was the second rumble ever where the title was on the line. I also really thought Roman Reigns would win, I’m not a Roman hater but I still don’t like predicting the outcome. I couldn't of been happier to see Lesnar get tossed out by the Wyatt's too.

15. Dean Ambrose Vs Chris Jericho- Asylum Match- Extreme Rules

               I really enjoyed the rivalry between these two this past year, I am a big Ambrose fan. I thought this match was a great authentic classic hardcore match. We don’t get a lot of them now-a-days. But when Ambrose pulled out that bag of tacks, it brought me back to my childhood. I liked the idea of the asylum match, it showed the true crazy style of Ambrose.

14. Shield Triple Threat match-WWE Championship- Battleground

               This match had to make the list just for the fact we had all been waiting years to see it. I loved the way they set it up in that one on one Dean wins over Seth, Roman wins over Dean, and Seth wins over Roman. They’re three of the biggest guys the new era has right now. It was also great this happened right before the brand split, so the winner took the title home to their brand, with Ambrose representing SmackDown Live and taking the win, the most underrated out of the three in my opinion.

13. Roman reigns vs AJ Styles- Extreme rules match -WWE championship- Extreme Rules

               Say what you will about Roman Reigns, but this was a damn good match. The intensity was awesome in this match, these two beat the hell out of each other. That spot of Roman throwing AJ over his head from one announcers table to the other was awesome. And how many finishers they did to each other in this match. Plus, Rollins returned at the end!

12. Smack down vs Raw elimination tag team match-Survivor Series

               I was looking forward to this match all the month prior, and it did not disappoint. There were so many good spots, from the mini shield reunion, that gut busting spear Roman delivered to Shane, or that amazing elbow from Shane to Braun through the announcers table. We can’t forget that sick RKO to Rollins coming off the frog splash. Plus, two of my favorites Orton and Bray taking the win for team SmackDown.

11. Charlotte vs Sasha vs Becky lynch- Women’s champion- WrestleMania 32

               This match could’ve been higher on the list, I was just disappointed with the ending where Ric Flair had to intervene. This was a huge match for the women’s division. They took away that fugly Diva’s belt, and got the new prestigious Women’s title back. It was a great match all the same, despite the ending.

10.Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns-WWE championship – Money in the Bank

               This was Seth Rollins first big return match since he came off injury. Remember he had to surrender the title due to his injury 6 months prior. Not only did he come back and kick Roman’s ass, and take his title back, but right after Dean cashed in the money in the bank he had won that night. It was sweet revenge for Dean, after all Seth had done to him. Plus, all three members of the shield held the title in the same night.

9. Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles-WWE Championship-TLC match- TLC

Well I had to change the whole list from fifteen to sixteen for this match. I just got through it and it was awesome! Even though Elsworth interfered, you can't take away all of the awesome moments in this match. That elbow through the announcer's tables, that amazing 450 splash through the table, and just the constant back and forth. These guys gave it their all.

8.Johnny Gargano Vs. Tommaso Ciampa- Cruiserweight Classic

               These two guys are from NXT, they are in a tag team known as DIY. But in the CWC they had to face off to make it the next round. If you didn’t watch the CWC, you should, some of the best matches of the year for sure. This match was intense, and you felt their emotions, and after it was over, they are still a great tag team.

7.Charlotte vs Sasha- Women’s Champion- Hell in a cell match- Hell in a Cell

               This match had to make the list just for the pure fact the history it made. I know it got kind of annoying they were saying that over and over. But for these two women to main event a PPV in a hell in a cell match was pretty cool. The rivalry between these two was one of the biggest of the year. Granted some of the spots were messed up in this match, but it was a good start for women becoming more hardcore.

6. T.J. Perkins vs. Gran Metalik (Cruiserweight Classic Final- Cruiserweight title)

            There were so many amazing matches in the CWC, but the main event, the final two, Perkins and Metalik put it all on the line. Plus, with Triple H coming out and putting the new cruiserweight belt on the line, made it that much more exciting. I was rooting for Gran Metalik, but any of the guys in this competition who could’ve won would’ve earned it.

5. Kota Ibushi Vs. Cedric Alexander- Cruiserweight Classic

               I ranked this higher than the main event of the CWC because man it was simply amazing. This match certainly made me a fan of Cedric, and I believe many others, judging how after he lost there was “please sign Cedric chants”. He’s a future champion for sure.  

4.Dolph Ziggler vs The Miz- Career vs Intercontinental title- No Mercy

               The feud between Dolph and Miz this year has reignited both of their careers. They put on plenty of great matches, but this one was just a classic. Everything was on the line including Dolph’s career, and honestly, I wasn’t sure he’d win. After how many times he gets screwed, it was awesome to see him keep coming back and get the win.

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3. Sami Zayn Vs Kevin Owens- Battleground

               If there was a countdown of the best feuds of 2016, this might just be number one. These guys had a lot of great matches, but this match was insane. It was such a good way to end their feud, with Sami taking the win, and putting Owens away the way he did.

2. DIY vs The Revival-2 out of 3 falls- NXT tag team titles- NXT Takeover Toronto

               This was one of the greatest tag team matches I had seen in ages. I liked DIY before, but now I consider them one of the best. I’ve been waiting for The Revival to finally get knocked off, and there was no better team to do it. Every time you thought this one was over, it just kept coming back.

1.      John Cena vs AJ Styles- Summerslam

I honestly couldn’t decide what one of these was number one of the year for me. But this match could’ve been the main event of WrestleMania. Pun intended it was simply phenomenal. Seeing these two top guys finally have a real wrestling match, and AJ winning clean was great. He has had a great year as far as debuting in the rumble, beating Cena, and now being the champ. I have certainly become a fan of AJ, and if there’s a match you want to show someone to get them into WWE, let it be this one.

Honorable mentions-

Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg- Survivor Series

               I have to mention this one at least, although it was only a minute thirty seconds. I loved every second of it, after we had to watch Lesnar squash every one he faced over and over again. It was finally refreshing to see Goldberg just come back and destroy him. I’ve watched that second spear over and over.

Fatal four way- Monday night Raw- Universal Championship- Owens vs Rollins vs Reigns vs Big Cass

               Although this match wasn’t the best I have ever seen, it wasn’t too bad for a main event of Raw. But the best part was Triple H returning since WrestleMania and turning on Rollins finally. Then to watch Kevin Owens shoot to the top finally was also great.