ThunderStruck: Top Fifty WWE Title Matches Part Four

Welcome to part four! You know the drill by now, so enjoy!

 


 

50. The Undertaker vs Jeff Hardy, Ladder Match, Raw July ‘02

49. Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant, WM 3

48. The Rock vs Triple H, IronMan Match, Judgment Day 2000

47. Hulk Hogan vs Triple H, Backlash 2002

46. Eddie Guerrero vs John Bradshaw Layfield, Texas Bullrope Match, Great American Bash ‘04

45. Hogan/Taker Judgment Day 2002

44. Cena/JBL I Quit Match, Judgment Day ‘05

43. 1992 Royal Rumble Match

42. SCSA/Y2J Vengeance ‘01

41. Rock/Foley Raw Jan ‘99

40. HHH/Cena WM 22

39. HHH/Y2J Raw April ‘00

38. Rock/Cena WM 29

37. Hart/HBK SS 97

36. SCSA/Rock Backlash ‘99

35. CM Punk vs Alberto Del Rio vs The Miz, TLC Match: TLC 2011

34. Rock vs Brock Lesnar Summerslam ‘02

33. Angle/Taker/Rock Vengeance ‘02

32. Rock/Austin WM 17

31. Angle/SCSA Unforgiven ‘01

30. John Cena/Umaga RR 2007

29. Hulk Hogan/Ultimate Warrior WM 6

28. Brock Lesnar/Eddie Guerrero NWO ‘04

27. Ric Flair/Randy Savage WM 8

26. Kurt Angle/Brock Lesnar Summerslam ‘03

25. Iron Sheik/Hulk Hogan Jan ‘84

24. Randy Savage/Ted Dibiase WM IV

23. Undertaker/Hulk Hogan SS ‘91

22. Edge/John Cena Unforgiven ‘06

21. Rock/Kurt Angle/HHH Summerslam 2000

20. Stone Cold/Undertaker Raw June 1999: This was the highest rated episode in the history of Monday Night Raw, and the title was up for grabs in this big match. Undertaker was leading the Ministry as WWF Champion and had just stolen the title from Austin at the Over the Edge pay per view in a screwjob form with Shane McMahon’s fast count. Stone Cold would pick up the win on this show and help WWE continue its dominance in the Monday Night War against WCW.

19. Bret Hart/123 Kid Raw July ‘94: Kid was underrated for the time period, and he was constantly having the best match on any card. Putting his fast athleticism in the ring with the Hitman made for pure magic. While Hart was able to hold onto the gold and win the match with the sharpshooter, Kid put a lot of doubters in their place on this night by showing that he could hang with the best.

18. Punk/Cena Night Of Champions 2012: CM Punk’s 434 day reign as WWE Champion contained many excellent wrestling matches, and this one was definitely an unforgettable encounter. The back and forth kickouts on finishers and Cena’s hometown crowd on his side made the match quite compelling. The double pin draw finish was something that pissed off many fans in attendance(myself included), but the action itself along with CM Punk’s reaction to holding onto the gold made it an instant classic.

17. Jeff Hardy/Triple H/Edge Armageddon 2008: First of all, I lied in part three about Edge only being on this list one time. Moving on! Capping off 2008 in WWE with his first WWE Title win was huge for Jeff Hardy. Hardy had been climbing the metaphorical ladder for years in WWE and many fans were granted their happy wish when the charismatic enigma was able to win the WWE’s biggest prize. As far as triple threat matches go, this one was excellent and all those involved delivered big time.

16. Savage/Hogan WM 5: The Mega Powers were a huge tag team throughout 1988 and jealousy in the group is what eventually turned Savage heel and caused him to turn on Hogan. WrestleMania 5 once again took place at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City where the Mega Powers went one on one for the WWF Championship. Hogan was still in the mode of no selling moves from his opponents and was no different when he stood up after the flying elbow from Savage and did his patented signature moveset with a legdrop for the victory. Hulk Hogan was back on top once again and all was right for longtime WWF fans. Savage had carried the weight of the company on his shoulders throughout 1988 and in 1989, it was time for Hogan to take back the responsibility. The classic encounter is one that ranks high on any true wrestling fan’s list of great matches.

15. Mysterio/Cena Raw July ‘11: Anyone who doubts that John Cena is a great worker in the ring, watch this match. We were treated to a really fun WWE Title tournament in 2011 that ended with Mysterio defeating the Miz in the finals. Mysterio would drop the title to Cena later in the night in an outstanding wrestling match. This would be one of three times in 2011 that John Cena would capture the WWE Championship.

14. Triple H/Cactus Jack RR ‘00: Of the two awesome WWE Championship matches between these two in 2000, this one ranks higher for me in terms of brutality and excitement. Foley and Trips just destroyed each other on on the Road to WrestleMania 2000, and it all kicked off with their street fight at the Royal Rumble. Though it appeared on a few occasions that Cactus might come away with the gold, HHH was ultimately the winner and would come out on top in the overall feud as well.

13. Bret Hart/Ric Flair Oct. ‘92: Flair and Hart wrestled a great match that never saw television when it took place, but it did make it onto coliseum video and later to DVD. Flair didn’t want to drop the title to Bret on tv, and he was bailing on the company to return to WCW. Bret and Ric had a good amount of chemistry in the ring together and really showed why they were two of the best wrestlers of their time period in this excellent matchup. The beginning of the hitman’s first run as WWE Champion is a moment that I’ll never forget as a fan of the excellence of execution.

12. Punk/Jericho Extreme Rules 2012: This was easily the best match in the series between Y2J and Mr. Chick Magnet. These two absolutely destroyed each other in front of Punk’s hometown in a match fueled by the anger created by Jericho taunting Punk about his dysfunctional family. Punk would retain his WWE Title after defeating Y2J in a lengthy and brutal brawl.

11. Lesnar/Angle WM 19: Lesnar won the KOTR tournament very quickly and won the WWE Title just two months later at Summerslam from the Rock. He lost the title to Big Show at the Survivor Series. Lesnar then went on to win the 2003 Royal Rumble to become the number one contender for the WWE Title. Kurt Angle was the best wrestler in WWE at that point. Lesnar was a quick made star that could perform with the best of them. WrestleMania 19 took place at Safeco field in Seattle, Washington. The crowd was hot. The crowd was given an incredible show. Before the main event, Vince McMahon took on Hulk Hogan in a street fight. Before that, Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels went one on one, Triple H successfully defended his title against Booker T, and The Rock wrestled Stone Cold Steve Austin in what was Austin’s last match ever. After those matches went down, Lesnar and Angle had a lot to follow and they succeeded with flying colors. Lesnar and Angle were both great wrestlers that put on an incredible battle. Brock actually injured himself pretty badly when he botched a shooting star press and landed basically on his head just short of Angle. Lesnar was still able to finish the match and hit the F5 on Kurt Angle to become the new WWE Champion. Kurt and Brock were put to the ultimate test that night of outshining what was put on before them, and they definitely lived up to the hype.

Let the hype build for part five! Feel free to leave your guesses below for what my top ten WWE Title matches might be. Thanks for reading!

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