The People’s Column: Best WWE Matches of 2010

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Welcome to the end of 2010 on my blog. For the next week (or however long I feel like), I will be handing out my end of the year rewards. The easiest one for me to figure out was match of the year in WWE, since sadly there was no real competition for that award. It’s no fun just to list the one obvious match, so I will list some runners up before discussing the winner.

Runner Up #2: The 2010 Royal Rumble Match
This match was everything the 2009 Royal Rumble wasn’t. There was intrigue and drama surrounding the Shawn Michaels quest for a Wrestlemania match against Undertaker. There was a big surprise with the return of Edge and his subsequent win. This match was up there with the two or three best Rumbles in history. It was also completely different than any Rumbles before it. It moved at a very quick pace with the ring never getting more than five or six wrestlers in it. We were treated to a great CM Punk promo in the first portion of the match and then we were allowed to get wrapped up in the Shawn Michaels saga, which was helped immensely by his masterful facial expressions. This match produced many of my favorite moments this year, including the stunned expressions on the faces of all of the wrestlers left in the ring when Shawn Michaels was eliminated. Edge’s win capped off a great Rumble and was the high point of his year.

Runner Up # 1: CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio: Over the Limit
This match was kind of forgotten as the year went on, but it stands out in my memory more than almost any other match this year. Early in the match we saw CM Punk suffer a very bad cut on his head and the standard WWE match stoppage policy was in effect. The fans turned on the match instantly and all momentum seemed to halt. Then, magic happened. CM Punk, after receiving medical attention and every effort to stop his cut, took the match to a place I never knew he could go. He energetically began beating Rey Mysterio and within seconds the fans that had been booing the stoppage were instantly cheering. Punk recovered and was in this place for the rest of the match. It was one of the best turnarounds that I’ve ever seen. Because of that moment and the very exciting match that followed, this is my runner up to match of the year.

2010 Match of the Year: Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker: Wrestlemania XXVI
Could I really pick anything else? Aside from this being the final match of my favorite wrestler of all time, I was also at University of Phoenix Stadium for this match. For me, this match was a truly amazing moment in wrestling history. It’s been said that this match pales in comparison to their Wrestlemania 25 encounter. From a technical standpoint, the Wrestlemania 25 match is superior, but emotionally Wrestlemania XXVI was the more involved match with more on the line. The closing moments of the match were among the most dramatic moments in WWE history. Undertaker yelling “Stay down!” as Michaels kept kicking out was on par with Michaels’ “I’m sorry, I love you.” moment from Wrestlemania XXIV. This was a great ending to a great career. This match deserved to be the main event at ‘Mania and, more than that, deserves the title of best of the year.

There it is folks! My best of 2010 list. Honorable mentions go out to Sheamus vs John Morrison at TLC and Daniel Bryan vs Dolph Ziggler at Bragging Rights (which was a good match, but does not belong in the best of the year conversation).

What do you think? Were these matches worth the title of best of the year? Where would you place other matches this year? Hit me up with those sweet comments and also let me know what other “Best of 2010” blogs you would like to see written.

Will is a 23 year old graduate student at UC Irvine. He is going to school for Stage Management and has always been passionate about pro wrestling. He began writing "The People's Column" in 2009. In 2010 he started his own wrestling blog, which is growing at an alarming rate. He is married to a beautiful woman (pictured on his profile) who accompanies him to most wrestling events that he goes to. Will is thankful for everyone who reads and interacts with him on Pulse and on his blog.