The 10 Greatest WWE Matches of All Time, Ranked

10) Eddie Guerrero vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at No Way Out 2004

In 2004, the late Eddie Guerrero was having one of the greatest comebacks in professional wrestling history. The company had rehired him in 2002 after he had been released a year earlier following a drunk-driving arrest and a stint in rehab. He surpassed expectations and found himself in the main event scene, eventually leading to a WWE Championship match against "The Beast" Brock Lesnar at No Way Out 2004.

The match told the classic story of David and Goliath: Lesnar's brute, powerhouse strength would dominate the much smaller Guerrero throughout the match. However, with a little bit of help from Goldberg, Guerrero secured the victory with his patented Frog Splash finisher. 

The crowd erupted when the bell rang at the three-count in Eddie's favor, and the emotion poured in when he embraced his mother ringside as the newly crowned WWE Champion. Guerrero would sadly pass away 10 months later, and fans will forever hold that win close to their hearts.

9) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H - Three Stages of Hell Match at No Way Out 2001

Stone Cold and Triple H have a respectable résumé of rivalries with other superstars, but their beef was one of the most physical in the early 2000s. Triple H was on a legendary run as a heel character, and Stone Cold was on a redemption tour to prove he was still the company's top superstar after returning from a career-threatening neck surgery.

At No Way Out 2001, Triple H and Stone Cold would settle their longstanding feud in a Three Stages of Hell match, a modified version of a 2-out-of-3 falls match, and they left nothing on the table. Stone Cold got the first fall in a singles match with a Stone Cold Stunner, but Triple H got the second in a Street Fight match by hitting Austin with a sledgehammer and his Pedigree finisher. 

The third match was held inside a steel cage. Both men were beaten and battered, but determined to end the other's career in an emotional display of pure hatred. Things got so intense that at the end of the match, Triple H cracked Austin with a sledgehammer while Austin hit him with a 2X4 wrapped in barbed wire. Austin dropped to the mat, and Triple H fell on top of him, forcing the referee to make the three-count in favor of The Game. Ultimately, the Rattlesnake got the last laugh by hitting Triple H with the Stone Cold Stunner at the very end.

8) John Cena vs. CM Punk - WWE Championship Match at Money in the Bank 2011

In the early 2010s, CM Punk was the hottest thing in professional wrestling. Everyone wanted a piece of him, even other companies. WWE officials had put him against the company's top babyface, John Cena, and they eventually faced off at Money in the Bank 2011 for the WWE Championship.

The drama in this match alone makes it worthy of a spot in a top 10 list–CM Punk promised to leave the WWE if he won the title, since his contract was expiring, and Cena would be fired from the company if he couldn't prevent that. Punk and Cena put on an excellent display of wrestling for over 30 minutes until the match's climax saw Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis get involved. The meddling duo attempted to keep Punk from leaving WWE with their title by channeling the infamous Montreal Screwjob incident with Bret Hart back in 1997.

Cena wanted a clean victory, so he attacked Laurinaitis, which led to a distraction and getting hit with Punk's Go To Sleep finisher. Punk pinned Cena and won, but McMahon intervened again by having Alberto Del Rio cash in his Raw Money in the Bank contract. Punk thwarted the plan by kicking Del Rio and exiting the ring, but not before blowing a kiss at McMahon–leaving the arena, and the WWE, with the company's flagship title.

7) Mick Foley vs. The Rock - WWE Championship No Disqualification Match on Monday Night Raw 1999

The ratings war between WWE and WCW dominated the wrestling world in the mid to late-90s. The WCW consistently beat Vince's company each week during that time, and the WWE needed something to keep them in the running. Enter Mick Foley and The Rock, who were bitter enemies and had fought several times over the years. 

Mick Foley had been dealing with Vince McMahon's evil The Corporation stable for weeks before finally getting his shot at The Rock's WWE championship. No one thought Mankind could topple The Rock, especially at a non-premium live event, but fans were in for a surprise. At the time, Monday Night Raw was pre-recorded, and WCW's Eric Bischoff took it upon himself to reveal the results of Mick Foley beating The Rock for the title, thinking it would crush the WWE. 

Bischoff scheduled a title match on Nitro between Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash that led to the infamous "finger poke of doom" incident, which pissed off fans. That moment fueled disgruntled viewers to switch from Nitro to Raw and witness one of the biggest nights in WWE history. The match itself was entertaining, but it was the end, when Stone Cold Steve Austin came out to help Foley win the title, that changed everything for the company and placed them ahead of the competition.

6) Cody Rhodes vs Roman Reigns - WWE Championship Bloodline Rules Match at WrestleMania XL

The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes returned to the WWE with one goal: to win the company's flagship title. Only one thing was standing in his way, and his name was Roman Reigns. The Original Tribal Chief had been champion for a record-setting 1,316 days when he took on Rhodes at WrestleMania XL, and fans wanted the latter to get the job done.

The match was sanctioned under Bloodline Rules, which meant that Reigns' Bloodline faction could do whatever they wanted. Rhodes and Reigns put on a show for fans as they fought in and out of the ring, destroying announcer tables and more. Things picked up when Reigns' cousin Jimmy Uso attacked Rhodes and kicked off one of the wildest endings to a WrestleMania main event in WWE history.

Jey Uso came out to spear his brother Jimmy off the entrance ramp, Solo Sikoa interrupted Rhodes from performing his Cross Rhodes finisher on Reigns, and things continued to escalate with surprise appearances by John Cena, The Rock, Seth Rollins, and The Undertaker. Rhodes eventually hit Reigns with three Cross Rhodes and secured the victory, finishing his story and ending Reigns' historic run as WWE champion at 1,316 days.

5) The Undertaker vs. Mankind - Hell in a Cell Match at King of the Ring 1998

Mick Foley isn't known as the greatest technical wrestler on the planet, but he's the best to ever do it when it comes to putting his body on the line for the sake of the business. At the 1998 King of the Ring premium live event, Foley went toe-to-toe with The Undertaker in the most violent match WWE has ever put on. This match set the standard for future Hell in Cell bouts and produced some of the greatest moments in wrestling history. 

The legendary wrestlers started the match by scaling the massive steel structure and fighting on top of the cell. The first memorable moment came when Taker grabbed Foley and threw him off the cell, where he landed hard on the Spanish announcer table and bounced off the concrete floor. Jim Ross dropped his infamous "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! They've killed him!" and "As God as my witness, he is broken in half!" lines, but the action was far from over.

Medical personnel treated Foley and put him on a stretcher, but he fought back. Soon after came a second jaw-dropping moment, when the Undertaker chokeslammed him through one of the cell's panels. Foley landed horribly on the mat and a steel chair hit him in the face, knocking out several of his teeth. If that weren't enough, Taker also chokeslammed Foley into a pile of thumbtacks. 

WWE officials tried stopping the match several times, but Foley demanded it continue. Taker ultimately won, but both men secured a victory that night: the match is considered one of the best in their careers.

4) Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels WrestleMania 12

Bret "The Hitman" Hart and Shawn Michaels put on one of the most legendary matches in history at WrestleMania XII. The bout was the first-ever 60-minute Iron Man Match at WrestleMania. With the WWE Championship on the line, both men made it clear they were the top dogs in the industry.

60-minute matches were unheard of in the WWE in the early 90s, making this fight even more spectacular. Right from the start, fans were treated to an incredible entrance from Michaels, who soared into the ring from the rafters inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The Hitman and the Heartbreak Kid then got to it. They displayed their technical mastery, stamina, and in-ring psychology in a grueling contest that remained scoreless for the entire hour—something that had never happened in company history. 

With time expiring at 0-0, former WWE President Gorilla Monsoon ordered sudden death overtime, ensuring there would be a decisive winner. The two continued to trade blows until Michaels delivered his iconic Sweet Chin Music and pinned Hart to capture his first-ever WWF Championship.

The drama didn't stop there. Hart claimed Michaels told the referee, "Get him out of my ring," so that he could celebrate his boyhood dream coming true. The closing shot of the match shows Michaels' iconic celebration, in which he cried and collapsed on top of the WWE Championship in the middle of the ring.

3) The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels - Career vs. Streak Match at WrestleMania XXVI

These two Hall of Famers had met before at Wrestlemania 25 (another great match in WWE history), but their second fight took things to an emotional level. Shawn Michaels was so desperate to beat The Undertaker that he was willing to do whatever was needed to win. Taker caught wind of Michaels' desperation and made him put his legendary career on the line to fight him at WrestleMania XXVI. 

There was palpable tension throughout this match; both men delivered blow after blow to put the other down. Each near-fall was extremely close, and the crowd was buzzing throughout the University of Phoenix Stadium, with Michaels and Taker fighting outside the ring and even breaking an announcer’s table in a ridiculous spot. 

The emotion hit a fever pitch when Taker was about to put Michaels out for good, telling him to stay down, but the Heartbreak Kid slapped him across the face in a final act of defiance. Taker grabbed Michaels in disgust and performed a third Tombstone Piledriver on him for the win. Both men embraced each other following the match, and the newly retired Michaels was left to share a touching moment with a sea of roaring fans. 

2) The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania X-Seven

The rivalry between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin defined the WWE's Attitude Era. It took the company to astronomical heights, so it was only right they faced off against each other at WrestleMania X-Seven for the WWE Championship. The match was exhilarating and the men even took the action outside the ring, much to the delight of fans inside the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. 

While the action was excellent, the storytelling places this match above nearly all the others. The Rock was the top guy in the company, while Austin had his sights set on winning the WWE Championship and was willing to do anything to make that happen. In one of the boldest moves the company had ever executed, Stone Cold joined forces with his other arch-nemesis Vince McMahon and turned on The Rock to secure the WWE Championship.

If people think John Cena's heel turn at Elimination Chamber was epic, seeing a bloodied Austin shake hands with McMahon and fully becoming a heel character at the end of a WrestleMania main event was colossal. Austin and McMahon hated each other throughout their contentious feud, and The Rattlesnake lived by a "Don't Trust Anybody" mantra. To ignore that and embrace the man who tried to ruin his career on several occasions was a "what the actual f*ck" moment for fans.

Austin joining forces with McMahon and defeating The Rock in one of the greatest WrestleMania main events of all time signaled a much-needed turning point for the company. It marked the end of the Attitude Era and planted the seeds for the incoming era of Ruthless Aggression.

1) Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin WrestleMania 13

Bret "The Hitman" Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin met in a career-defining submission match at WrestleMania 13 that also birthed one of the most legendary visuals in company history.

Legendary UFC fighter Ken Shamrock served as the special guest referee for the match, in which victory could only be achieved through submission. From the opening bell, Hart and Austin were embroiled in a barbaric, hard-hitting bout that spilled all over the arena. Hart tapped into his signature technical style by relentlessly targeting Austin's leg, while the Rattlesnake channeled his toughness and brawler mentality to keep him going in the fight.

The match's biggest moment came when a bloodied and battered Austin refused to submit while trapped in Hart's signature Sharpshooter. Despite screaming in pain, Austin famously passed out, giving Hart the victory. The image of Austin locked into the submission and screaming with blood trickling down his face became an iconic visual in WWE history.

After the match, Hart continued his assault on Austin, cementing his shocking heel turn, while Austin's refusal to quit turned him into a fan favorite. This unforgettable encounter not only elevated Austin's career to new heights but also marked a pivotal moment in WWE's shift toward the edgier Attitude Era.