The WWE Championship is the most prestigious title in all of wrestling. Having been around since 1963, it has a lineage and legacy that is unmatched. Some of the greatest wrestlers of all time have held the title, including Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Randy Savage, Kurt Angle, and more.
Throughout its over 50 year history, the WWE Championship has been contested in some legendary matches. But with so much time, there's also a fair amount of bad in there, too. To narrow things down, we've taken a look back at the past decade of WWE Title matches and picked out the best and worth of the bunch.
10 10. Worst: Kane vs. Seth Rollins - Hell In A Cell 2015
Watching Seth Rollins cash in Money in the Bank and win the WWE Title at WrestleMania 31 was one of the coolest moments in recent memory. Unfortunately, the reign that followed left a lot to be desired. After feuds with John Cena and Sting, Rollins started a rivalry with Kane.
By this point, Kane was splitting time between his demon and corporate personas. He was also more than 20 years into his career and no longer the quality wrestler he used to be. That meant that no matter how hard Rollins tried, this wasn't going to work. It was a case of styles clashing. Though it only lasted about 14 minutes, it felt closer to 30.
9 9. Best: AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena vs. The Miz - Elimination Chamber 2017
The Elimination Chamber is usually a safe bet to be a great match. The 2017 version brought out a new chamber design that allowed more freedom and space for action. John Cena and AJ Styles opened this one, just two weeks after a stellar outing at the Royal Rumble. From there, the rest of the participants entered and continued the torrid pace.
For over 30 minutes, these six men put their bodies on the line in an exciting contest. Feuds were born (Ambrose vs. Corbin), old rivalries reignited (Miz vs. Ambrose), and fresh battles took place (Wyatt vs. Styles). After Cena got eliminated, it came down to Styles and Wyatt with the guarantee of a new champion being crowned. They went at it and Wyatt secured the win.
8 8. Worst: Roman Reigns vs. Triple H - WrestleMania 32
These are two all-time greats. Yet their WrestleMania main event proved to be nothing more than a lethargic encounter. Triple H returned to win the Royal Rumble and take Roman Reigns' WWE Title from him. Reigns earned this spot to set up their first one on one match.
WrestleMania 32 went on for hours and fans were ready to be done with the show. With that in mind and considering Reigns' status as the "Big Dog" against a part-time champion, Reigns should've won in relatively quick fashion. Instead, this meandered on for 27 of the longest minutes you'll ever see.
7 7. Best: Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins - Royal Rumble 2015
Brock Lesnar handily dominated John Cena to win the WWE Title at SummerSlam 2014. Seth Rollins caused their rematch to end in disqualification and Cena earned another shot at the Royal Rumble. Rollins was ultimately added to it, giving this a new wrinkle. That's exactly what it needed.
Lesnar was a monster until Cena and Rollins teamed up to put him through the announce table and effectively eliminate him. From there, Cena and Rollins proceeded to have their best exchange. Both came extremely close to winning the title. Then, Lesnar recovered and showed why he's nicknamed "The Beast." He shrugged off the beating and did what needed to be done to remain champion.
6 6. Worst: Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett - Bragging Rights 2010
The second half of 2010 was dominated by the Nexus angle. The group's leader, Wade Barrett, found himself in several high profile matches. After only a few months on Raw, he faced his biggest test in a singles match for the richest prize in the WWE. Disappointingly, he failed in more ways than one.
For starters, he didn't win the title. But in terms of how well the match came off, that was also a misfire. A lot of the bout focused on John Cena, who was at ringside as an unhappy member of the Nexus. The action wasn't anything special and then the referee got knocked down, setting up a bunch of run-ins from Nexus members. All of this just led to a cheap disqualification finish for an unsatisfying end.
5 5. Best: Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena - SummerSlam 2013
The summer of 2013 belonged to Daniel Bryan. He quickly rose in popularity and became the hottest wrestler in WWE. John Cena was allowed to name his opponent for SummerSlam and he selected Bryan. In the build for this show, words got heated and emotions ran high, especially when Bryan called Cena a parody of a wrestler.
Once the bell rang, Cena showed why he's one of the best to ever lace up a pair of wrestling boots. He stayed with the talented Bryan at every turn despite a horrific elbow injury. The crowd was engaged throughout and this was the definition of an old school title fight. There were no shenanigans. Just two great wrestlers doing what they do best. Bryan debuted the Busaiku Knee to win the title and end a phenomenal match.
4 4. Worst: Big Show vs. Randy Orton - Survivor Series 2013
That little part about Daniel Bryan being the hottest wrestler in the summer of 2013 is part of why this match failed so miserably. Fans wanted nothing more than Bryan in the main event scene, but he was shoved aside. In his place, we got Big Show who even went as far as to lift Bryan's popular "Yes" taunt.
Big Show embarked on a feud with the Authority and their champion, Randy Orton. They met at Survivor Series in an uninspired match. Nobody in the crowd wanted to see Show getting the opportunity over Bryan and that led to an apathetic reaction. The Authority got involved to help Orton win a boring contest.
3 3. Best: Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston - WrestleMania 35
The most recent entry on this list. There's a reason WrestleMania 35 was called KofiMania by many. For over a decade, Kofi Kingston has been a consistently strong member of the WWE roster. He came close to winning the big one at Elimination Chamber and fans rallied behind him. A lot of roadblocks were thrown in his way, but he earned a title shot on the biggest stage of the year.
What unfolded in MetLife Stadium was something truly special. Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston had the crowd in the palm of their hands as they went back and forth. The drama was on a different level from anything else that has happened in 2019. When the smoke cleared, Kingston nailed Trouble in Paradise and became the first African-American WWE Champion in history. A groundbreaking moment and a match of the year candidate all rolled into one.
2 2. Worst: Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton - WrestleMania 33
Two years before an incredible WWE Title match, WrestleMania was home to the worst one of the decade. The story between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton went on for months. Bray bested Orton at every turn, causing him to join the Wyatt Family. They even won the Tag Team Titles together. Orton won the Royal Rumble and Wyatt won the WWE Championship, putting them on a collision course for WrestleMania.
Orton revealed that he was never on Bray's side, instead trying to break up the Wyatt Family from the inside. The match should've been an intense battle. What we ended up with was a dull encounter that featured weird things like projections on the mat of maggots and worms. Orton came out on top, ending Bray's reign in unceremoniously short fashion.
1 1. Best: CM Punk vs. John Cena - Money In The Bank 2011
It's almost impossible to match the big fight feel that this match had. After becoming number one contender, CM Punk announced that his contract was expiring and that he was leaving the company. He entered this event in his hometown of Chicago as the overwhelming favorite against the perennial top guy, John Cena.
Everything Punk did got an overwhelmingly positive response and everything Cena did was met with hatred and venom from the crowd. The drama was off the charts. For 33 minutes, Cena and Punk put on a fantastic match filled with close calls, crisp wrestling, and high drama. Punk's win came as a true shock. He immediately ran out of the building with the title, giving viewers one of the best endings to a Pay-Per-View.