Main events are generally supposed to be the best and strongest match on a pay-per-view, while opening matches are expected to often set the tone for the rest of the show. However, there have been many instances when an opening match on a pay-per-view, upstaged the main event.

RELATED: 10 Times The WrestleMania Opening Match Was Better Than The Main Event

When wrestlers compete on a pay-per-view they want all the attention and to be the final match of the night. Moreover, some wrestlers aren't too happy about being in the show opener, and they turn their frustration into making a match memorable. This list won't include WrestleMania matches and read below to find out which opening WWE PPV matches were better than the main event.

10 Chris Jericho Vs. Jeff Hardy - No Way Out 2003

Jericho v Hardy No Way Out 2003

All eyes were drawn to The Rock and Hulk Hogan's rematch at No Way Out 2003. This was WWE's first pay-per-view in Montreal since The Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997. Nonetheless, Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy opened up the show in an underrated encounter.

This was a magnificent contest, which went back and forth. Y2J being a native of Canada had the hometown support. He defeated Hardy with The Walls of Jericho. Unfortunately, Rock and Hogan's match in the main event failed to deliver after a magnificent encounter at WrestleMania X8.

9 Eddie Guerrero Vs. Rob Van Dam - Judgment Day 2002

Eddie Guerrero v Rob Van Dam Judgment Day 2002 Cropped

Eddie Guerrero and Rob Van Dam have magnificent chemistry together, and they locked horns once more in the first match of the night at Judgment Day 2002. Latino Heat defended his newly won Intercontinental Championship, which he beat RVD for, the month prior at Backlash .

Their match wasn't as good as their clash at Backlash but it was still a solid encounter. Hulk Hogan and Undertaker delivered an absolute stinker in the main event, which saw The Deadman recapture the WWE Championship from Hogan.

8 Bayley Vs. Asuka - SummerSlam 2020

Bayley v Asuka SummerSlam 2020

Asuka pulled double duty at SummerSlam 2020 as she challenged Bayley for the SmackDown Women's Championship in the opening contest. She had to conserve some energy, as she was looking to regain her Raw Women's Title from Sasha Banks later on.

Nevertheless, Bayley and Asuka got SummerSlam off to a positive start, and with some help from Banks, The Role Model retained her title. Bray Wyatt ended Braun Strowman's lackluster Universal Championship reign in the main event in an average contest. However, Roman Reigns made his triumphant return and laid out both men after the match.

7 Rob Van Dam Vs. Randy Orton - One Night Stand 2007

Rob Van Dam v Randy Orton ECW One Night Stand 2007 Cropped

Randy Orton was back to his devastating best in 2007, and Rob Van Dam was the latest victim on his radar. The Legend Killer and The ECW Original opened up One Night Stand 2007 in a Stretcher match.

RELATED: 10 Things About Rob Van Dam's WWE Career That Made No Sense

This was a hard-hitting match, and surprisingly RVD navigated his way to victory. Although, Orton got the last laugh and destroyed Van Dam afterward. Later in the night, John Cena's dreadful feud with The Great Khali culminated in a disappointing main event. Cena overcame Khali in a Falls Count Anywhere match to retain the WWE Title.

6 Daniel Bryan Vs. Dolph Ziggler - Bragging Rights 2010

Bryan v Ziggler Bragging Rights 2010

WWE's Bragging Rights pay-per-view only managed to produce two events in 2009 and 2010. At the 2010 iteration, Raw's United States Champion Daniel Bryan and SmackDown's Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler battled each other in the opening match.

Bryan and Ziggler stole the show and it was by far the best of the match, with Bryan picking up the submission win. Randy Orton's WWE Championship match with Wade Barrett in the main event was extremely boring. Orton retained the WWE Title in a truly forgettable affair.

5 AJ Styles Vs. Dean Ambrose Vs. John Cena - No Mercy 2016

Styles v Ambrose v Cena No Mercy 2016

Somehow AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, and John Cena did not close out No Mercy 2016. The Phenomenal One's WWE Championship was at stake in an outstanding triple threat match that opened up the show. It was quite surprising as the WWE Title match rarely opens up a pay-per-view.

Nevertheless, all three told a magnificent story and the action was end to end. Styles emerged victorious by pinning Cena after two vicious steel chair shots. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt's main event was a disappointment, and they should have featured earlier on in the show.

4 Edge Vs. Dolph Ziggler - Royal Rumble 2011

Edge v Ziggler Royal Rumble 2011

At Royal Rumble 2011, Edge was at a significant disadvantage in his World Heavyweight Championship title defense. The Rated-R Superstar defended the gold against Dolph Ziggler but his ex-wife Vickie Guerrero banned him from using the Spear.

RELATED: Royal Rumble: Edge's Matches Ranked From Worst To Best

Nonetheless, that did not affect the quality of the match in the slightest, as Edge and Ziggler tore the house down. Edge took a page out of his best friend Christian's book as he retained his title with a Killswitch. Despite the Royal Rumble match being the marquee match of the card, it was mediocre. It was a historical, one as it was the first one to feature 40-men, which Alberto Del Rio ended up winning.

3 Becky Lynch Vs. Sasha Banks - Hell In A Cell 2019

Lynch v Sasha Hell in a Cell 2019

Becky Lynch dominated the Raw women's division as the reigning Raw Women's Champion. She collided with a rejuvenated Sasha Banks in a Hell in a Cell Match for the Raw Women's Title at Hell in a Cell 2019.

Neither woman held back and their title bout was violent. Lynch was becoming unbeatable in title matches at this point and she continued her stranglehold over the title, in a great match. The same could not be said for Seth Rollins and The Fiend, in one of the worst main events in WWE history. Rollins retained the Universal Title against The Fiend by way of stoppage, which negates the whole point of a Hell in a Cell match.

2 Roman Reigns Vs. Jey Uso - Hell In A Cell 2020

Reigns v Uso Hell in a Cell 2020

Jey Uso being involved in the main event scene on SmackDown was a sight to behold. Jey had another shot at his cousin Roman Reigns' Universal Championship in a unique match at Hell in a Cell 2020. They collided in a Hell In A Cell match coupled with 'I Quit' rules.

Once again, Reigns and Uso told another memorable story and both men knocked it out of the park. The Tribal Chief retained the Universal Championship to kickstart the show. The main event saw Randy Orton capture his 14th World Title from Drew McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell match. It was another solid match but the Universal Title match was way better.

1 Seth Rollins Vs. The Miz - Backlash 2018

Miz v Rollins Backlash 2018

Seth Rollins put the Intercontinental Championship on the line against The Miz, who was drafted to SmackDown. At this time, The Awesome One was looking to join Chris Jericho as a nine-time Intercontinental Champion. This was arguably the greatest opening match in the history of Backlash.

The action went back and forth, and fans were mesmerized by what they were witnessing. Rollins sold his knee injury magnificently, and he showed his toughness by kicking out of Miz's patented Skull Crushing Finale twice. Rollins retained the title in a war of attrition. In the main event, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe failed to top that in a horrific bout that saw fans leaving the arena before it was over.

RELATED: 10 Worst Matches In Backlash History