There have been plenty of rivalries in WWE that are among the greatest of all time. However, some of those legendary rivalries have surprisingly been one-sided. Big matchups have made WWE Chairman Vince McMahon a lot of money over the years.
Unfortunately, some rivalries have been obvious in the direction the WWE is heading. It is risky as fans can begin to lose interest when there is a dominant figure in a feud. If it is done right, it certainly makes sense as both competitors will need to come out stronger at the end of it.
10 John Cena Vs John Bradshaw Layfield
John Cena was clearly going to be the new face of the company in 2005. Cena's final high profile feud on Smackdown was with John Bradshaw Layfield. Cena unseated JBL as WWE Champion in an underwhelming match at WrestleMania 21, which was Cena's first WWE Championship reign. The two would meet again in an I Quit match a month later at Judgment Day, where Cena inevitably made the self-made millionaire quit.
JBL would retire a year later but in 2008, the two of them reignited their rivalry. Their matches were incredibly lackluster and did not flow at all. Big Match John won two of their three clashes in 2008. He would also win their final world title clash at the 2009 Royal Rumble. Whilst this feud was one-sided it certainly helped Cena along the way.
9 Triple H Vs Randy Orton
At SummerSlam 2004, Randy Orton became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion much to the chagrin of Triple H. The Game could not contain his frustration as he kicked Orton out of Evolution the following night on Monday Night Raw.
The Legend Killer turned face, and his title reign was short-lived as he dropped the title to Triple H at Unforgiven. Orton failed to get the upper hand in his early feuds with Triple H as The Game always had his number. At New Year's Revolution 2005, Triple H pinned Orton to clinch his 10th World Title, and he went on to retain the title at Royal Rumble 2005. The Viper's first three World title runs were ended by The Cerebral Assassin, therefore, it would take Orton a couple of years to get back to World title-winning form.
8 Edge Vs Batista
Batista was featured in every World Heavyweight Championship pay-per-view match in 2007 which is an outstanding record. The Animal began a new feud with Edge in that time. The Rated R-Superstar left Raw as he cashed in Money in the Bank on The Undertaker to become a three-time World champion.
Edge and Batista met at Judgment Day, One Night Stand and Vengeance: Night of Champions. It seemed inevitable that Batista would take the World title from Edge but failed to do so. A heel rarely goes over a face for so long but the Ultimate Opportunist secured three successive wins over Batista. Unfortunately, Edge had to relinquish the title due to a pectoral injury the following month.
7 The Undertaker Vs Kane
One of the greatest rivalries of all-time features The Undertaker and Kane. The Brothers of Destruction faced off seven times alone in 1998 in a variety of matches. The Undertaker would win four of their encounters including classic matches at WrestleMania XIV and the first-ever Inferno match at Unforgiven, the following month.
Paul Bearer has been in both men's corner and has played a huge part in this rivalry. Kane would get the upper hand in their final feud in 2010 but The Undertaker dominated their rivalry at its peak in 1998 and 1999.
6 John Cena Vs Chris Jericho
Before Chris Jericho embarked on a two-year hiatus from the WWE in 2005 to focus on other projects, he wanted to put John Cena over. The first-ever Undisputed Champion was the calculated heel, and the two would clash at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship. The match was at a high level with fans noticeably booing Big Match John for the first time.
Their paths would cross once more in late 2008, this time the fans were backing Cena as they met in the main event of Survivor Series in Cena's hometown of Boston. Jericho would make Cena look good again, and dropped the World Heavyweight Championship. The blowoff was at Armageddon with Jericho once again doing the honors for Cena.
5 Batista Vs Triple H
Batista's popularity grew in 2005 whilst a member of Evolution. The Animal's face turn was inevitable and solidified by outlasting John Cena to win the Royal Rumble. Triple H and Ric Flair would do everything in their power to persuade Batista to challenge JBL for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21.
The Animal powerbombed Triple H through a table on Raw and the two lock horns for the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania 21. Batista was unleashed as he defeated Triple H for his first taste of the World Heavyweight Championship. Credit has to be given to Triple H as he ensured Batista's ascent to the top was legitimate. Batista would defeat The Cerebral Assassin in two more further outstanding Championship matches at Backlash and Vengeance. Following Vengeance, The Game would take a hiatus, whilst Batista was drafted to Smackdown, where he dominated.
4 Rob Van Dam Vs Jeff Hardy
Rob Van Dam joining the WWE on July 9, 2001, was one of the best things that could happen to Jeff Hardy. The two high-flyers immediately hit it off over the WWE Hardcore Championship. Despite being a heel, Van Dam was universally loved by the fans because of his style of wrestling.
Van Dam and Hardy had great chemistry in the ring together which was evident at Invasion. RVD won his first Hardcore Championship, and they would take their rivalry to new heights at SummerSlam in one of the best ladder matches of all time. Van Dam would reclaim the title from Hardy, and once more created more history in 2002. RVD bested Hardy in another classic Ladder match unifying the Intercontinental and European championships in the process.
3 Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs The Rock
The two biggest stars of the Attitude Era, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were both vying for the top spot. Their rivalry is arguably the best in professional wrestling history. Both men were competitive, had exceptional mic skills, and had multiple WWE Championship reigns.
However, Austin dominated his rivalry with The Rock. He defeated him twice in the main event of WrestleMania 15 and 17 for the WWE Championship. The Texas Rattlesnake also overcame The Rock in an underrated rematch at Backlash 1999. Another win at Rebellion 2001, during the Invasion storyline, added on Austin's resume. Nevertheless, their feud was enjoyable with Rock finally getting his WrestleMania win over Austin at WrestleMania XIX in Austin's final match.
2 Randy Orton Vs Christian
Christian finally became a World Heavyweight Champion in 2011. Unfortunately, his reign would last two days as he dropped the title to Randy Orton on Smackdown. The title loss did Christian a world of good as he featured in one of the best rivalries in Smackdown history.
Captain Charisma eventually turned heel on The Viper and fell short in quality matches at Over The Limit and Capitol Punishment. Christian controversially regained the title as Orton got disqualified at Money in the Bank. Their feud culminated with Orton regaining the title at SummerSlam. This rivalry was arguably Orton's best work as a face, and Christian showed he could mix it up with the big boys.
1 Brock Lesnar Vs Roman Reigns
In 2018, Roman Reigns was Brock Lesnar's biggest threat to the Universal Championship. Lesnar dominated this rivalry which went on way longer than it needed to. In fairness, Reigns took the brutal punishment handed to him from the Beast Incarnate. In a shocking twist, many expected The Big Dog to win the Universal title at WrestleMania 34, which did not happen.
Lesnar would retain the title once more at The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. However, Reigns would clinch the Universal title from Lesnar at SummerSlam but in truth, this feud always belonged to Lesnar.