The 2010s was full of ups and downs for WWE, with some memorable moments, but also some infamously bad ones. In that 10-year span, fans witnessed amazing PPV main events, such as CM Punk against John Cena at Money In The Bank 2011, Brock Lesnar versus Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31 (with Seth Rollins' epic sprint to make the match a Triple Threat), or the masterpiece between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 26.
Unfortunately, there were also some mediocre main events, due to poor booking, or just lazy in-ring action. Below are the 10 worst WWE PPV main events of 2010s, according to Dave Meltzer.
10 John Cena Vs. The Miz – WrestleMania 27 (1.25 Stars)
The main event of WrestleMania 27 featured WWE Heavyweight Champion The Miz facing off against John Cena. Frankly it was a very boring match, which ended with a double count out. However, The Rock showed up and had the match restarted under a no disqualification stipulation. The Rock hit a Rock Bottom on Cena, and the Miz took advantage to make the cover to win the match and retain the title. The Miz looked like a terrible champion, Cena looked pretty dumb too, the only cool thing was The Rock. This was one of the worst main events in WrestleMania history.
9 Triple H Vs. The Undertaker – Super Show Down 2018 (1.25 Stars)
Triple H and The Undertaker delivered some memorable matches throughout the years, but they encounter at Super Show Down 2018 was simply awful. That’s not surprising, since both of them were well past their prime, and going 27 minutes was a terrible decision. However, the match had some nice moments, and good callbacks. In the end, Triple H defeated the Undertaker. This was a bad match, but perhaps Dave Meltzer was too strict.
8 Randy Orton Vs. The Big Show – Survivor Series 2013 (1 Star)
Every PPV should have a top-notch main event, especially if we are talking about one of the big four. Unfortunately, this match was a disaster, disrespectful to the fans who paid to see the event. The in-ring action was very basic, and the booking was lazy.
Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and Kane showed up, which distracted the Big Show, so Randy Orton hit the RKO, followed by the Punt to retain the WWE Title in just over 10 minutes.
7 Seth Rollins Vs. Baron Corbin – Stomping Grounds (1 Star)
In the main event of Stomping Grounds, Seth Rollins successfully defended the Universal Title against Baron Corbin, with Lacey Evans as special referee, something that was not to the liking of many fans, but admittedly made sense for the storyline development, which also involved Becky Lynch. Nevertheless, Evans did a terrible job as referee. The match as such was boring, overbooked, and apparently the fans didn't care.
6 Jinder Mahal Vs. Randy Orton – Battleground 2017 (0.75 Stars)
This was a Punjabi Prison match between WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton. As expected, this match was terrible. Randy and Jinder tried hard, no one can deny that, but the stipulation just didn't work. The match lasted almost half an hour, and frankly it felt like an eternity because the pace was so slow.
The Great Khali showed up to help Jinder Mahal get a cheap win. Jinder Mahal has been one of the worst World Champions in WWE history, and one of the reasons is because of the woeful booking.
5 Kane Vs. The Undertaker – Hell In A Cell 2010 (0.5 Stars)
Kane and The Undertaker had a legendary rivalry, one of the best in the history of sports entertainment. However, the matches were never extraordinary, and admittedly some were awful, like this one in the main event of Hell In A Cell 2010.
It was a slow match, and perhaps some fans fell asleep along the way, although it wasn't too bad in terms of in-ring action and psychology. The ridiculousness was the ending, with the pyro, and that questionable booking.
4 The Undertaker Vs. Goldberg – Super ShowDown 2019 (DUD)
The main event of Super ShowDown 2019 featured The Undertaker taking on Goldberg, a dream match that happened too late. Frankly this match was embarrassing, as both men looked terrible - especially Goldberg - botching everywhere, even botching their signature moves. It was one of the worst matches of both men's careers. Goldberg and The Undertaker may have ruined their legacies here, but their careers were so amazing that fans may have forgiven them and would rather just forget this match.
3 Goldberg Vs. Kevin Owens – Fastlane 2017 (DUD)
The aforementioned match was not the only time that Goldberg was involved in a DUD main event, as it happened two years before, at Fastlane 2017. But this time, the infamy was not because of the botches, but because Goldberg, at 50 years old, squashed and buried Kevin Owens to win the Universal Championship. Certainly, Goldberg's win wasn't clean, as Chris Jericho showed up to distract Owens, but it was a terrible booking decision nonetheless, and a lousy main event. It felt more like an angle than a match.
2 John Laurinaitis Vs. John Cena – Over The Limit 2012 (DUD)
In the main event of Over The Limit 2012, John Cena and John Laurinaitis collided in a No Disqualification match. How did this match main evented a PPV? Well, ask Vince McMahon. This was garbage, it shouldn't even be called a wrestling match. John Cena punished Laurinaitis, trying to be funny, for 15 minutes, until the Big Show turned heel (again) and attacked Cena, allowing Laurinaitis to pin Cena for the win.
1 Seth Rollins Vs. The Fiend – Hell In A Cell 2019 (-2 Stars)
The worst WWE PPV main event of the 2010s, according to Dave Meltzer, was Seth Rollins versus The Fiend at Hell In A Cell 2019, and rightly so. Everything about this match was pathetic, especially the nonsensical booking. The beginning of the match wasn’t bad, but suddenly Seth Rollins performed like 100 Stomps, and the Fiend no-sold every one of them. Then, Seth put some weapons and objects over the Fiend, and suddenly the referee stopped the match, which made absolutely no sense. One of the worst finishes in sports entertainment history.