We are entering the final month of the decade, and for WWE fans, it's the perfect time to reflect on the best and most memorable moments of the 2010s . The decade was marked by the rises of fresher and younger superstars.
Most of the main faces from the 2000s either retired, moved to another company or transitioned towards part-time roles. This led to a wave of wrestling superstars carrying the company ever since, and based on the fans' reactions, they went above and beyond. The 2020s will be here in less than a month now so as we prepare for it, let's take a look back on the 10 biggest decade-defining moments in WWE.
10 Triple H vs. Undertaker: The End Of An Era
One year after narrowly maintaining his perfect WrestleMania streak against Triple H, The Undertaker squared off with the Cerebral Assassin yet again at WrestleMania XXVIII. This time, Shawn Michaels acted as the special guest referee for the Hell in a Cell match. The match was aptly referred to as "the end of an era."
These were three marquee faces from the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Era, after all, and WWE had been moving forward with the next generation of superstars by this point. Undertaker barely managed to defeat Triple H, thus moving his streak to 20-0. After the match, all three legends embraced and walked out together - thus signaling "the end of an era."
9 Becky Lynch Becomes "The Man"
WWE attempted to turn Becky Lynch heel at SummerSlam 2018 by having her attack Charlotte Flair. Instead, The Irish Lass Kicker saw her popularity among the fans soar to an all-time high. Even as she attempted to portray the heel character more and more, Lynch just couldn't get the fans to turn against her. WWE had no choice but to go with the flow and give her the babyface treatment.
And so, Lynch won the 2019 women's Royal Rumble, en route to headlining WrestleMania 35 in a triple threat match against Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey. Lynch put an exclamation point on "The Man" gimmick by winning both the Raw and SmackDown Women's Championship. And with that, WWE had its new main face to build around in the women's division.
8 CM Punk Walks Out On WWE
CM Punk was one of WWE's top main event superstars for almost a full decade. The five-time World Champion won two Money in the Bank matches - and he enjoyed illustrious feuds against future Hall of Famers such as John Cena, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio and The Undertaker.
But CM Punk's Hall of Fame caliber career ended abruptly in January 2014, when he told Vince McMahon and Triple H that he was heading home. Punk never returned to the company and was officially "fired" a few months later. He has since joined WWE Backstage on Fox Sports 1, but even if CM Punk winds up returning to the ring, fans will continue to wonder how different the WWE would have been if he had never left.
7 Brock Lesnar Ends The Streak
It always felt as though The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak would never end. At least, that was before it actually ended at the hands of Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX. Lesnar was able to counter out of a Tombstone Piledriver before hitting Undertaker with an F-5, scoring the pinfall victory to finally conquer "The Streak."
Fans in New Orleans looked on in shock and dismay, as Undertaker looked on in what was perhaps the most unbelievable finish in WWE history. As it turned out, Undertaker was mortal. It just took a world champion wrestler and former UFC star to finally end over two decades of dominance on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
6 Seth Rollins Cashes In
The main event of WrestleMania 31 saw 2015 Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns go up against Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but the two superstars were in for an unexpected surprise. Seth Rollins interrupted the match to cash in his Money in the Bank contract, and he quickly pinned Reigns to become the new champion.
This marked the start of Rollins' massive main event push, though it was unfortunately halted when he tore his ACL and MCL during a November house show. But after he came back, The Architect was pushed back into the main event spotlight, and he hasn't looked back. This victory at WrestleMania 31 will surely go down as the career-defining moment of Rollins' career.
5 It's A New Day, Yes It Is
For the most part, the tag team division in WWE was a massive disappointment. There simply weren't enough duos that you can look back on and classify as possible Hall of Famers, but there is one major exception. That would be The New Day, which is comprised of Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston. The trio formed an alliance on the July 21, 2014 edition of Monday Night Raw and (much to fans' delight) have stayed together ever since.
New Day has been one of the most entertaining and beloved stables in the history of WWE. Their popularity remains as strong as ever, and the group has captured seven Tag Team Championships together. On top of that, Kingston was WWE Champion for six months, having captured it at WrestleMania 35 after defeating Daniel Bryan.
4 Stephanie McMahon Announces Diva's Revolution
Many of the top female superstars in WWE were long gone in the midway point of 2015, and a massive change was needed. During the July 13, 2015 episode of Raw, Stephanie McMahon revealed that a Divas "Revolution" was taking place, and it marked the starting point of something historic.
Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair appeared, and they quickly emerged as three premier faces of the women's division. All three have won multiple championships up to this point, and they've each headlined various pay-per-view shows. Stephanie and Triple H especially deserve credit for building up the women's division even more. That one announcement from Stephanie four years ago changed absolutely everything for the women of WWE.
3 Daniel Bryan Climbs The Mountain
The WWE Universe was extremely disappointed when Daniel Bryan didn't win the 2014 Royal Rumble. They heavily booed Batista, who won it shortly after he returned to the squared circle. This forced WWE to make a serious change to the main event of WrestleMania 30, where Bryan was placed in a triple threat match against Batista and Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Bryan applied the "Yes Lock" on Batista and got him to tap out, thus becoming the new champion of WWE. The crowd erupted for the lovable underdog, who managed to conquer The Authority and two future Hall of Famers. This, folks, was the most memorable and defining victory in Bryan's career!
2 The Rise Of The Shield
What can we say about The Shield that hasn't already been said? Never mind that this was unquestionably the best stable of the decade, but just look at how much all three men changed the direction of WWE.
Dean Ambrose (now Jon Moxley) is long gone, but Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have become two of the WWE's newest premier faces. This was a much needed passing of the torch as legends like John Cena, Triple H and Undertaker moved on to part-time roles. To say that this once villainous team changed a lot is an understatement.
1 The Birth Of NXT
A few years ago, WWE scrapped the Florida Championship Wrestling and rebranded it to NXT. With Triple H leading the way, NXT acted as a minor league system for Vince McMahon's business. Here we are at the tail end of the decade, and just look at how much NXT has changed WWE and the entire wrestling world.
Most of today's top talents - including but not limited to: Rollins, Reigns, Lynch, Banks, Charlotte, Bray Wyatt, Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor and Kevin Owens - refined their wrestling skills in NXT. This brand is what paved the way for the next generation of wrestlers to carry the torch in WWE. This, without a doubt, was the defining moment of WWE in the 2010s.