Like any decade, WWE went through plenty ups and downs in the 2010s, as Vince McMahon and Triple H worked closely together in constructing a new era of professional wrestling.
Fans got to see the rises of many new talents, including Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, among others. Meanwhile, established wrestling veterans like John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H and Brock Lesnar added more chapters to their illustrious careers. We were treated to many epic and unforgettable showdowns throughout the 2010s, but these 10 matches didn't come anywhere close to living up to our expectations.
10 Undertaker vs. Goldberg (Super ShowDown 2019)
Maybe fans didn't expect this to be a clinical and high quality match, but few could have thought that the Undertaker-Goldberg showdown would be a downright disaster. This marked Goldberg's first WWE match in two years, having last competed at WrestleMania 33 - where he fell to Brock Lesnar.
The match featured numerous botches throughout the match. On one occasion, Goldberg dropped Undertaker on top of himself when he tried performing a Tombstone Piledriver. Worse yet, Goldberg suffered a legitimate injury after crashing headfirst into the ring post. This match was just a huge letdown from start to finish, and instead of hoping for it to never end, you couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief once it concluded.
9 Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose (WrestleMania 32)
With Seth Rollins sidelined and with Roman Reigns being rejected by the fans at this point, Dean Ambrose was arguably the top main event star in WWE heading into WrestleMania 32.
There was plenty of buildup for his bout with Brock Lesnar, who he would face in a No Holds Barred match. Ambrose was resilient, determined and fearless against the Beast Incarnate, but he was thoroughly dominated and put away easily via pinfall. The loss did next to nothing it help Ambrose's push. In the end, it was just another meaningless and uneventful victory for Lesnar.
8 AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WrestleMania 34)
Shinsuke Nakamura won the 2018 men's Royal Rumble, and he opted to challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34. The hype for this showdown between two elite world-class talents went through the roof, and for good reason.
But the match itself was lackluster at best, and just when it looked like WWE would finally give Nakamura a long overdue main event push, he lost via pinfall to Styles. Nakamura then turned heel after delivering a low blow to Styles, and it led to a series of boring and forgettable rematches. This feud could have been one of the best of the decade, but WWE completely wasted it. You can't help but feel sorry for Nakamura.
7 Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt (Hell in a Cell 2019)
After a lengthy hiatus from WWE television, Bray Wyatt was repackaged as "The Fiend," and he quickly became the hottest thing in the company. Wyatt received a Universal Championship match against Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell 2019, and it had the makings to be a main event for the ages.
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Instead, WWE humiliated themselves with a horrible and inexcusable match booking. Rollins brutally attacked Wyatt throughout the match, desperate to finally put him away. After he attacked The Fiend with a sledgehammer, the match ended via referee stoppage. Fans booed Rollins heavily, all while chanting "AEW" and "refund." Can you really blame them?
6 Roman Reigns vs. Triple H (WrestleMania 32)
WWE was desperate to finally get Roman Reigns out there, and it all started by having Triple H become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Royal Rumble 2016. This set up a showdown between Reigns and Triple H in the main event at WrestleMania 32 in Dallas.
This was supposed to be the ultimate passing-of-the-torch moment, but after Reigns predictably defeated Triple H, he was met with a cold reception from the fans. This was anything but an iconic and memorable torch-passing segment, but rather one of the most disappointing and forgettable WrestleMania events in history.
5 Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez (Crown Jewel 2019)
Cain Velasquez had defeated Lesnar at UFC 121, so you can understand why expectations were sky-high for their "rematch" at the 2019 Crown Jewel pay-per-view. Instead, their match lasted only two minutes, with Lesnar winning via submission to retain his WWE Championship.
The company tried to save face by having Rey Mysterio come out to attack Lesnar after the bout, but the damage had been done. We were already let down from such a short and not-so-sweet showdown.
4 Triple H vs. Sting (WrestleMania 31)
Fans were hoping to see Sting clash with The Undertaker, but The Phenom went up against Bray Wyatt instead while the former face of WCW went up against Triple H. The match wasn't terrible in terms of quality, especially given the age of the superstars.
But when members of D-Generation X and the New World Order appeared, you couldn't help but think it was Vince McMahon's way of letting everybody know who emerged victorious in the Monday Night Wars - especially when Triple H won the match. It was inexcusable to have Sting lose his first match in Vince's company. Was WWE really that bitter about him not signing with them all those years ago?
3 The Nexus vs. Team WWE (SummerSlam 2010)
The main event of SummerSlam 2010 saw seven members of The Nexus go up against seven of WWE's top stars (Team WWE, which consisted of John Cena, Edge, R-Truth, John Morrison, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart and Daniel Bryan). Many expected Nexus to win this match, since the up-and-coming superstars needed the victory more in order to get over.
Instead, Cena managed to lead Team WWE to victory. It was later said that the 16-time World Champion wasn't willing to lose to The Nexus, which led to unforeseen consequences. As a result, all of that build up and hype surrounding The Nexus went to complete waste. The stable never really bounced back from this, as a handful of the superstars became quick afterthoughts.
2 Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar (SummerSlam 2016)
During his first run in WWE, Brock Lesnar had squared off against a large portion of the company's premier stars. But entering 2016, he had yet to ever go up against Randy Orton, one of WWE's perennial main event talents. The two finally squared off in the main event of SummerSlam 2016, and the build up for this match was nothing short of tremendous.
Fans expected a clinic between the two merciless and punishing superstars, but that didn't end up being the case. Lesnar dominated Orton throughout the match before winning via technical knockout. We can't imagine how many fans and prognosticators simply blurted out "That's it?" It was a major flop in every sense of the word. WWE had no reason to make this the main event, given its forgettable and awful ending.
1 2014 Royal Rumble
Daniel Bryan was WWE's main babyface at the time, and even if he wasn't going to win the 2014 Royal Rumble, fans at least wanted him to participate in the 30-man showdown. Was that too much to ask for? Apparently it was.
Bryan never showed up for the Royal Rumble, and fans booed the numerous superstars (including the beloved Rey Mysterio) who did appear throughout the night. When Batista secured his second Royal Rumble victory, the fans in Pittsburgh turned on him and offered nothing more than roaring boos. A frustrated Batista flipped off the fans and even mocked Bryan's "YES" gestures at the end.
It was an absolute disaster from start to finish, and even Mick Foley took to Twitter to reveal his disgust with the event. WWE had no choice but to let Bryan headline WrestleMania XXX, where he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match against Orton and Batista.