Top 100 Matches Of Past 50 Years: 40-21

With the success of our Top 100 Wrestlers Of All Time list, we’ve decided to go even bolder. We’re going to rank the top wrestling matches of the past 50 years!

Our ranking differs from the PWI 500 because we use math. Well, at least we try to. Just as we did before, we all submitted our own list of the top matches of all time, and each ranking represents points. For example, #1 = 100 points, #2 = 99 points, etc. At the end, we’d calculate which had the most points and assign ranking from there.

We narrowed the list down to the past 50 years because it’s quite challenging to find readily available footage from the 1960s and earlier (all of these matches except for one were televised). In a future Twitter Spaces, we’ll all break down the criteria we used in crafting our own lists. We’ll also bust each other’s balls over our choices and their absurdly low or ridiculously high rankings.

Here are 100-81.

Here are 80-61.

Here are 60-41.

40. Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada, Dominion 2018

After going over 60 minutes a year before, you couldn’t fathom how long these two intended to last this time. Well, add another 10 minutes on top of that for thrilling false finishes and heart-stopping moments, and Kenny Omega finally won the title (IWP Heavyweight) that eluded him. Never would any two wrestlers have a such a high bar to reach, not only meeting expectations but soaring above them. – Neal Wagner

39. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, WrestleMania III

I can’t talk about this match without talking about Al Snow’s controversial, infamous quote from his Guest Booker episode of Kayfabe Commentaries. In an epic rant, Al calls Dave Meltzer “the greatest worker in the history of the wrestling business,” but the gist of his point is that Hogan-Andre was a “better” match than Savage-Steamboat because it “sold more tickets.” I see his point, and that is why I have ranked this match highly on my list, though there needs to be more clarity over what makes a “great match.”

Kim Kardashian vs Brittney Spears could probably sell out a Russian airfield. Does that make it a great match? No. And from a technical standpoint, this match is an abomination, but none of that matters. The Hogan-Andre match at Shea Stadium is a better-constructed match in the traditional sense, but much like Rock-Hogan, the crowd is what made this match great, and credit to Vince McMahon and the WWE for pushing this match as hard as they did. If you’ve ever seen a cartoon that spoofs a WrestleMania-like spectacle event, it’s clearly spoofing this match, one of the most famous pro wrestling matches ever. Without it, perhaps WWE is still running arenas for WrestleMania. – Jack Goodwillie

38. DIY vs. The Revival, NXT TakeOver: Toronto

When fans and critics consider The Revival to be the best tag team today, it’s because of matches like this. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa (before their never-ending rivalry) had one last chance at the NXT Tag Team Titles and went balls to the wall to make the most of it. Thanks to a blind tag, The Revival take the first fall and use every trick in the book to prevent Gargano from making the hot tag. When he eventually does, the crowd erupts and DIY ties it. This leads to a nine-minute adrenaline rush of false finishes that culminates with the perfect finish to a tag team match. – John Corrigan

37. Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes, Double Or Nothing 2019

AEW needed a big show at its inaugural event and more specifically, a match that would have the wrestling world talking the next day. While many thought that would be Omega vs. Jericho II, it ended up being the battle between Cody and Dustin Rhodes. Donning the crimson mask, Dustin fell short to his little brother. But the tension wasn’t over after the bell rang, as Cody asked Dustin to be his tag team partner, reuniting the Rhodes boys in an emotionally heavy moment rarely seen in pro wrestling. – Neal Wagner

36. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack, Royal Rumble 2000

The match that cemented Triple H at the top of the card. Similar to Randy Orton at Backlash 2004, this war gave “The Game” street cred, elevating him from competent technical wrestler to a guy who could do it all – a guy you could build your company around. Of course, Mick Foley held nothing back, quenching the bloodthirsty Garden crowd. – John Corrigan

35. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

A crowd can make or break a match. In this case, the sellout crowd for the first NXT TakeOver outside of Full Sail University elevated a great match into an instant classic. The crowd was split, chanting louder than anytime you’ve heard them on WWE TV since the Attitude Era. Perhaps fearful that she had pushed her naive foe over the edge, Banks fought dirty, but Bayley endured and surprised “The Boss” with some well-timed, explosive offense. At the end of the match, the fans leapt to their feet in celebration over the underdog’s successful journey, a new NXT Women’s Champion, the official launch of the WWE women’s revolution and witnessing the greatest match of the 2010s. – John Corrigan

34. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk, Clash of the Champions IX

When you think of Ric Flair, what comes to mind? Clean matches, with cleaner technique and a few recycled spots. When you think of Terry Funk, what comes to mind? Wild brawls and a level of violence you usually only find at the movies. Clash of Champions may have been the name of the event, but it really could have been called Clash of Styles because that’s what the Ric Flair-Terry Funk feud was, which is why I am such a big fan of it.

Babyface Ric Flair was a total rarity in the ‘80s, so this may be as fresh as Flair ever felt up to that point. While I’m not too sure how frequent the I Quit match was during this era, I really appreciated how Flair and Funk worked the microphone into some of the spots, even using it as a weapon on one or two occasions. Sometimes, it’s the little things. Authentic fight-style matches can and will age better than traditional wrestling matches because of how relatable getting into a fight can be for so many people. – Jack Goodwillie

33. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H, SummerSlam 2002

SummerSlam 2002 might be my favorite wrestling event. It was a stacked card, fueled by great midcard matchmaking and excellent builds to its two main event matches: The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar and Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels. Many questioned whether Michaels could be anything close to the same level of performer he was before he retired in 1998, and perhaps more people questioned whether Michaels was fit to wrestle a regulation match, let alone an unsanctioned street fight. But boy, did this match deliver. It’s as close to a real fight as you’re going to see in WWE, and it can all be chalked up to the trust between HBK and HHH.

Triple H gets dragged by wrestling fans for a lot of things. Jim Cornette refers to him as “the guy who works with the top guy,” but the perception that Haitch can’t work or can’t wrestle is totally unfounded. He’s a student of the game, and this match is one of his finest moments. The match breathed new life into the career of the Heartbreak Kid, giving him enough air to continue on for almost eight years afterward. – Jack Goodwillie

32. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania 26

Frustrated over wrestling almost a perfect match last time, Michaels did his best to avoid Undertaker’s signature moves, focusing on the Deadman’s tweaked knee like a shark that smells blood. The crowd gasped after each man kicked out of each other’s finisher, selling in between moves to let the fans digest the unbelievable action. The Heartbreak Kid even kicked out of a tombstone with Undertaker’s tongue out, a surefire sign that the match was over! Finally, HBK gave us one more WrestleMania moment when he gave the throat slash and slapped Undertaker, prompting the Phenom to spike him with a jumping tombstone for the victory. – John Corrigan

31. Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley, Backlash 2004

Mick Foley considers this his greatest match, especially since he dropped lots of weight to improve upon his performance at WrestleMania XX the month before. This was a coming-of-age performance for Randy Orton, elevating him from young, technically sound, pretty boy to bloody, scarred warrior. This has all of the Foley trademarks, such as barbed wire, thumbtacks, a flying elbow from great height and even a tease of fire. – John Corrigan

30. Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair, Clash of the Champions VI

This two-out-of-three falls match goes nearly an hour, but never feels like it. The conditioning of these legends, especially in their primes, is remarkable. Creating an athletic contest that you can easily suspend your disbelief for, Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat stir a delicious cocktail of intensity, emotion and psychology, along with thrilling action, of course. Playing off the finish to Chi-Town Rumble, Steamboat reverses the Figure Four into a small package, but Flair shifts his weight to pick up the first fall. Steamboat ties it in the second fall by forcing Flair to submit in the double chicken wing.

And in true WCW fashion, the third fall ends with controversy. Steamboat locks Flair in the hold again, but his knee buckles due to Flair targeting the leg and both men crumble to the mat with Flair’s shoulders pinned. However, the replay shows that Flair’s foot was on the bottom rope, so a rematch is needed at WrestleWar. – John Corrigan

29. Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania X

The WrestleMania X ladder match was a rare instance where the stars perfectly aligned. It is one of those matches which no matter how many times you watch it, you can’t find fault with it. Both Michaels and Ramon came out of the gamechanger as bigger stars, Michaels even more so despite losing! It not only defined the New Generation, but redefined the wrestling industry as a whole. – Steven Jackson

28. Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar, No Way Out 2004

My only knock against this match is that I wasn’t yet a wrestling fan when it happened and couldn’t experience it in real-time. Of course, everyone is familiar with Brock Lesnar, but they may not be familiar with just how quality he is as an in-ring performer. He may be up there with the best of all time because while his mic skills aren’t up to par with some of his contemporaries, he sells raw emotion with total ease and has the ability to make you believe you’re watching a real athletic contest. This trait works part and parcel with his look to create the PPV draw we know him as today.

But make no mistake, Feb. 15, 2004 was Eddie Guerrero’s night. His 18-year journey that saw him travel the world, overcome addiction and win back the hearts of his wife, kids and WWE fans culminated at The Cow Palace in an excellent match that doesn’t quite get talked about enough. The adversity Lesnar laid in front of Eddie felt authentic, and there may not have been a better wrestler before or since who was in better sync with his character than Guerrero was from 2004 to the end of his life. Some may think Bill Goldberg’s run-in gave Eddie the “essentially clean” win over Lesnar. To those fans, please don’t let that distract you from the fact that Guerrero is one of the greatest adversaries Lesnar ever had, and I really wish we would have gotten to see more given the chemistry they had. – Jack Goodwillie

27. Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair, WrestleMania VIII

“She was mine before she was yours.” With that one line, Ric Flair enraged the possessive, paranoid “Macho Man,” who would do everything in his power to strip Flair of his most prized possession: the WWF Championship. Stealing the show at WrestleMania VIII, these bitter rivals belonged in the main event. – Juan Bautista

26. Sting’s Squadron vs. The Dangerous Alliance, WCW WrestleWar 1992

Some consider this the greatest War Games of all time. After all, The Dangerous Alliance was the top heel faction in WCW at the time and there opponents were the top faces, led by WCW’s hero Sting. However, the question remained whether Sting and Nikita Koloff could work together. We got our answer as all 10 men went to war. Just look at the elite workers in this one: Ricky Steamboat, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Steve Austin and so on. – Neal Wagner

25. Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, Badd Blood

Setting the standard for what fans can expect from Hell in a Cell, HBK and the Deadman had a gory war. Trapped inside the steel confine without DX’s assistance, Michaels was mauled by Undertaker to the roar of the crowd. After a cameraman got in his way, Michaels flipped out in typical fashion and assaulted him, a clever way to get the door open and allow the mayhem to continue on top of the cell. Of course, just as Undertaker looked to finish off Michaels, Kane made his epic debut and laid his brother out. – John Corrigan

24. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness, Unified 2006

Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness’ chemistry was unique. They wanted to push each other as far and as hard as they could go. And Unified, with the stakes the highest they possibly could be with both the ROH World Championship and ROH Pure Championship on the line, was the match where they cemented their careers. – Steven Jackson

23. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar, Extreme Rules 2012

Despite the outcome, which in hindsight didn’t kill off Lesnar as feared, but certainly cooled him off until The Streak, this is an exhilarating fight unlike anything seen in WWE up to that point. Fresh off his dominant UFC run, Lesnar demolishes Cena with realistic offense, cracking his skull open and wiping the blood on his chest. At his most desperate, Cena uses a chain to bust “The Beast” open and somehow pins him with an FU on the stairs. – John Corrigan

22. Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair, Chi-Town Rumble

The Steamboat vs. Flair trilogy of 1989 is one of those feuds you need to see to educate yourself on the history of pro wrestling. Their matches are a reference point to all aspiring wrestlers on how to gage psychology, pacing and physicality in the ring. Chi-Town Rumble 1989, the first in the series, is my favorite and a match I still jump up and down for to this day. – Steven Jackson

21. TLC II

Twenty years later, it’s still the measuring stick of what a tables, ladders and chairs match should be. The Hardy Boyz, Dudley Boyz and Edge & Christian risked it all for the entertainment of the fans, etching their place in history. Shout out to their supporters – Spike Dudley, Rhyno and Lita – who also took some gnarly bumps in this car crash. – Juan Bautista