WWE.com posted a new list on Saturday ranking the top 10 matches of 2020 (so far), recapping everything that’s happened since the Royal Rumble back in January up through The Horror Show at Extreme Rules this past Sunday. Like the rest of the world, WWE was drastically affected by the coronavirus pandemic and hasn’t run a show in front of fans since mid-March. The company has tried to shake things up along the way — making WrestleMania a two-night event, incorporating cinematic matches into pay-per-views, pushing Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman as the new world champions — and it has led to some interesting entries on the best matches list.
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The list reads as follows:
- The Boneyard Match: The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles (WrestleMania 36)
- Edge vs. Randy Orton (Backlash)
- Charlotte Flair vs. Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley (NXT TakeOver: In Your House)
- The 2020 Men’s Royal Rumble (Royal Rumble)
- AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan Intercontinental Championship Match (SmackDown, June 12)
- Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins (Money in the Bank)
- Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley (WrestleMania 36)
- The Money in the Ban Ladder Match (Money in the Bank)
- Keith Lee vs. Adam Cole (Great American Bash)
- The Fight Pit: Matt Riddle vs. Timothy Thatcher (NXT, May 27)
Obviously there’s a lot to take away from the rankings. For starters, it’s a little funny that the match WWE promoted as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” won’t be considered the best match of the year even though Edge and Orton put on a fantastic bout. It’s also great to see NXT pop up a few times on the list, even if it looks like there’s a bit of recency bias. And like with all lists people will talk about who didn’t make the cut, and it’s a bit odd that none of the recent singles or tag matches involving Asuka, Sasha Banks or Bayley made the cut.
Do you agree with the rankings? Is there anything they left off or ranked too high? Let us know down in the comments.
Here’s what WWE has announced for this coming week of television:
- WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler — Stipulation TBA (Raw)
- Raw Women’s Championship: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks (Raw)
- Viking Raiders vs. Ricochet & Cedric Alexander vs. Andrade & Angel Garza — Winner gets a tag title shot at SummerSlam (Raw)
- Finn Balor vs. Dexter Lumis vs. Timothy Thatcher (NXT)
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross (SmackDown)
- Intercontinental Championship: AJ Styles vs. Gran Metalik (SmackDown)
- Lacey Evans vs. Naomi (SmackDown)
