It has been a great year in the WWE. Even when a lot of the storylines were repetitive or not as interesting, the matches were still delivering, especially with Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes and Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins.

#15. Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Asuka, Mia Yim and Alexa Bliss defeated Damage Control, Rhea Ripley and Nikki Cross, War Games, SummerSlam

#14. Roman Reigns defeated Logan Paul, Crown Jewel

#13. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin defeated Kevin Owens, Wrestlemania

#12. The Bloodline defeated The Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens, War Games, SummerSlam.

#11. Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns by DQ; Royal Rumble

#10. Matt Riddle defeated Seth Rollins, Fight Pit. Extreme Rules

#9. R.K. Bro defeated Alpha Academy and Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens. RAW

#8. Roman Reigns defeated Drew McIntyre. Clash at the Castle

#7. Roman Reigns defeated Matt Riddle. Smackdown.

#6. Cody Rhodes defeated Seth Rollins. Wrestlemania Backlash

#5. Bianca Belair defeated Becky Lynch. SummerSlam

#4. Roman Reign defeated Brock Lesnar Last Man Standing. SummerSlam.

#3. Cody Rhodes defeated Seth Rollins. Wrestlemania 38

#2. Gunther defeated Sheamus. Clash at the Castle.

Quite the year for Roman Reigns, who was in six of the top 15 matches, Seth Rollins who was in five, and Kevin Owens and Matt Riddle (who found his first name!) were in three each. Two matches that appeared live and free on TV made this list, one from RAW and one from Smackdown. This is the first year in quite awhile that NXT did not make the list. Gunther and Sheamus had the banger of all bangers at Clash at the Castle and it solidified Sheamus as a fan favorite and a tough, tough man. Some runners-up outside the top 15 included Bianca Belair vs. Bayley, Ladder Match, Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch, Wrestlemania 38, The Bloodline vs. R.K.Bro nd Drew McIntyre, Wrestlemania Backlash, The Usos defeated The Street Profits, Money in the Bank, AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor, Survivor Series, Ricochet vs. Carmelo Hayes, NXT World’s Collide, Wes Lee wins North American Championship in Ladder Match, Bron Breakker vs. Ilja Draugnov vs. JD McDonagh, Halloween Havoc

…and the #1 WWE Match of the

Year…

#1. Cody Rhodes defeated Seth Rollins, Hell in the Cell

There may have been better technical matches this year (including from these two), but the fat that Cody Rhodes went into this match with a severe injury, having torn his pec off the bone, and still was able to deliver a match full of drama and intensity, lacking nothing, speaks highly of both Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. The legit injury looked horrible and created such a stir in the audience. I remember when I first saw the injury that I couldn’t believe it was real and that the WWE would allow Cody to compete. The success of the match really sent Cody into the next stratosphere and set him up to be a huge babyface upon his return.