Top 10 WWE Matches of 2016: Part 1

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are all well and good! So we are slowly reaching the end of the year season here on my blog and it's finally time to start taking a look at some of the best matches of the year. Now, before we get started I just want to chat about a few things. First up I want to mention just how much I have been enjoying of the year season here on my blog and I have loved hearing your feedback and opinions. It's always so great seeing who everyone thinks should be superstar of the year, what has been a match of the year and so on and this year has been such a great year for wrestling and there has been so much to talk about. I have actually been very tempted to write more on the British scene. Two thousand and sixteen saw the British wrestling scene blow up! Out of nowhere, we saw British wrestling become a huge huge deal and it's grown so so much over the past twelve months. I am planning on talking about this in more detail over the next couple of weeks so keep an eye out for that and I am planning on talking about British wrestling much much more here on my blog over the next year so if you have any request then do let me know. Today however we are going to be focusing back on the WWE as I count down my op five WWE Matches of two thousand and sixteen. Like I said, we have seen some truly fantastic matches this year from the WWE and so narrowing it down to just ten was really difficult but I think I have a list I really do love! As always you can have your say and let me know what you think has been the match of the year by leaving a comment bellow or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria. Finally, any recent blog posts will be linked bellow including every other match in my of the year season!


10) Roman Reigns VS AJ Styles 
The Roman Reigns VS AJ Styles feud was one that really did generate mixed reactions from the WWE Universe. I started out quite cynical I have to admit. I just wasn't feeling their chemistry and I wasn't expecting anything amazing from these two and their up and coming matches, but god was I proven wrong. Now, I know there are plenty of you who were not a big fan of both of their pay per
view matches but I was sold one hundred percent. I felt as though there was a brilliant story being told throughout both of their matches and my personal favourite had to be their second back at the Extreme Rules pay per view. I did enjoy both massively but I thought it best to only include one. This match really was a huge turning point for Reigns and his career and his reign as champion. We all know that character wise Reigns has a lot to work on and improve on but his in ring capabilities have gone through the roof and this match was a perfect example of how far he has come in the ring. He was up against a superstar who has so much experience and such an insane move set and so the challenge was truly real for Reigns but he was able to hold his own well and his power and strength really did come into play and worked to his advantage. They both went to town on one another pushing each other to their limits and delivering a brilliantly entertaining match and main event. It really did have it all from the action between the two superstars, to the outside work from the Usos and the Club and of course Seth Rollins' epic return to end the night. Without a doubt one of the best matches of the year

 10) Finn Balor VS Seth Rollins (SummerSlam)
The following content comes from my SummerSlam Highlights post:The match I personally was most looking forward too last night was the one on one match up between Finn Balor and Seth Rollins to determine the first ever WWE Universal Champion. Here we had two brilliant superstars, two former NXT champion, two  stars that will lead the future of the WWE going one on one in one of the biggest and most important matches of the night. A true must see this was one full of high expectations and one no wrestling fan would want to miss out on! We have seen what these two can do, we have seen them both compete in outstanding matches but with this being their first time ever competing against another no one could quite predict just what these two would pull out of the bag bug one thing that did become clear was that they sure were not going to disappoint. Everything about this match was done perfectly. There was character, storytelling, and absolutely fantastic wrestling. In the moments of this match Balor wasted no time jumping right into the action. Barley giving Rollins time to breathe he looked to be closing in on a very very early victory an after Seth was able to find his way Balor remained on top sending himself over the top rope crashing into Rolling. A fast, fun, and thrilling opening had everyone on the edge of their seats. A shift in momentum did soon come in as Rollins was able to find a weak spot targeting the nose of Balor changing things up completely. One of the highlights from this match saw Rollins hit a brilliant flog splash half way across the ring only one example of how well these two showed off their athleticism. Rollins spent a great deal of time in control and with a split crowd, the longer the match went on the more it became difficult to predict just who would be walking out as champion. The action was fast paced, the wrestling was at its best and the back an forth work between the two made this such an exciting match. Both superstars were kicking out of each others best moves until eventually Balor was able to close in on Rollins despite the near falls and would finally pick up the winning victory becoming the first ever WWE Universal Champion. This was easily one of my favourite matches of the night a match I'm sure I will be talking about a lot in the coming weeks! I one hundred percent think the right man won and I believe Finn Balor is going to have an epic and very interesting championship Reign.

9)  Seth Rollins VS Roman Reigns (Money in the Bank)
I know, I know, I know, some of you hated this match and some of you absolutely loved this match and so including this in my top ten matches of the year post was always going to be a touch controversial. To be completely honest I was not expecting to enjoy this match half as much as I actually did but this really did become one of my favourite matches of the year so far for so many different reasons. Now, the rivalry between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns was always going to come about sooner or later. It was an inevitable feud it was just a matter of time. In last week's blog post we spoke about the return of Seth Rollins and on this night their story really did reach new heights. This was a story that really did tell itself. It was several years in the making and so it had all the ingredients to be something special. I do think the build up could have been better but there is so much history and so much chemistry between these two and the video packages provided was great. The match itself was so much better than I expected. Reigns really were put through his paces throughout and they both managed to fit in a great deal of offence and pushed each other to the limits. It did take me a while to get into but once I did I was completely hooked and genuinely on the edge of my seat yelling at the TV. The longer it went on the better it got and I really did grow to completely love this match! The shock of Rollins beating Reigns clean had me running around the living room at gone four AM and that wasn't even the most shocking moment. Seconds later Dean Ambrose cashed his Money in the bank contract and left the pay per view as the WWE Champion. Seeing all three former Shield members hold the championship in one night was a special moment and the perfect ending to a fantastic match and pay per view.

 8) John Cena VS AJ Styles (Money in the Bank)
Up next we have yet another match from the Money in the bank pay per view, I know there have been quite a few. This time we have a true dream match. Growing up watching both AJ Styles and John Cena I was one of many that wanted to see these two at some point collide inside a WWE ring. The wait was extremely long and I honestly did believe I would never ever get to see this match but after Styles debuted for the WWE back in January at the Royal Rumble pay per view the match was inevitable. We at some point were going to finally get to see AJ Styles VS John Cena, it was just a matter of when. The feud between Styles and Cena has so far been done fantastically well. The Heel turn, Styles once again allying himself with the Club and the brilliant mic work between the two superstars, it has all been so great to sit back and watch. Their match at Money in the Bank had high high expectations and while I know there were a couple of people that were expecting more and were disappointed with the ending I absolutely loved it all! I really did enjoy every single moment of this match and in my eyes it lived it up to the expectations. We had some fantastic spots throughout, they told a brilliant story and I actually liked the ending. It was classic WWE storytelling and I liked it a lot. Great match!


7) American Alpha VS The Revival (NXT Takeover: The end)
Trust me when I say I could literally sit here and talk about this match all day long! I have sat here behind this desk and spoke about the brilliant work NXT has done with the Tag division many times before. I've noted that NXT has done exactly what it did with the women's division with the Tag Division over the past couple of years and this match really does show that and show just how far tag team wrestling in the WWE has come over the past thew years thanks to NXT. When I was writing the prediction post for this match I mentioned that this was going to be something special. I hyped it up to the best of my abilities and promised everyone that I was certain this could easily steal the show on the night and that is exactly what these two teams did. It was a solid card with every match delivering but this was without a doubt the match of the night. I honestly could not stop talking about it for weeks and I've lost track of how many times I've actually re-watched it. Right from the very moment the match started I was completely hooked. We had brilliant spot after brilliant spot. Both teams worked amazingly well together and because of the chemistry, because of the skill, and because of the amazing backstage work these four guys were able to deliver something that we haven't seen from the division in a very very long time. Such well thought out moments that genuinely had you on the edge of your seat. Not to mention the fact that these are two of the greatest technical wrestling teams in all of pro wrestling and it seeing them together in a ring was great. Mix
that with the shock ending and the arrival of Authors of Pain and you have a match that truly was outstanding and easy runner up for match of the year.


6) The Miz VS Sami Zayn VS Cesaro VS Kevin Owens 
I know that number six is a very popular choice amongst wrestling fans for two thousand and sixteen matches of the year. It has without a doubt been one of the best matches of the year so far and it had to feature in this post today! I just like everyone else loved this match. It had everything you could possibly want and ask for in a professional wrestling match. We had four extremely talented superstars all having a great deal of experience and all bringing something different to the table. This was a true bunch of different characters all coming together to take part in what was a brilliant match and an easy candidate for potential match of the year. I found myself completely hooked on the action right from the very start and I honestly did not take my eyes off the screen for a single second. This was the showcase of the mid card roster that no one will be forgetting anytime soon. They all proved that they could easily the main event any live special putting on the match of the night without a fail. Everyone I spoke to was backing a different superstar and I remember watching this and honestly not knowing who was going to walk away with the victory and it only made it that much more interesting and entertaining to watch. We had so much chemistry between all four superstars, we had outside work from Maryse, serious character from all four men, and insane spots left right and centre. How could I not include this match in my top ten?!

*This post was pre posted at the start of December *

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