Thoughts From The Top Rope 12.17.08: Top 10 WWE Matches of '08

Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 12.17.2008

From Edge and Taker's clash in the Cell to Ric Flair's last match, this week's Thoughts From The Top Rope counts down the Top 10 WWE Matches of 2008!


I'll admit it; I'm a sheep. The next few weeks is going to be plagued with writer's "Year End" lists, running down the best and the worst of 2008, and I'm no different in that respect. You won't agree with everything I say or indeed what anyone else says, but just remember everyone has an opinion, and not to take things too seriously.

About a year ago, I wrote an article listing The Top 10 Matches of 2008. While predicting the year's best matches at the beginning of the year is always going to be difficult, I think I did OK; I correctly predicted John Cena and Batista would tear it up at Summerslam, that Edge and Undertaker would settle their feud inside Hell in a Cell, that the MVP/Hardy rivalry would come to a head at Backlash, that Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho would renew their rivalry with Jericho turning heel, that Edge and Taker would main event Mania and even that Christian would resign with WWE.

But now 2008 is (pretty much) behind us and it's time to look back at the greatest matches from the past year that actually took place. To pre-empt any inevitable comments, ROH nor any other indies promotions are considered for this list and in fact, neither is TNA. If I'm honest, I have trouble remembering much of TNA's product due to its complete clusterfuckiness, so I'm not even going to bother trying to recall their best matches. So in essence, this is a WWE-exclusive countdown of the 10 Greatest Matches of 2008.

Honorable Mentions:
Triple H vs. Undertaker (SmackDown, Oct 3) – This was a match that really should've been saved for a PPV, because it's not often these guys go one-on-one. I think both men proved just how good they still are despite the fact that a few others may have surpassed them in terms of how good they can be in the ring. That said, this was a tremendous free TV match and showcased two awesome performers at their finest.

Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (Judgment Day, May 18) – No doubt, these two had many great matches this year, but I think this one goes forgotten because of just how much their feud would pick up as the year progressed. This was simply a fantastic wrestling match put on by two fantastic wrestlers. From a pure wrestling stand point, this is the best match these guys had all year.

Money in the Bank IV: Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk vs. John Morrison vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito (WrestleMania 24, Match 30) – MITB is always going to appear on these year-end lists. This, in my opinion, was the best Money in the Bank match since the first one, with Morrison, Benjamin and Punk in particular truly shining. This was very innovative, and somewhat breathtaking.

TLC Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Edge vs. The Undertaker (One Night Stand, June 1) – This one might have been higher if it wasn't for the blatantness of some of the spots. That said, it was another great spotfest and it was awesome to see Taker taking some hellacious bumps as he proved he could stick it with Edge in this type of environment.

Steel Cage Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga (Raw, Jan 7) – This one may only really be remembered for that ridiculous Whisper in the Wind that ended the match, but watching it again last week, it really is a great cage match from start to finish, indeed perhaps one of the best cage matches the WWE has done in many, many years. Of course, that big spot does leave a lasting impression, which helps.

10. Parking Lot Brawl: John Cena vs. JBL (Great American Bash, July 20) – I'll be the first to admit that this match isn't to everyone's taste. Many thought it was over the top and ridiculous, but I loved it, because sometimes over the top and ridiculous is just what's needed. These two had a great brawl and came up with some nice spot and created some cool-looking visuals. The only complaint I have is that JBL went over, but other than that I am a huge fan of this match and think that many underrate it.

9. WWE Championship Match: Edge vs. Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy (Armageddon, Dec 14) – Maybe this wouldn't be so high if it weren't for the historic win and the fact that it took place mere days ago, but I really did think that this was a fantastic triple threat featuring three of the best performers in the business. The Spear spot through the table was insanely awesome but the rest of the match shouldn't go forgotten as they built up to the finish extremely well and worked in a lot of cool stuff. Maybe the shock ending results in it being overrated, but regardless, this is a great match.

8. Elimination Chamber Match: Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho vs. Umaga vs. Shawn Michaels vs. JBL (No Way Out, Feb 17) – This match seems like it took place so long ago. I watched it again last week and I think it's a grower. Certainly down the stretch, this match is just awesome, as you'd expect with so much talent in the same ring at the same time, with JBL. The fact that we couldn't be certain who would win really helped here and Jeff seemed like he had a shot; indeed the final few minutes with just Triple H and Jeff remaining may be the best part of this excellent Chamber match.

7. WWE Championship Match: Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy (No Mercy, Oct 5) – These two have had some pretty great one-on-one matches with one another over the past year but I think this is the best of the bunch. These two share a unique charisma and produce some ridiculously exciting matches together. The finishing sequence here was all kinds of awesome and showcased what great performers both men are. Of course, the same can be said for all their other encounters over the last 12 months, but moreso in this match than any of their others, there was a real belief that Hardy could pull out the win here (sensing a pattern?).

6. WWE Championship Match: Triple H vs. John Cena (Night of Champions, June 29) – I for one loved the match these two had at WrestleMania a few years ago, but really wasn't sure if they'd be able to top it here. They didn't have the crowd with them as much this time around but I think they did indeed manage to top their previous encounter, and that's greatly due to Cena's improvement in the past couple of years. These two are both experts at letting a match build and then when the climax comes, having the crowd in the palm of their hand and that just about sums this match up. That said, because this was essentially a thrown together match on a throwaway pay-per-view, it doesn't get the credit it deserves, I feel.

5. World Heavyweight Championship Match: Edge vs. The Undertaker (WrestleMania 24, March 30) – This was a match that people had been wanting to see for a long, long time, and despite the history these two men had had over the year prior, this was the first one-on-one meeting between the two, save for Edge's opportunistic cash-in in May 2007. In hindsight, the outcome was inevitable but these guys had people thinking Edge could end the streak. It was a tremendous match well-worthy of closing out WrestleMania, and one that would be a pre-cursor for many more fantastic matches Edge and Taker would have over the coming months; it would take a hellacious gimmick match in August to trump this phenomenal effort though.

4. John Cena vs. Batista (Summerslam, August 17) – This is the closest thing this generation is going to get to Hogan vs. Warrior or Rock vs. Austin. However, that suggests that this match couldn't really be on the level of either of the aforementioned clashes, but that's an injustice to Cena and Batista. The two biggest names in wrestling to have emerged this century tore shit up here for thirteen minutes, no letting up, just balls to the wall action, proving that they can excite and entertain as well as anybody else on the roster. It may not have been a technical masterpiece, but it had that intangible, ineffable vibe of an instant classic, a match that will be remember for years to come. Of course, when they meet again, don't be surprised if they top this effort and this match gets forgotten.

3. Hell in a Cell: Edge vs. Undertaker (Summerslam, August 17) – It was inevitable that sooner or later, Edge and Taker would meet inside Hell in a Cell. We could expect a brawl, a spotfest and we could expect them to produce something memorable. But I think Edge and taker went above and beyond that here, incorporating into this match up all of the little things that had made their feud so great in the first place, playing off their history and delivering one of the most brutal and entertaining matches of the year; any other year and this would quite easily have been number one. People complain about little things like the lack of blood or the clichéd "sent to hell" finish, but considering the rivalry these guys had had, this was the perfect match for them to close out their feud on. These guys cemented their status as two of the best workers in the business with not just this, but their entire series of matches in 2008.

2. Ladder Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (No Mercy, Oct 5) – Under any circumstances, Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho in a Ladder match is a dream match, no question about it. But when you factor in the amazing feud these two had this year, both in the ring and out, and the fact that it was two IWC darlings colliding over the World Heavyweight Championship, you have all the ingredients for a classic. And they didn't disappoint; this was one of the most violent ladder matches ever and proved that you don't have to be flashy to have a good ladder match. The "tug of war" spot at the end was one of the greatest and most memorable visuals of the entire year and I give both men much credit for the hell they put their bodies through in this match. Every match these guys had this year was of the utmost quality, but this one stands head and shoulders above those and every other match put on this year, bar one. If it weren't for the love we all have for Ric Flair, this would be number one.

1. Career Threatening Match: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 24, March 30) – Sometimes you don't have to bring out any kind of gimmick or big spot to win a crowd and make a match memorable, because a select few professional wrestlers have the ability to produce from a crowd pure emotion, and never were there two better at doing that than Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels. And that's exactly what this match is built on; emotion. Neither guy was in their prime. Expecting much more from Flair than bare minimum in 2008 is a lot to ask for, but thankfully he was in there with the best. On its own, it was a pretty good match, but this was far from an ordinary match. This was Ric Flair's very last match, and because Shawn and Ric are such great performers, not just wrestlers but performers, it was one no one will ever forget. From the horrific asai moonsault onto the table to the sheer gall of HBK to try to win with an inverted Figure 4 to that final kick heard round the world preceded by Shawn's fatal utterance of "I'm sorry, I love you," this match captured the essence of wrestling, and in doing so became the 2008 Match of the Year by a country mile.

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So that concludes our look back at the Top 10 WWE Matches of 2008. Next week we countdown the Top 10 Performers of 2008, and if you look at the names appearing most frequently in the MOTY list, I don't think there'll be too many surprises.

And oh yes, this week marks the beginning of my 3rd year here at 411Mainia! Yeah, hardly worth celebrating, is it?