The year of 2010 in WWE was a peak time in which John Cena dominated the company, and his presence was felt throughout the PPV calendar in a big way. It was a very average year overall for the promotion, with some big stars competing but a lack of truly compelling storylines or feuds.
RELATED: Every WWE PPV Of 2013, Ranked Worst To Best
The PPVs throughout the year were mostly solid, with a mixture of both bad booking and strong matches, and vice versa. It feels as though most WWE calendar years have ups and downs, and 2010 was no different.
13 SummerSlam
This was a terrible SummerSlam. The opening match set a precedent, with Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston ending in a DQ due to the Nexus interfering. Following that, Melina and Alicia Fox wrestled a poor Divas Title match, and then Big Show defeated the entire Straight Edge Society, burying CM Punk’s stable.
Randy Orton vs Sheamus and Kane vs Rey Mysterio made for two lackluster World Title matches, and whilst the Team WWE vs Team Nexus match had several fun moments, the result saw The Nexus losing, which is up there with the worst booking decisions of all time.
12 Bragging Rights
Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler opened this show with an underrated gem of a match, but things were stagnant from there. Ted DiBiase vs Goldust and John Cena & David Otunga vs Drew McIntyre & Cody Rhodes shouldn’t have been on a PPV.
The Raw vs SmackDown match had some big names, but no one cared for brand supremacy. Kane vs The Undertaker ended in confusing fashion, and the main event between Randy Orton and Wade Barrett finished in a frustrating DQ.
11 Survivor Series
The opening three matches of Daniel Bryan vs Ted DiBiase, John Morrison vs Sheamus, and Dolph Ziggler vs Kaval were all fine, but none of them should have been on a big four WWE PPV. The traditional elimination match was thrown together last minute, with the show petering out in the final half.
Natalya vs Lay-Cool, Kane vs Edge, Nexus vs Santino Marella & Vladimir Koslov, and Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett were all uninspiring and boring matches.
10 Over The Limit
CM Punk and Rey Mysterio continued their great trend of matches, the Hart Dynasty overcame Chris Jericho & The Miz in a decent match, and John Cena defeated Batista in an ‘I Quit’ Match which had several fun spots.
However, the rest of the card wasn’t great. Edge and Randy Orton were forced to end their match in an awkward count-out due to injury, R-Truth vs Ted DiBiase was boring, and Jack Swagger vs Big Show was one of the worst World Heavyweight Title matches of all time.
9 Night Of Champions
There were a lot of plain and average matches on this card, such as a Tag Team Championship Turmoil, Big Show vs CM Punk, and Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston. Undertaker & Kane’s No Holds Barred Match was far too slow also.
Two big moments made the headlines, with Daniel Bryan defeating The Miz for the US Title which caused a huge ovation, and Randy Orton won the WWE Championship in a very fun Six Pack Elimination main event.
8 Elimination Chamber
Both the WWE and World Heavyweight Title Chamber matches were full of great action, with a notable moment in the main event being when Shawn Michaels cost The Undertaker the match, but everything in between was poor.
RELATED: Every WWE PPV Of 2014, Ranked Worst To Best
Matches such as Drew McIntyre vs Kane and The Miz vs MVP weren’t great, taking the life out of the middle of the card.
7 Hell In A Cell
The two Cell matches, Randy Orton vs Sheamus and Kane vs Undertaker, were underwhelming and lacked the right intensity for the stipulation, even if some of the action was decent. Wade Barrett and John Cena had a lot of heat and a surprising finish, making it one of the better matches of their feud.
The show opened in a great way, with Daniel Bryan defended the US Title against The Miz and John Morrison in a Submissions Count Anywhere Match, stealing the show.
6 Royal Rumble
It took a little while for this show to get going, as Christian vs Ezekiel Jackson, The Miz vs MVP, and Sheamus vs Randy Orton were all very average. Undertaker would then defeat Rey Mysterio in a great clash of styles, with the show finally picking up.
The show was capped off with a brilliant Rumble Match which was all about storytelling, with a unique structure and shorter run time, but it was very good despite it being short. Shawn Michaels’ emotional elimination and Edge’s triumphant return were two marquee moments.
5 Extreme Rules
This was a mixed bag of a show, but the stipulations of matches helped it cross the line. Jack Swagger vs Randy Orton, Triple H vs Sheamus, and Beth Phoenix vs Michelle McCool would likely have been worse without gimmicks attached.
John Cena vs Batista was a great Last Man Standing main event, Edge vs Chris Jericho wrestled in a strong Steel Cage Match, and CM Punk defeated Rey Mysterio in yet another great battle between the two.
4 Fatal 4 Way
For such an uncreative PPV concept, this show was better than many remember. Drew McIntyre and Kofi Kingston were given a lot of time to produce a brilliant IC Title opener and Evan Bourne got a huge upset victory over Chris Jericho.
In each of the fatal-four-way title matches, a championship changed hands, with Alicia Fox, Rey Mysterio, and Sheamus all winning gold. It was a noteworthy show and most of the matches were enjoyable.
3 WrestleMania 26
The WrestleMania atmosphere helped this show through some poor moments, such as a terrible Divas Match, a messy MITB, and the abysmal Bret Hart vs Mr. McMahon match.
There were several highlights though, with CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho vs Edge, and John Cena vs Batista all being very enjoyable, not to mention a sensational main event between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.
2 Money In The Bank
WWE’s first ever MITB PPV was a blast. The two Ladder Matches were both very different, with each having unique spots and moments. Whilst some of the undercard felt like filler, the bigger matches made up for it.
RELATED: Every WWE PPV Of 2016, Ranked Worst To Best
Rey Mysterio vs Jack Swagger was surprisingly a great battle, with it being one of Swagger’s better matches in WWE, and this followed up by a huge MITB cash-in from Kane. Sheamus vs John Cena inside a Steel Cage was fine, but nothing overly special.
1 TLC
There was a lot of variety on this show, kicking off with a rare less-than-ten-minute Ladder Match, which was a nice change of pace to the norm. Later, John Morrison and Sheamus had a great Ladder Match, The Miz and Randy Orton managed to have a decent Tables Match, and the fatal-four-way TLC for the World Heavyweight Title was chaotic in the best of ways.
John Cena defeated Wade Barrett in a Chairs Match main event, and while the stipulation was terrible, the pair made the most out of a poor gimmick. Beth Phoenix & Natalya won a rare women’s Tables Match too, which was a nice addition to the card.
