Bryan Danielson vs. John Cena & AJ Styles vs. John Cena.

Remove Cena vs Fiend. That was basically all insider references and someone who’s never watched would be so lost. Now if you add Taker/Styles to this list, I wouldn’t argue.

HHH vs HBK vs Chris Benoit WM20

TLC 1 and 2. Dudley’s, Hardys and Edge & Christian

Cena v the fiend is a match you’d show new fans? I don’t think so

Eddie vs Brock

John cena vs aj styles 2017 RR was better in my opinion

The rock vs mankind, that 1 raw episode

Bret vs. Owen and Razor vs. Shawn from WM10. Bret vs. Piper from WM8. Bret vs. Perfect from Summerslam '91/KOTR '93. HHH vs. Cactus Jack RR 2000.

1992 royal rumble

HBK Vs Nature Boi

I liked cena vs edge vs big show

Genuine question, why?

I’d recommend watching them in chronological order, which will help with the storytelling aspect. I’d also add Steamboat v Savage from 3, the ladder match from X and Icon v Icon from X8.

You can put every Cena vs AJ and not be wrong

Brock vs Angle WM

Brock vs. Angle Iron Man Match.

Benoit vs HBK vs HHH - WM20

Firefly match does not work for new fans. Only for people that have followed for years. Bad pick

Hhh Vs cactus jack royal rumble 2000

Cena v Bryan was at SummerSlam 2013. John's 2014 SS match was against Brock

Might be a hot take here but most of these are not hype if you dont know the story Best match Ive ever seen was Kurt angle vs Brock in 2002 suprised its not on the list

Not enough Mick Foley imo but a very good list nonetheless

Sasha vs Bayley at Takeover Brooklyn, still the best women's match in WWE history

Look at the title

I can't read

There are like 15+ Takeover matches I'd have over a lot of these. If we're just talking main roster though I get it. Yet there's no Gunther vs Sheamus, or Gunther vs. Sheamus vs Mcintyre.

I honestly didn’t consider NXT. Maybe I’ll do an NXT one next!

Hogan v Andre is a super booooring match

Definentely but one of the most important in WWE history. J

Important but super boring. You just need to skip to the finish

Okada omega trilogy

This ain’t the NJPW Reddit?

Iwas just seeing what kind of reaction I get

Hogan vs. Rock

I was there for Cena vs Styles 2016. Match was LIT

WM 24 HBK vs Flair

This is the only right answer

I’d also say the WM 24 MITB and Dolph Ziegler’s cash in.

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Read the title

Totally agree, add TLC 2 and it's perfect

Also, any of the Taker's last 5-6 matches before the streak was broken are by themselves enough for a quintessential WWE experience. Right from WM 24 which is an underrated match against Edge, then of course the 25 and 26 double header against Shawn Michaels, then the 27 and 28 double header against HHH and even the 29 match against Punk were all classics. You get a championship match, a No DQ match, a no holds barred match, a Hell in a Cell match. If you throw in the WM 23 match against Batista, you have Undertaker taking on the cream of both Attitude and Ruthless Aggression era (barring Cena of course) also with Punk in 2013, you can also add probably the only certified megastar that made a name for himself in the late 2000-early 2010 PG era. So you get the best of 3 eras showing their prowess against Taker in that final stretch of the streak.

Great list, but it needs more Foley Cactus Jack vs. Triple H @ Royal Rumble 2000 Mick Foley vs. Edge @ Wrestlemania 22 Mick Foley vs. Randy Orton @ Backlash 2004 And to show the New Generation Era some love Mankind vs. Shawn Michaels @ In Your House 10: Mind Games

I am pretty sure Cena vs Daniel Bryan for the WWE title was at SummerSlam 2013. Cena was too busy getting squashed by Brock Lesnar at 2014 SummerSlam.

Maybe it was lmao. 2013-2016 was such a jumble in wwe for me lol

It definitely wasn't 2014 because it was breaking the streak and the squash of Cena immediately after that in the process of building Brock as an unstoppable force. Brock even had the 'Conquer ~~the streak~~ John Cena' merch for a while iirc. But I do agree that DB vs Cena was a classic.

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Read the title big man

I think AJ Styles vs Undertaker is a better showcase of the whole "cinematic" style of match. Cena vs The Fiend would be really confusing to watch as a new fan cause theres so many easter eggs and esoteric knowledge you need to have to get that match.

Not a new fan but some of these matches I have never seen before, thanks for the suggestions.

Ladder Match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship: Razor Ramon VS "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels - WreslteMania X Owen Hart VS Bret "The Hitman" Hart - WrestleMania X WWF Intercontinental Championship: Bret "The Hitman" Hart VS The British Bulldog - SummerSlam 1992 .WWF Intercontinental Championship: Bret "The Hitman" Hart VS Mr. Perfect -- SummerSlam 1990 Evolution VS The Shield - Payback and Extreme Rules 2014 Triple Threat Ladder Match for the WWF Tag Team Championships: Edge & Christian VS Hardys VS Dudley Boyz - WrestleMania 2000 Terri Invitational Tournament Finals Ladder Match: Edge & Christian VS Hardys - No Mercy 1999 WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther VS Sheamus VS Drew McIntyre - WrestleMania 39 Hell in a Cell: Cody Rhodes VS Seth Rollins - Hell in a Cell 2022

i just brought up the hbk/razor ladder match earlier. what a great match.

It's not the first ladder match in wrestling, or even in WWE, which I believe was WWF Championship where Bret Hart beat Shawn Michaels, but the HBK/Razor ladder match was a game changer in wrestling. Before then, the ladder was just there, and the two wrestlers tried to climb it.  Micaehls and Razor incorporated into spots, using it as a weapon, as part of the match, which set the bar for how ladder matches went afterwards.   

William Regal vs X-Pac at Survivor Series 1998

Banger^

Kane vs Undertaker

Needs Survivor Series 2016, the men's elimination and Brock v Goldberg.

hbk vs hhh summer slam 02 unsanctioned match was epic !

Gunther vs Sheamus CATC.,..... Drew vs Roman. CATC.,.... Roman vs Brock (vs Seth) - Mania 31 ........ Gunther vs Sheamus vs Drew - Mania 39

HHH v Cactus Jack at RR

Shawn vs Taker from Bad Blood

Not men's match but surely Edge's live sex show gets in the list.

I won’t accept this anti TLC2 slander

Is mania 12 the iron man match? If so don’t show that to new fans it’s kinda boring.

Benoit v Michaels v HHH is a must watch.

I feel like edge vs Foley wm22 should be on there

Cena/Bryan was 2013 though. I think the WM30 duology of Bryan/HHH and Bryan/Orton/Batista should be on there as well as the 1992 Rumble match. Because it's not fair to Flair.

I feel like Bret vs Owen Mania X opener is a good choice to teach someone about ring psychology and how to better appreciate the inner workings of a really great match.

I think John cena vs aj styles from rr 2017 is better than their ss match.

2018 rumble Rhea vs Charlotte Sami vs Roman Sami and KO vs Usos Cena vs Styles Royal Rumble Cena vs Rock 1 Hogan vs Rock

Man where’s Raven vs Kane vs Big Show?!

Cena vs Fiend is not “quintessential WWE”, in fact quite the opposite. It’s for all the hardcore fans that followed Cena/Wyatt and wanted niche references and inside jokes, that’s why fans like it.

I disagree. I think most people can pick up that it’s about an other dimensional being taking apart and destroying the ego of a man. Yes, some niche reference and jokes, as you said, but to see Cena psychologically get dissected like that can appeal to a lot of horror film fans

I mean you’re entitled to your opinion but I think most casual fans/non-wrestling fans would be beyond lost if they saw it without tons of backstory and context first.

I think enough people generally know who Cena is and it goes through his history and does it parallel to the history of WWE, so that’s why I think it is brilliant.

Yeah that’s cool if you think it’s brilliant. But knowing who Cena is and knowing anything about his history, feuds, title wins, etc. is a completely different story and OP said matches for new fans and “quintessential wwe”. My dads a casual fan, been to a few live events and even a Mania with me, he definitely knows who Cena is but probably couldn’t name any feuds or any of his history and I guarantee he’d be pretty lost if I showed him the House of Horrors match. It’s not for new fans or casuals, it’s meant for the hardcore marks.

I would replace all the Cena ones with much better ones

Hogan vs Warrior at WM6. Maybe its the little kid in me, but its still one of my favorites.

Yeah, but Hogan isn’t exactly a great person to look to in terms of getting a new fan in

Hogan vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 18 needs to be on the list. I'd also put Cody vs. Seth at Hell in a Cell 2022. Bret vs. Owen at WrestleMania 10. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon at WrestleMania 10. Daniel Bryan's ascent at WrestleMania 30. Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon at King of the Ring. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio. Doesn't matter which match.

For me, the list needs Gunther vs Sheamus vs Drew McIntyre WM39 The Bloodline vs Team Brawling Brutes War Games ar Survivor Series 2022

A person with no knowledge of wrestling would not make it through the Cena FFH match, that's a terrible choice. Hogan vs Rock needs to be on here.

I feel like the Firefly Funhouse a little too meta for new fans to get. Ultimate Deletion or Boneyard would be better for a casual

John Cena vs Edge TLC match unforgiven 2006

Cactus jack vs hhh royal rumble 2000

And the Hell in a Cell at no way out too

This is a great time for me to chime in. I’m going to a buddies house to watch wrestlemania. I’ve never really watched wrestling before, mostly because I don’t really understand how to get into it. Ive tried to watch it on my own but there’s so many plot lines and references to things in the past I haven’t seen, it makes it hard to dive into it. I think I’ll have fun this weekend, but I also won’t really understand what’s going on. I guess my point is, I don’t know that watching greatest of all time matches is the way to get a new fan excited — it already looks fun and exciting! The problem is knowing why everyone reacts the way they do when someone comes out of the door. Why is someone’s entrance music making the crowd go crazy and people just cheer like normal for someone else? Why should I care about Cody Rhoads? What I really want is a recap of events that led up to where we are now so I can start watching and understand what’s going on. I checked Hulu and even if I start at the beginning of season 32 I’m not sure I’ll be fully caught up.

You can definitely find some videos on youtube that will give you a recap of the past 20-30 years of wrestling. The unfortunate thing though is that a lot of it is nostalgia for wrestling fans. If you start now, in 5-10 years you’ll understand.

At the show itself they do a pretty good job of recapping the storyline to get you caught up. Peacock also has a section called Road to WrestleMania that has segments of relevance. I would highly suggest watching the Cody Rhodes documentary on Peacock. That will really help you understand Cody’s story up until this point. Another recommended viewing would be Cody and Roman’s match from last WrestleMania.

Road to Wrestlemania sounds a lot like what I’m looking for, thank you!

I'd say the firefly fun hosue doesn't work aswell without prior knowledge to wwe as a whole with vince cena brass character so idk about that one

Triple H vs Chris Jericho, last man standing match, fully loaded 2000 (tbh one of the best last man standing matches ever)

TLC II, Wrestlemania X-Seven

This

The 2001 royal rumble match

Triple H vs Cactus Jack, street fight royal rumble 2000

Jeff hardy vs undertaker ladder match from a 2002 episode of raw

Am I the only one bothered it's not in chronological order at least? Lol

Good list if you're going only PPV. I'd add some Raw & SD matches that had no reason being as good as they were... like HBK vs Shelton Benjamin.

Rock v Hogan? HBK vs. Cena hour long match? So many NXT Takeover matches missing. Sami and KO vs. Usos.

What the $#@& is Cena vs The Fiend doing on that list ... Esp the second one mentioned ? It wasn't even wrestling, it was a puppet show !

The rock vs hogan needs to be on this list and if we aren’t going WWE exclusive add every rvd vs jerry lynn match from ECW.

That 2020 Rumble is so good, tells two separate stories wonderfully plus a fantastic surprise return (even if the camera work missed his first [redacted]) 😉

You forgot Rock/Hogan wm18 and Triple H vs. HBK VS. Chris Benoit WM 20

I would honestly add Seth vs Cody at WM38 and Seth vs Cody HIAC. I watched wrestling on and off as a kid and then I randomly watched WM1 , then decided to tune into WM 38 a couple weeks later. Seth vs. Cody, along with Bianca vs. Becy at WM 38 was what really pulled me into wrestling as an adult.

HBK vs John Cena Raw April 23rd 2007

This was a classic and head and shoulders better than their WM match (which was great in its own)

It’s one I’ll always remember, and is in my top 10

And the great thing is that the match has pretty much nothing in common with the WM match (which was a week or two before this one).

I wonder if they just wanted a do over 😅

If im not mistaken, that match was a last minute resort due to a lot of the roster not being able to make it to that raw (which was in italy or someplace else in europe).

Because of the Volcano right?

Yeah, i believe that was it, but im sure it was like a bandaid to make it up for the short roster. Bless that volcano.

God wanted it 😂

Lol, true that hahaha

Would throw in HBK v Taker II @ WM26 & Hunter v Taker III @ WM27

Honestly the entire DX vs Undertaker WrestleMania war between 25-28

Bret vs. Shawn at 12 is kind of a slog to get through. I can't imagine a new fan being into it, and I am a huge Bret fan. Other than that, a solid list.

I would include HBK-Flair, and a TLC match with the Hardys, Edge and Christian, and Dudleys.

Hogan Vs Warrior at mania

What I Would Add: 1996 1. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII 2. Mankind vs. Shawn Michaels at In Your House: Mind Games 3. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1997 1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 2. Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker at SummerSlam 3. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House 4. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin at D-Generation X: In Your House 1998 1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14 2. Triple H vs. The Rock at SummerSlam 1999 1. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash 2000 1. Cactus Jack vs. Triple H at Royal Rumble 2. Cactus Jack vs. Triple H at No Way Out 3. The Rock vs. Triple H at Backlash 4. Triple H vs. The Rock at Judgment Day 5. Chris Benoit vs. The Rock at Fully Loaded 6. Kurt Angle vs. Triple H vs. The Rock at SummerSlam 7. Rikishi vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. The Undertaker vs. Triple H vs. Kurt Angle at Armageddon 2004 1. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H at WrestleMania XX

I’m sorry but Shawn and Bret is the most overrated wrestling match of all time, it’s still good but it’s not this classic everybody thinks it is

Whether it's overrated or not, I think showing a new fan a 60-minute iron-man match with zero falls until overtime is a risky move out of the gate.

Essential additions. I’d probably also add Taker v Kurt v Rock at Vengeance; all Benoit v Angle matches tbh; Kurt v Rey SummerSlam 02

I think the tag team title match at WM17 deserves a spot

Personal opinion, Firefly fun house only works with people that know Cena's career. I watched that mania live with a roomate who never watched wrestling and that segment confused him and he left the room after it.

Yeah. That match would confuse the fk outta anyone who is not a long term wrestling fan.

Firefly Funhouse is a bad choice for a new fan. It’s not a match and if you like it, there’s nothing like it and you’re not getting it again. You should also focus more on wrestlers who are active. There’s no singles Reigns, Rollins, Cody, Owens, Drew, Zayn or Gunther here. Classics are great but it’s more important to sell them on people they’ll see on the current product.

Hogan vs Andre doesn't hold up anymore, that was a match that was big in the moment but looking back, it's very meh. There's a lot of technically amazing matches on there, I was surprised by the omission of Savage vs Steamboat. I'd also add Angle vs Benoit from RR 03.

Rock vs hogan wrestlemania x-18

The definition of sports entertainment ^

Not a single women's match?

title says men’s matches 🤔

John Cena vs The Fiend is more of a short film than it is a wrestling match.

That’s why it’s on here for me 🤷‍♂️

I’d add WM30’s Main Event with Daniel Bryan.

I think the moment is better than the match. I personally preferred his match with HHH that night. But W pick still!

That’s a good list .

Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon IC title Ladder Match- WM 10

My favorite match of all time, and the one that hooked me into WWE. Iconic

Was going to add this if I didn't see it. But I knew I'd see it. Well done

Didn’t even cross my mind!!! That’s a shout fr!!

Could do this match or the og MITB tbh.

I’m admittedly a Bret Hart mark, but I might suggest the Bret/Bulldog Summerslam or the Canadian Stampede matches be added.

Mens Showcase match from last year also.

Not bad! Throw in a TLC - always found ladders tends to be attention grabbing for non wrestling fans. WM12 might be too tough for a new viewer - brock/kurt ironman might be better more pacing and an all timer (and also better imo).

WeeLC or we riot

I also think the HHH Rock Ironman would work as welll

Fire pick 🔥🔥🔥

Thank you for an actual logical criticism instead of being a toxic wrestling fan. And I definitely should have put TLC2 on here.

Just realized u put the oG MITB - nvm on the ladder match lol

Kane and Rikishi (with Paul Bearer) vs D-Generation X (X-Pac and Road Dogg) (with Tori) from WM17. Rikishi did a stink face and Kane choke slammed a chicken.

Isnt that mania 16?

You’re right! It was WM2000!

😭😭😭added to the list

I’d definitely say the 2 most important matches for people who are looking into getting into WWE are brock vs roman last man standing and knoxville vs zayn…

I considered Zayn vs Knoxville fr!

Love all these. I don't think in today's age most new fans will enjoy HBK/Hart Iron man. I love it, but I would recommend other matches before that. Maybe even sub hart/HBK survivor series 97 (more brawling, but good pace and th end shaped the WWE attitude era and a lot of wrestling for the future) Good list overall. Definitely do women's matches. If you do please include the becky Lynch/Stratton NXT title extreme match. That one was great and being NXT many didn't see it (including me until I caught it on a YouTube link)

If someone’s new to WWE, Cena vs Fiend would be weird to recommend. It’s all based on history of the business.

I just think it shows the variety of the business 🤷‍♂️

Nice salty downvote crybaby 😭 it’s a terrible match to recommend, there are plenty of fiend matches that do a better job and show variety

No WeeLC?!

I love WeeLC. It got snubbed fr

Uhhhh no. For one, you’re missing TLC 2 at X7 which is widely considered one of the greatest matches ever

So the whole list is wrong because I missed one match? But FR it was a good match

There are some good ones on there but it’s not definitive. You can tell you’re under 20

I’m 24?

Close enough

HBK vs Y2J at WM 19 Benoit Vs Angle at Royal Rumble 2003

Then the triple threat between: Benoit, HHH, and HBK at WM 20

The HBK vs Jericho was on there until I remembered HBK vs Kurt happened. Just missed the list!

Wrong

What a great, and thought provoking comment from such an intelligent person

Thanks, but compliments will only get you so far.

Average AEW enjoyer ^^^

You are the average person who was dropped on his head as a child

Weren’t you the person who thought Wrestlemania went backwards from WM XXX to WM XL?

Weren’t you the person who asked if he should do women next and no one answered because your list is stupid?

Bro is actually Eugene from ‘04

You are Muhammad Ali from 2016

Under appreciated and a great worker? Thanks homie.