11 Best WWE PPV Matches Of 2012

5. CM Punk vs. John Cena – Night of Champions

Many people talk about CM Punk and John Cena’s matches on Raw and at Money in the Bank 2011, but few bring up this great match from Night of Champions 2012.

Punk was approaching one year as WWE Champion and Cena was his biggest threat to date. With a title match with The Rock looming months ahead, these were the two most logical opponents for ol’ Dwayne.

Punk and Cena capture much of the same magic they had at Money in the Bank, having an excellent battle in Boston.

The finish was a wonderful Dusty finish as well as Cena hit a German Superplex and pinned CM Punk. The crowd was shocked until the referee informed Cena that his shoulders were down as well and the match had been ruled a draw.

A tremendous match with a creative finish allowing the rivalry to go on and CM Punk fans to stay happy.

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4. The Shield vs. Team Hell No & Ryback – TLC

The Shield finally arrived in WWE at Survivor Series 2012 and made an immediate impact. The group was different from anyone else in WWE and were protected like no one else as well.

In their debut match at TLC, they wrestled Team Hell No and Ryback in a TLC match. Well, sort of. It has always been weird calling these matches TLC matches when they end by pinfall or submission but whatever.

Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns all had their own distinct styles and worked better as a unit than any faction before them. There was always a two-on-one assault happening with The Shield managing to outnumber their opponent at every turn.

This was a tremendous way to introduce three men who would define WWE for the rest of the 2010s.

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3. CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan – Over The Limit

When I said CM Punk and Daniel Bryan didn’t need wackiness to tell a great story, look at this match as an example.

One of the rare times a classic match took place at Over The Limit, Bryan and Punk put on a match that was still fresh to the WWE audience. They just wrestled. And when you are two of the best wrestlers in the world, odds are you can make it great.

Bryan and Punk were both very popular at the time and a WWE Championship match with fairly little build still became a fantastic match through their work.

It has been nine years and I am still not over John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis main eventing this pay-per-view over this match.

• PPV
• 2012
• Brock Lesnar
• wwe

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