Top 10 Matches Of The Year – WrestleTalk Awards

5. Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks – Hell in a Cell Match – SmackDown Women’s Championship – WWE Hell in a Cell

From one match at WWE Hell in a Cell to another, Sasha Banks’ brutal clash with her former best friend Bayley has been ranked as the fifth-best match of the year.

Bayley and Banks were the real MVPs for WWE during the no-fans COVID era, appearing on all three shows and being involved iv multiple segments. They deserved this big stage to finish off their feud.

Just as she did with Becky Lynch the year prior, Sasha Banks arguably stole the show at Hell in a Cell, with her and Bayley using the structure to their advantage for some innovative offence.

The match was iconic for Sasha Banks too, with “The Boss” becoming a Grand Slam Champion after winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship for the first time in her career.

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4. WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov – NXT UK Championship – NXT UK

Coming in as the fourth-highest rated match of the year is the hard-hitting showdown between WALTER and Ilja Dragunov from NXT UK.

The match was so good that it earnt the illustrious five-star rating from Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, with Meltzer calling it the “most brutal match” in WWE history.

What makes this match extra special is the fact that it’s the only entry on this list not to happen on pay-per-view, and also took place in front of absolutely no fans in an empty arena. Also, the only non-cinematic match of that nature to feature on this list.

WALTER and Dragunov tore the house down with their title match, making this a match that you certainly have to go out of your way to check out if you’re a fan of great professional wrestling and are hopng to get into NXT UK.

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3. Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena Firefly Fun House Match – WWE WrestleMania 36

This is probably the most out-of-the-box match that WWE has ever put on, and it rewarded fans for being long-time watchers of the product, something that is pretty rare for WWE.

This was a complete dissection of John Cena’s character, as well as the toxic nature of WWE and professional wrestling as a whole.

This is unlike anything I have seen in professional wrestling this year, and probably the most unique “match” (if you can even call it that) that I’ve ever seen.

This was brilliant, and showed what a truly creative genius Bray Wyatt is. The fact after five or six watches of the this match you are learning new things is exactly what pro wrestling should be.

Taking all that into consideration, it’s no surprise that this is the highest-rated WWE match on this list, and the highest-rated cinematic match of the year, coming in as the third-best bout of 2020.

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