The 10 most important WWE matches of the 2010s

We're now in a new decade, but before WWE programming resumes and heads into the 2020s, it's time to use this temporary lull to look back on the 2010s, namely, the most important matches of that decade.

These matches weren't necessarily the best ones, rather, they were the ones that made the most impact. These were the 10 matches that either got the most mainstream attention, shaped the landscape of the company for years to come, altered relations between the WWE brass and the fanbase, or all of the above.

Which 10 matches are worth mention in such a category? Here are the ones that come to mind. Note that these aren't ranked. Rather, we're simply going to look at them in chronological order.

#1 John Cena vs. CM Punk (Money in the Bank 2011)

Aside from being one of the best matches in the company of the 2010s, this saga altered the relationship between the fans and the company.

By 2011, a sizable and vocal portion of the WWE fanbase was beyond tired of John Cena, and had been for a long time. There was a certain dissatisfaction with the company overall as well.

Seizing on this sentiment, CM Punk delivered the most notable promo of the decade with his infamous worked shoot "pipebomb" in June. Gaining mainstream recognition, he vaulted into Money in the Bank that year in his home town of Chicago, where the anti-establishment rebel, with his contract running up in hours, would do battle with the establishment golden boy.

The match got a then-rare five star rating from Dave Meltzer. Though the "Summer of Punk" would peter from here, the bad booking after this match was yet another example of how the fans would come to trust the company's management.

#2 John Cena vs. The Rock (WrestleMania 28, 2012)

In terms of mainstream recognition and box office numbers, this was the biggest match of the decade, with WrestleMania 28 being the most financially successful pay-per-view in the company's history, a record it will likely keep given that the Network came a couple of years later.

The match was set a year in advance, which was a smart move from WWE. People had fantasized about the match for years, and The Rock's return in 2011 paved the way. Why not make fans wait a year, knowing it would happen? The strategy obviously worked.

Aside from the mainstream recognition, this match worked itself into CM Punk's aforementioned pipebomb and the Summer of Punk, which would itself influence much of the company in later years.

This might have been the last mega match in the company's history, given that megastars like The Rock and Cena appear to be things of the past.

Perhaps this was the true "end of an era."

#3 John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Ryback (Survivor Series 2012)

This match was notable for one thing - the debut of The Shield. The then-NXT call ups wrecked havoc and stopped the main event, shocking everyone who watched.

It signaled that the faction would get a massive push right out of the gate, and indeed, they did. All three looked like killers.

Of course, all three would go on to become significant stars in their own right. The Shield members have been at the center of the company ever since their debut. Years-long storylines and angles have centered on them. It all started with this gargantuan first impression.

The Shield altered the course of WWE forever, and as of 2020, are still doing so despite the loss of Dean Ambrose.

For everything that came afterward, including other matches on this list, it's obvious that this is one of the 10 most important matches of the '10s.

#4 The 2014 Royal Rumble match

One of the most infamous matches of the decade, it came as a result of two forces within WWE.

One force was the popular adoration of Daniel Bryan, who had gotten over huge in 2013. By this match, everyone wanted him to go on to WrestleMania and win the title.

But this butted up against the interests of the higher-ups. Batista had returned, and having found some success in Hollywood, they wanted to take advantage. So the company wanted to set up a match between Batista and fellow Evolution alum Randy Orton, which no fan wanted to see.

This tension resulted in an earthquake at the Royal Rumble. When Daniel Bryan didn't enter the match, no less a figure than Rey Mysterio was booed to kingdom come. Fans revolted against the ending of the match, and Batista got one of the worst receptions any winner ever got.

Realizing their mistake, Daniel Bryan was eventually inserted into the storyline, but this match significantly worsened relations between the company and its fanbase, a dynamic which would prove influential in the coming years.

#5 The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania 30, 2014)

It seems strange now, but Brock Lesnar's first two years in his second stint at WWE weren't that notable. Off of a hot return in 2012, he lost to John Cena, then got into a feud with Triple H which would see him lose at WrestleMania 29. Brock Lesnar was formidable force, but far from the god of war we usually think of him as today.

It was the match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30 that changed the equation. Lesnar's win was one of the biggest shocks in WWE history, and that would be notable enough on its own, but this match altered the trajectory of the company for the rest of the decade and indeed, now into the 2020s.

Formidable before, this match gave Brock Lesnar pseudo-godhood powers in a WWE ring. Lesnar spent the next half of the decade destroying almost anyone else he came across, and the storyline to dethrone him was, and unfortunately, still is, the central focus of the company.

Though this list isn't a strict ranking, this was without question the most important match in the company of the 2010s.

#6 The 2015 Royal Rumble match

After the breakup of The Shield in 2014, it was obvious that Roman Reigns was the top priority in WWE. With a movie star look, Vince McMahon wanted Roman Reigns to succeed the aging John Cena as the face of WWE. Throughout that year, all of the pieces were coming into place. Cena was squashed by the newly-godlike Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, having his title taken from him. Roman Reigns was rocketing up the ranks. It was obvious where this was going.

The problem was that Vince McMahon hadn't consulted his company's fans, who, having found a new voice in 2011 and using it to alter the landscape in 2014, had something else in mind. They wanted Daniel Bryan to match up against Brock Lesnar in a David vs. Goliath encounter and win back the title he never lost.

The Royal Rumble match in 2015 again saw these tectonic forces rub up against each other and create an earthquake, even bigger than the last. After Bryan's elimination, it was obvious who was going to win the Royal Rumble, and the same Roman Reigns who had a good reception the previous year got jeers. Even The Rock got jeered when trying to help him.

Most people believe that 2015 was the worst Royal Rumble match ever, and though Roman Reigns' popularity was waning in the closing days of 2014, this match was the decisive moment that soured fans on him for the long term. He would be fighting from underwater for the next four years, and it would make itself felt.

#7 Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins (WrestleMania 31, 2015)

The "heist of the century" was a more than a one-night affair.

Roman Reigns' poor reception during and after the 2015 Royal Rumble gave Vince McMahon cold feet at WrestleMania that year. At the very last moment, he pulled the plug and had Seth Rollins create the most iconic Money in the Bank cash in of all time.

Yet, by not going through with his original plan, Vince McMahon created plot holes that still assert themselves on WWE programming to this day.

The dance between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Brock Lesnar continued all the way into 2019, with the former again failing in his quest at WrestleMania 34. Seth Rollins would succeed, but only temporarily. Brock Lesnar's position at the top of the card has still not abated. He is again a part-time champion as the new decade begins.

Vince McMahon's original plan was for Roman Reigns to put Brock Lesnar down for good. That didn't happen and we're still seeing the fallout.

#8 Sasha Banks vs. Bayley (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, 2015)

Despite what you hear in WWE these days, it wasn't an industry leader when it came to women's wrestling. Even up to 2015, the women's segments were sidelined. Remember #GiveDivasAChance that year?

The real work was going on in the "minor leagues" of NXT, with the four horsewomen of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bayley. The quartet was a central focus of the programming, bringing the standards in the company up.

It all culminated in the iconic match between Sasha Banks and Bayley in Brooklyn, which many still consider the greatest match in the history of NXT. Most thought that it should have been the main event that night, which is where the importance of this match lies.

This was the match that definitively proved that women could headline a major show. Sasha, Charlotte, and Becky would become full time main roster performers around that time. Bayley would follow a year later. With this match behind them, they could change the women's landscape on television forever, and they did.

#9 Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream (NXT TakeOver: War Games, 2017)

This one is more a prediction than the others. It wouldn't be fun if we didn't try to look forward a little bit. What we can look forward to is father time, as always.

Namely, The Shield members, who WWE's weekly programming has built around since the middle of the 2010s, hard as it is to believe, aren't spring chickens anymore. Seth Rollins will be turning 34 this year. Roman Reigns will be turning 35. That's not to say that they'll be declining in performance any time soon, but inevitably, the company's top brass will have to look to the younger talent and find someone to build around for the next decade. Recall that John Cena scaled back his time as the face of WWE in 2014 at the age of 37 - not too far away from where Reigns and Rollins are now.

Fortunately, WWE has plenty of young talent, but one of them stands out the most. That's Velveteen Dream. Out of anyone on the NXT roster, he has the most tools in his arsenal to be the next big thing in the company. The brass down there know it, too, which is why Triple H is handling him carefully and Shawn Michaels is personally overseeing his development.

If there's anyone with the highest chance of emerging as the face of the company in the 2020s, it's Dream. And this was the match that made him a star, even in defeat. It was a fantastic match, too.

#10 Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch (WrestleMania 35, 2019)

Vaulting from the match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, the women's division shattered professional wrestling's ultimate glass ceiling and main evented WrestleMania less than four years later.

From an artistic standpoint, the match was disappointing. The build was lackluster, and the action itself wasn't as advertised. It didn't help that it came at the end of a seven-hour event where fans were exhausted.

Nevertheless, those things are inconsequential compared to the importance of the match. It won't make any match of the year lists, but it altered the landscape in WWE going forward.

Future stars, like Rhea Ripley, can now look at this match and see the possibilities. There are no barriers in the company stopping them now and they have this match to thank. It might not have been the most exciting to the fans, but you can bet the women's locker room was jumping for joy when they were watching this.

This chain of events is no doubt going to influence much of the content we see from WWE in the 2020s.