10 Strangest WWE PPV Main Events Of The 2010s
Being in the main event of a WWE PPV is usually a great achievement, with there generally being a feeling that the company is behind whoever is in that spot. Throughout the 2010s, the WWE went through an up and down time, and this was reflected within their PPV events.
At times, the final match on the card was strange, peculiar, and confusing. When looking at the strangest main events of the 2010s, they come in all sorts of forms – from the booking and the structuring of the contest to the choice of competitor, and even to the winner of the match itself.
10 The Shield & Kurt Angle Vs The Bar, Kane, Braun Strowman, and The Miz, TLC 2017
Even before going into this event, this was already looking like a chaotic match. It was announced that Roman Reigns was ruled out of the show, which led to the unexpected return to the ring for Kurt Angle – and he even sported the classic Shield attire, which was surreal.
Seeing Angle return at such short notice was crazy, and closing out a PPV with a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 5-on-3 Handicap Match offered a recipe for a wild brawl. From unending table spots to a man being crushed in the back of a garbage truck, this was mind-boggling.
9 Royal Rumble Match, Royal Rumble 2012
Even poor Royal Rumble matches have moments of enjoyment, but this one was a truly peculiar Rumble. It had some fun spots, such as Santino Marella and Mick Foley fighting each other with sock puppets, and Kofi Kingston’s handstand to avoid elimination, but much of the match was simply weird.
Each of WWE’s commentators – Jerry Lawler, Booker T, and Michael Cole all entered this match, filling up what was already a jobber-filled bout. For a Rumble match, this lacked star-power, and WWE made up for that with some questionable entrants.
8 John Cena Vs CM Punk, SummerSlam 2011
John Cena and CM Punk had an enjoyable match until things descended into overbooked madness. Triple H, the special guest referee, missed Cena’s foot being on the rope, wrongly awarding Punk the WWE Title. That was controversial enough, but things got worse.
Kevin Nash made an out of the blue return to target Punk, before Alberto Del Rio cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win the WWE Championship. So much went on during the main event, and the following months were pretty much the same, with no consistent follow up or explanation to anything that happened, but a lot of chaos regardless.
7 John Cena Vs John Laurinaitis, Over The Limit 2012
There was zero justification for ever having John Laurinaitis competing in a WWE main event, especially not in 2011 when the roster was full of huge stars who deserved that spot.
Somehow, the heel got some occasional offense in, but this was mostly a long and drawn out beat down at the hands of Cena. However, despite being humiliated by WWE’s authority figures, Big Show turned heel yet again, costing Cena the match, meaning that Laurinaitis picked up an official win in a PPV main event.
6 The Undertaker Vs AJ Styles, WrestleMania 36 Night 1
To say this was strange isn’t an insult to this match, but it was completely surreal and unlike anything seen before in WWE. Due to the pandemic forcing WWE to air WrestleMania without a live crowd, a decision was made to make this a cinematic Boneyard Match.
From the use of backing music, to special effects, to back and forth dialogue, this was unlike any other WrestleMania main event, and it was a complete whirlwind throughout.
5 Dolph Ziggler Vs Seth Rollins, Extreme Rules 2018
It was a welcome surprise when it was revealed that the Intercontinental Championship would be main eventing the Extreme Rules show, especially since the belt had been so poorly misused. On paper, Seth Rollins vs Dolph Ziggler in an Iron Man Match sounded like exactly what the crowd would want.
However, the audience hijacked the match, counting down to ten every ten seconds along with the timer, causing WWE to remove the timer from the screen, only for fans to then load up the WWE Network and count along there instead. The atmosphere of the match was incredibly odd, with Rollins and Ziggler unable to get the crowd on their side.
4 Randy Orton Vs Jinder Mahal, Backlash 2017
It was a huge shock when Jinder Mahal became the number one contender for the WWE Title, especially since he had been a jobber pretty much ever since he debuted with the company. It felt like a filler feud to carry Orton over another PPV until someone bigger came along.
And then Mahal won the match. This is up there with the biggest upsets of all time, with no one expecting Mahal to become WWE Champion. The stunned reactions from the audience were proof of how insane this whole thing was.
3 Team Raw Vs Team SmackDown, Survivor Series 2017
This was an all-star clash which saw Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, and Triple H take on Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, and John Cena. Several generations came together for what was, on paper, set up to be a completely bonkers dream scenario.
The crowd went crazy over several face-offs between superstars, with everyone taking their time to hype up the crowd, showcasing just how well NXT had built the names in this match. However, the newer stars were ignored, and the match fell into disrepair when HHH turned on both McMahon and Angle. After the bell, Strowman made HHH cry out of fear, with this having zero follow up.
2 Alberto Del Rio Vs John Cena, Vengeance 2011
This may have been an enjoyable match, but it was truly a unique way to close out a PPV. Earlier in the night, Mark Henry and Big Show battled in a World Heavyweight Championship match, and during that, a huge superplex from the top rope caused the ring to collapse and break.
When it came to the Last Man Standing match between Alberto Del Rio and John Cena, they were made to wrestle in a broken ring. It was highly creative and something that hadn’t been seen before in WWE, with each man having to adapt their move-set and work around the environment. This was strange, but in a good way.
1 50-Man Royal Rumble Match, Greatest Royal Rumble 2018
The prospect of a 50-man Rumble match was exciting, however it may be the most random and weird Rumble match in history. WWE needed a lot of bodies for this match, so they were stretched thin, with NXT names such as Tucker Knight, Dan Matha, and Babatunde joining the field, who fans had barely even heard of at the time.
Elsewhere, sumo wrestler Hiroki Sumi replaced Yokozuna – whom the Saudi Arabian organizers of the event had requested, without realizing he had passed away several years before. Other weird moments included Chris Jericho’s 3-minute cameo before going back to NJPW, and Big Cass being the runner-up.