2014 was a rollercoaster year for WWE, with some huge lows at the start of the year to a renewed focus on the next generation of top stars - it was a mixed bag full of everything. The PPVs reflect this slightly, as most of the PPVs throughout the year had good matches mixed with bad, with a couple underwhelming overall, but with several great shows too.
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Names such as Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Bray Wyatt were given a chance to show what they could do on a bigger scale, with a real feeling of a changing era by the time the year closed.
12 TLC
This was a complete failure of a show. From the far-too-long Tables Match between John Cena and Seth Rollins to the awful finish of Bray Wyatt vs Dean Ambrose, the biggest matches were a let-down.
Undercard matches like Ryback vs Kane were boring, not to mention the ridiculous Stairs Match between Erick Rowan and Big Show. The only highlight was a Ladder Match between Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper.
11 Battleground
Mediocre matches filled up this card, with everything going downhill after a great opener between The Usos and Wyatt Family. The rest of the show felt like filler on the way to SummerSlam, with Chris Jericho vs Bray Wyatt, Rusev vs Jack Swagger, and Paige vs AJ Lee setting up rematches.
The vacant IC Title was crowned in a battle royal, which didn’t feel PPV worthy, and the main event was a standard fatal-four-way between four uninspiring title competitors, as John Cena overcame the odds to defeat Roman Reigns, Kane, and Randy Orton.
10 Royal Rumble
The opener between Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan was great, but as the show progressed, the event turned into a dud. The crowd hijacked Randy Orton’s WWE World Title defence over John Cena, with the audience sick of seeing another rematch.
The Rumble match itself started off well, but towards the end it devolved into mayhem, as the fans turned on the match when it became clear that Daniel Bryan wasn’t a participant, booing the eventual winner, Batista, out of the building.
9 Survivor Series
This show was carried by the main event – and it was one hell of a match. Team Cena vs Team Authority had a great structure throughout, and a wonderful closing sequence which saw Dolph Ziggler overcome a 3-on-1 disadvantage, and the WWE debut of Sting.
The rest of the show wasn’t great though, as it included a 30-second Divas Title match, Adam Rose & The Bunny vs Slater Gator, a rushed women’s elimination match, and a bad finish to Bray Wyatt vs Dean Ambrose.
8 Elimination Chamber
The two great matches on this were fantastic, but overall, the event wasn’t great. The main event Elimination Chamber Match was as an all-star classic, and the Wyatt Family vs The Shield was a Match of the Year contender.
However, filler such as Titus O’Neil vs Darren Young and AJ Lee vs Cameron were poor, and Batista vs Alberto Del Rio was a slog.
7 Money In The Bank
This event hosted a fantastic Money in the Bank Ladder Match, which was full of great spots and a perfect choice in winner with Seth Rollins. The Wyatt Family and The Usos had a great match, and the main event was decent too, with a new WWE World Champion being crowned in a multi-man ladder match.
However, the rest of the show was packed with poor filler matches, such as Adam Rose vs Damien Sandow, Goldust & Stardust vs Rybaxel, and Layla vs Summer Rae, which were far from PPV quality, and dragged the show down overall.
6 Night Of Champions
There were several entertaining matches on this show, with The Usos vs Goldust & Stardust, Cesaro vs Sheamus, and Chris Jericho vs Randy Orton all offering match of the night candidates.
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Dean Ambrose’s return was a great moment, with him attacking Seth Rollins, although it would have been better suited to a Raw episode. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar was very by-the-book and ended with a frustrating DQ finish.
5 Payback
This show had some good and bad, with the good seeing Sheamus and Cesaro battle in a hard-hitting US Title Match, John Cena and Bray Wyatt having the best match of their series in an entertaining Last Man Standing Match, and The Shield going over Evolution in a star-making main event.
There was unfortunately some filler which would be barely good enough for Raw, with Paige vs Alicia Fox, Bo Dallas vs Kofi Kingston (which ended when Kane interfered), and Rybaxel vs Cody Rhodes & Goldust. The great parts of the show helped to carry the underwhelming matches.
4 Hell In A Cell
Although the finish to what was a great main event was ruined, this was a solid show overall. John Cena and Randy Orton had one of their better matches, Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro put on a great contest, and Goldust & Stardust vs The Usos was a fun tag title affair.
Matches such as Rusev vs Big Show, Nikki Bella vs Brie Bella, and AJ Lee vs Paige were nothing special, but they did their intended jobs.
3 Extreme Rules
Cesaro vs RVD vs Jack Swagger was a unique opener, which had some good moments, The Shield defeated Evolution in a fantastic and chaotic brawl, and Daniel Bryan vs Kane was better than it had any right to be, providing a main event full of variety.
Paige’s Divas Title reign kicked off with a win over Tamina, Rusev squashed R-Truth & Xavier Woods, and Bad News Barrett won the IC Title. However, the Steel Cage Match between Bray Wyatt and John was an overbooked disaster, with the rest of the show fortunately making up for this mess.
2 SummerSlam
This was a great show full of variety from top to bottom. Undercard matches like Miz vs Dolph Ziggler, AJ Lee vs Paige, and Rusev vs Jack Swagger were all solid, and they led up to great matches such as Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton.
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Stephanie McMahon vs Brie Bella exceeded all expectations, and the squash match main event between Brock Lesnar and John Cena was an absolute spectacle.
1 WrestleMania 30
Not only was this the best show of the year, but it is also up there with best WrestleManias of all time. Daniel Bryan’s journey of defeating Triple H in the opener to overcoming both Batista and Randy Orton in the main event is an all-time great collection of moments.
Other moments such as Steve Austin, The Rock, and Hulk Hogan opening the show, The Shield squashing Attitude Era legends, Cesaro slamming Big Show over the top rope, and The Undertaker’s streak getting ended by Brock Lesnar ensured that this show was legendary, with a lot of glitz, glamour, and grandeur. John Cena vs Bray Wyatt was a strong match too despite a wrong choice in winner.
