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The Best WWE Matches of 2016 (Part 3)

Check out our 3rd and final listing of the finest WWE matches that took place in 2016!


#DIY vs. The Revival (NXT TakeOver: Back to Brooklyn)


Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa went from NXT weekly special guests to one of the best tag teams on the circuit today. As for The Revival, they blossomed into a duo that had a breakout 2016. When these teams returned to Brooklyn on behalf of NXT, they gave the city crowd tag team wrestling at its finest. #DIY were on fire as they flew all over and through the ring at their rivals, while The Revival worked like a well-oiled machine throughout this bout. The Revival must have picked up a book of best tag team moves because they showcased a bunch of ’em during this title match. #DIY fought valiantly and tried hard to not leave this event empty handed. But it just wasn’t meant to be on this night. The Revival’s leg work on Gargano proved to be too much for him to overcome and #DIY fell. The Revival retained their titles in an amazing match.


AJ Styles vs. John Cena (SummerSlam)


Taken from Match Review: Excuse our french but…HOLY SHIT! This rematch was that much better than its predecessor. Cena and AJ are the consummate professionals who known how to perform on the biggest stages of wrestling. They did just that with this “Phenomenal” matchup. It seemed like every time Cena had AJ down for the pin, AJ blew the crowd’s mind by kicking out over and over again. Cena pulled out new moves, a dropkick, several AA’s, his STF and stiff strikes in order to get the win. But AJ fought right back with his dropkick, forearm strikes, Phenomenal Elbow, big kicks and more. The near falls here had us on the edge of our seat! Cena had the win in his grasp, but AJ did the unthinkable: survive an avalanche AA, land a Styles Clash and then a finishing Phenomenal Elbow. This was another coming out party for AJ and another fine notch onto Cena’s belt as one of the greatest of all time. Watch. This. Match!


Six-Pack Smackdown Women’s Championship Match (Backlash)


Taken from Match Review: SmackDown made sure to ring in the new era of Women’s wrestling for the Blue Brand right. All six women did an great job showcasing their brand and their individual talents. Alexa and Carmella were the dark horses of this match, but they almost made us think they’d win it due to how extra fierce they were. Carmella was focused on destroying Nikki, Naomi was a high-flying machine, Natalya got in some powerful maneuvers on each lady in her path and Becky was a suplexing machine. The Tower of Doom moment stood out the most, plus Carmella’s quick elimination of Nikki and Becky’s triumphant victory made this opening match such a treat. The pace of this match never let up and we loved the ending. This was a fine match to welcome the first ever SmackDown Women’s Champion.


Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles (Backlash)


Taken from Match Review: The face that runs the place…IS THE NEW WWE WORLD CHAMPION! AJ’s undoubtably WWE’s 2016 MVP. He’s constantly showing out against anybody he faces and he did that again right here. Ambrose’s match against Ziggler at this past SummerSlam was a disappointment, but this performance of his was a hell of a lot better. AJ was his usual cocky self and he pulled out all of his best moves to ground Ambrose. AJ’s work on Ambrose’s leg was smart, but Ambrose was a crafty lil’ bastard who fought tooth and nail to keep his title run intact. Ambrose pulled off some awesome offense here and there, including a stiff Shotgun Dropkick to AJ that pushed him to the outside. Plus Ambrose catapulted AJ head first into the ring corner and dropped him with a double axe handle right within the crowd. There were so many near falls, a hot audience and some breathtaking moves being dished out throughout this excellent main event. AJ may have ended the match under dubious circumstances, but it resulted in a new champion getting crowned. AJ pulled off his biggest WWE win in an amazing title match.


Sheamus vs. Cesaro, Best of Seven Series Match #7 (Clash of Champions)


Mick Foley had the right idea in mind when he put both of these Superstars in “Proving Ground” mode with his Best of Seven Series idea. Every match that took place before this finale was decent enough, but both Superstars put on an amazing final clash. The stiff uppercuts, punches and knees to the gut were all here and accounted for. What really stood out was Sheamus’ new unique offense (he broke out some kind of spinning kick to Cesaro while he was trying to recover in the ring corner). Not to be outdone, Cesaro was his usual amazing self as he pulled out his best maneuvers. We got quite the scare when he flew through the ropes at Sheamus and almost broke his neck, but the match got back to normal once that subsided. There were so many exciting near-falls that made us think either man had it in the bag. The end result was disappointing, sure. But that finish still didn’t sully our final impressions of this battle between newfound friends.

AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose (No Mercy)


Taken from Match Review: AJ IS STILL THE FACE THAT RUNS THE PLACE! And he managed to keep the title around his waist in this fun opener for SmackDown Live’ biggest prize. There were several moments where we thought his reign was coming a short close. Cena used a German Suplex on his opponents at the same time in an exciting moment, but Styles pulled out all his best moves to down both men. His Double DDT on both Ambrose and Cena was jaw dropping. When a Triple Threat Match is done right, nothing can truly top it. This match was a clear example of that fact. Styles tap-out in the middle of this match made us believe the match was truly over, but it thankfully kept going. Ambrose was his usual wild self and Cena pulled out all the stops, which made us and the crowd more invested as everything wore on. The simple ending where Styles destroyed Cena with a chair was sort of a letdown, but it didn’t bring down the quality of this bout too much. Styles retained his title in a great PPV opener.


The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler (No Mercy)


Taken from Match Review: The added stipulation of Ziggler’s career being on the line had us heavily invested in how this one would go down. And to no one’s surprise, this match turned out to be the best part of their heated series of encounters. Ziggler put everything on the line during this matchup, which had us on the edge of our set as Miz looked to end his career several times. Miz’s leg work made his Figure-Four Leglock attempt even more of a nail-biting affair when he punished Ziggler with it. The intense back and forth action that took place over the course of this IC Championship match was incredible to see. The final moments of this match brought the live crowd 9and us of course) to our feet. Ziggler used all manner of devastating Superkicks to finish his former male cheerleader stablemates and the IC Champion. Miz showed up to put on a great match during his entertaining title reign, which is exactly what he did. Ziggler’s IC Champion once again and it occurred during one of the better title matches of the evening. This one was full of great action and pure unbridled emotion.


#DIY vs. The Revival (NXT TakeOver: Toronto)


The purest form of tag team wrestling is exemplified by the the 2nd NXT TakeOver meeting between #DIY and The Revival. When this one was announced as a 2-out-of-3 Falls match, the stakes got that much higher. And what we got here was an emotional roller coaster of a match. Gargano’s initial comeback sequence made sure that the early portions of this match got us even more excited for what came next. The Revival landed a brutal Shatter Machine to get the 1st pin, but Ciampa’s suplexing rage helped weaken one of The Revival’s members enough to catch a well-placed finisher. All the action that transpired before #DIY finally won the NXT Tag Team Championship was a crowd pleaser. Gargano blocked out all the leg pain he endured and helped submit The Revival alongside his best friend. #DIY made us all proud when they prevailed here.


Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks (Nov. 28th Raw)


Out of all the rematches that Charlotte and Sasha Banks got embroiled in for 2016, their Nov. 28th Raw match is definitely our favorite. With a hot crowd behind them and relaxed rules granted to them for this title match, both women went out and put on an intense battle for supremacy. Both women attempted to destroy each other as they battled on the ring apron, Banks got planted with a Natural Selection on the outside, Charlotte got battered with kendo stick shots and some other big moves were landed by each lady on the outside. The hardcore brawling that took place all over the arena finally came to a close when Sasha locked in a 10-times more painful rendition of her Banks Statement with Charlotte locked in between the crowd railing. Banks prevailed over the Queen of Raw’s Women’s Division in one of the best 2016 brawls.


AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose (TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs)


Taken from Match Review: SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE! The main event delivered (to the shock of no one, we might add) and closed this lackluster show on a high note. AJ and Ambrose fought tooth and nail in a pretty satisfying TLC match for the WWE World Championship. Let’s break down the match’s wildest moments – Ambrose using a garbage can to humiliate AJ, Ambrose elbow dropping AJ through an announce table, AJ crashing through Ambrose with a table-assisted Springboard 450 Splash and Ellsworth turning his back on Ambrose. Ellsworth’s shocking heel turn came after he caused Ambrose to crash land through two tables. These moments and the rest of such a high octane match all equaled up into a great TLC bout. Ambrose and AJ have put on a series of thrilling bouts, but this one is their finest performance. AJ showed us all once again why he adopted the nickname “Phenomenal.” This was a pretty dope car crash match.

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More Heavy Sports News

Enjoy this detailed look at our final collection of incredible WWE matches that took place in 2016.