Ten Great Matches That Involve Crowd Brawling
Extreme Rules match for the WWE Championship: AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns - Extreme Rules 2016
AJ Styles’s first year in WWE was nearly perfect.
From day one, WWE Creative treated him as a top star, but seeing Styles wrestle Chris Jericho, John Cena, or Roman Reigns felt surreal. His first match against Reigns felt like a WrestleMania-caliber main event.
The former TNA star gave an incredible performance that made him and Roman look good. The match was pure chaos from the start, with some of the more memorable spots being the high back body drop through the announce table and the wild inclusion of both The Club and The Usos.
Styles can do so much more than what was presented here, but he nicely adjusted his arsenal to complement Roman’s style and gave him one of the best matches of his career. It’s a shame that the company never circled back to this feud during Roman’s Bloodline years, but hey, it’s amazing that we even got AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns in the first place.
Falls Count Anywhere match: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair - RAW 11/28/26
The Sasha/Charlotte feud was…interesting. On one hand, it exposed how bad of a babyface Banks is. On the other, these two produced magic every time they stepped into the ring.
The layout of the match was simply perfect. Sure, it would’ve been great to make it clear from the beginning that both falls and submissions count anywhere, but that’s a minor nitpick.
The match was physical and inventive with the standout spots being the big boot from Charlotte on the apron and her “vintage” moonsault off the announcer’s table. The finish was also a cool and dangerous-looking spot, though the guy’s reaction to Banks’s head on his lap was hysterical.
Nevertheless, a proper falls count anywhere match that doesn’t go too crazy with the spots but has the right amount of intensity and violence necessary.
Last Man Standing match: Shane McMahon vs. Kane - Unforgiven 2003
The Shane McMahon/ Kane rivalry is the very definition of guilty pleasure.
Their matches were highly entertaining, but the feud was over-the-top and ridiculous. The reason Shane went after Kane was sound. After all, I would be pissed at the 7'0 foot demon if he pretended to tombstone my mother too, but their segments seem to move beyond suspension of disbelief every week.
Then again, who doesn’t have a kink for watching a grown man electrocute another man’s balls? Despite the absurdity of it all, their Last Man Standing match was perfect. WWE went out of its way to make sure Kane looked like a monster, and Shane was the perfect foil for the big red machine.
Shane working as the underdog was the right call. It made the big hope spots feel huge and had the audience on the edge of their seats. The Last Man Standing match is tame compared to their Ambulance match at Survivor Series, but the realism and emotion here had you rooting for Shane McMahon to kill the big red machine.
Kane’s heel turn didn’t work out as well as it should’ve, but it did get off to a great start thanks to his good old buddy Shane.
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family: Elimination Chamber 2014
The magic of The Shield and The Wyatt Family made this period of wrestling special. This match felt huge. And WWE wisely treated it as such. This was a clash of the titans fight that didn’t disappoint. Despite both factions being heels, fans loved every minute of it, and for good reason.
The first few minutes started as a traditional 6-man tag, but when the match broke down to The Shield's special brand of chaos, it turned into something truly special.
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family represented more than just a match. It represented a promising future for the promotion. This perfect match had it all: action, wrestling psychology, chaos, and spectacle. There was never a dull moment in this epic war and everyone looked like stars once the dust settled. An incredible match on a rather forgettable pay-per-view.
Submissions Count Anywhere: Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison - Hell in a Cell 2010
The idea of a submissions count anywhere match is pretty clever. Combine the chaos and brawling of a falls count anywhere match with the technical aspects of a regular submission match and you get something fun and creative. It’s been a while since WWE had a good original match and the spots in this triple threat bout were unique.
The only spot that didn’t particularly look good was John Morrison’s dive off the stage. The dive itself looked cool, but it looked rehearsed. Despite that one hiccup, it didn’t ruin a fun match that didn’t overstay its welcome.
The Undertaker vs. Triple H - WrestleMania 17
Triple H and The Undertaker have worked together three times at WrestleMania and each match feels different. This felt like a fight between two veterans who had something to prove.
The way they were able to turn this into a no-disqualification match was smart and their brawl through the crowd was the highlight of the match. However, the best moment goes to the strong near fall after Triple H nailed Taker in the head with a sledgehammer.
A long and violent match that was never boring and added another feather to Taker’s streak of excellent matches at WrestleMania.
I Quit match: The Rock vs. Mankind - Royal Rumble 1999
The WWE was firing on all cylinders at this point and that’s due to the two men who beat the goose feathers out of one another in this match. The first portion of the match was great: Mankind was destroying The Rock and “The People’s Champ” had numerous funny and sarcastic quips when the WWE Champion asked if he quit. But the purpose of the match was to show the heart of Mankind.
Once Mankind fell off the stage, it was all Rock and the match was nasty to watch. The numerous chairs to Mankind’s head made you squirm in your seat. But Mankind looked like a warrior taking so much damage. The finish was an obvious twist, but a good one nevertheless. On television, it’s pretty clear that Mankind didn’t say “I Quit”, but hiding Mankind’s face and his selling after shouting those words had you second guessing that maybe he did.
I Quit matches can be hard to book as the loser can come across as weak if the layout of the match isn’t booked correctly. But The Rock vs. Mankind is a prime example of how to make both the babyface and heel look strong.
Steel Cage match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon - In Your House: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre 1999
Stone Cold vs. Vince McMahon is a unique match.
This isn’t a straightforward banger like most matches on this list. This was a squash match with Austin opening a can whoop ass on Mr. McMahon for 20 minutes plus. But the beauty of professional wrestling is that story and characters are more valuable than match quality.
Stone Cold was the badass anti-hero who wasn’t afraid to challenge authority. Vince McMahon was the corporate asshole who wanted to ruin Stone Cold’s life. These characters connected so well because the story was relatable. Plus, the rivalry in itself was nearly flawless.
This match was simply fun. The first few minutes of Austin beating Vince around the building was exciting. Vince McMahon was born to play a cowardly heel. Without his suit and army of men, he’s nothing compared to the former WWE Champion. The match was laid out perfectly. Well..sort of.
Austin beating the hell out of Vince never got boring. Vince’s defiance was equally great. The Big Show’s debut was…not. The ending was a head-scratcher. Vince McMahon was violated for over 20 minutes. Wouldn’t it make more sense if Show interfered in the match during the first few minutes? In fact, Austin had this match won TWICE. Where the hell was Big Show then? Big Show waiting until the final minutes to pop out from under the ring felt like an only-in-pro wrestling moment. Even worse, The Big Show looked stupid as he helped Austin win the match!
Despite that farce of an ending, the cage match was a representation of the best parts of the Attitude Era. It’s never going to be put on the same level as Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart, but not every great match needs to be a back-and-forth epic.
Extreme Rules match for the WWE Championship: John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam - One Night Stand 2006
Who can forget that infamous night of June 11, 2006?
The crowd reaction to John Cena was legendary. The way fans treated John Cena that night was so memorable that it overshadowed the match itself. This was a really good match that strayed away from the stereotypical John Cena match. Rob Van Dam was treated as John Cena’s equal, and though this match wasn’t as violent as some of the others on the pay-per-view card, it was still a highly entertaining bout with an exciting finish.
Admittedly, the rules for the match were a bit wonky. Why did the referee try to break up John Cena’s submission in a no-disqualification match? The announcers tried to explain it, but that moment just didn’t make any sense. Edge also stole some of RVD’s thunder. WWE still felt the need to protect Cena, whereas it would’ve been beneficial to give Rob Van Dam a clean and honorable win.
Luckily, this didn’t hurt RVD’s stock in the eyes of fans. Minor nitpicks aside, the main event for One Night Stand 2006 created an exciting buzz for the rebrand of ECW. It’s just too bad that the buzz didn’t last long after that historic night.
Last Woman Standing match: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair - Evolution
Remember Stone Cold Becky Lynch?
This all came from the misguided heel turn at Summerslam 2018. Lynch was already a popular babyface, but Charlotte Flair was the clear favorite of management. Fans were tired of Flair, and the story told made it seem as if the second-generation star inserted her way into another title opportunity. Despite the misguided turn, Lynch did the best work of her career from this point on.
The first-ever Last Woman Standing match was phenomenal. Both ladies put on their working boots and put on a highly physical bout with several memorable spots including the leg drop through the announce table and that spectacular finish. Add to the fact that the crowd was hanging on every move the moment the match began, and the Last Woman Standing bout put over how special WWE Evolution was.
Charlotte and Becky would go on to have other matches since their 2018 classic, but none of them have come close to as good as this one. This may have not been the main event of Evolution, but it’s mainly the reason fans remember this night so fondly.