10 Best WWE Matches Outside Of The United States

Today marks 29 years since SummerSlam 1992 went down.

Taking one of their 'big four' pay-per-views across the pond to Wembley Stadium, WWE put on a show to remember, as WWE's UK fans got to witness firsthand the pomp and pageantry that they had only been able to watch on television or VHS before.

Far from phoning it in (as they would in later years when they put on some very ropey UK-exclusive pay-per-views), WWE went all out by bringing over the big stars and putting them in big matches.

Two of them remain, to this day, a couple of the best WWE matches to have taken place on foreign soil.

But what about other great WWE matches that took place not just in the United Kingdom, but also in places like Japan, Puerto Rico and Saudi Arabia?

Okay, full disclosure, there will be no matches from WWE's Saudi shows here (because reasons), but if you look at WWE's international efforts you'll find a bunch of great matches to enjoy.

The following, are ten of the very best.

As far as some honourable mentions go, you can do worse than check out:

Los Guerreros Vs. Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle (Rebellion 2002)

The Rock Vs. Brock Lesnar Vs. Triple H (Global Warning) 

Bret Hart Vs. The Undertaker (One Night Only)

Ric Flair Vs. Tito Santana (Battle Royal at the Albert Hall)

AJ Styles Vs. Samoa Joe (Super Show-Down 2018)

Oh, and just so we're clear we're not counting matches from NXT/NXT UK shows or shows that took place in Canada because, I mean, come on now.

10. The Rock Vs. Triple Vs. Shane McMahon - Insurrextion 2000

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WWE was positively on fire when they brought Insurrextion to London's sold-out Earl's Court in May 2000.

The company had run two UK-exclusive pay-per-views the year before (No Mercy and Rebellion), but neither of them measured up to Insurrextion in terms of quality.

There were several dependably good matches on it, like The Hardys versus Edge & Christian and Eddie Guerrero versus Chris Jericho, but they saved the best for last when The Rock defended his WWE Title against Triple H and Shane McMahon in a triple threat bout.

The crowd were electric for everything The People's Champion did, with Shane and The Game spending most of the early stages on the defensive in what was essentially a glorified handicap match.

The odds were stacked further against The Rock, with Vince and Stephanie stationed at ringside.

There was a lot of solid action and some inventive spots (like Rock putting Jerry Lawler's crown on Shane's head before knocking it off with a right hand), before Shane eventually turned on Triple H following some dissention.

That was a mistake, as it gave The Rock an opening to make his comeback and, following a tonne of interference and gaga at the finish, retain his title by hitting Shane with the People's Elbow.

Not a technical masterpiece, but oh so entertaining and perfectly laid out sports entertainment.

9. Kevin Owens Vs. Finn Balor - The Beast In The East

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Though we're not including NXT or NXT: UK shows on this countdown, we can get away with an NXT Title match on an overseas WWE supershow.

WWE ventured to Japan's Sumo Hall on the Fourth of July 2015 to put on The Beast in the East, a card that was promoted on the back of Brock Lesnar's first match in Japan for eight years (against the luckless Kofi Kingston).

A really good outing was provided by Neville and Chris Jericho's show opener, but the true highlight of the night was Kevin Owens defending the NXT Title against Finn Balor.

Balor was firmly the favourite, with the fans in attendance well aware of his work with New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he wrestled for the best part of a decade as Prince Devitt.

The Irish Ace came out for the occasion in full Demon regalia and he and Owens were showered with streamers before the opening bell. Owens, ever the heel, trashed a ceremonial bouquet of flowers as the action prepared to get underway.

They went at it hard and heavy from the off, brawling around the ringside area and really laying in their strikes.

By the end of the bout, the two had just about exhausted their arsenals (with Owens also nicking several of John Cena's signature moves, as the two were feuding at the time) and there were plenty of close nearfalls in the closing stretch.

Balor dug deep, however, weathering the storm before putting The Prizefighter away with the Coup de Grace to become NXT Champion for the first time.

In a neat post-match scene, he was presented with the title by Japanese wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Tatsumi Fujinami.

8. The Rock Vs. Steve Austin - Rebellion 2001

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With the Invasion due to be wrapped up just a couple of weeks later at Survivor Series, WWE presented one of their last WWE versus WCW/ECW shows at the Manchester Arena with Rebellion 2001.

Rather than the glorified house shows WWE's UK fans had been 'treated' to with UK-exclusive pay-per-views of the past, the company actually put the effort in and booked several major matches for the occasion.

Superior action had been provided by Edge and Christian's steel cage battle over the Intercontinental Title, as well as Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle's scrap over the WCW Championship, before The Rock and Steve Austin fought over Stone Cold's WWE Title in the main event.

A bout capable of headlining any show anywhere in the world, Austin and Rock were certainly familiar with each other at this point as they had their first major televised singles match since the post-WrestleMania X-Seven Raw.

There were no signs on jetlag here, as both shot out of the gate, brawling in the ring and up the entrance ramp, before the Texas Rattlesnake sent the Brahma Bull into the ring post and took control.

After that it was the typical frenetic back-and-forth Austin/Rock match, as the tide turned several times before the finisher fest at the end.

Inevitably, the referee was bumped and Kurt Angle interfered to make sure Austin walked away with the strap still around his waist.

7. Randy Savage Vs. The Ultimate Warrior - SummerSlam 1992

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Though not the 'main event' at SummerSlam '92, Randy Savage's WWE Title defense against The Ultimate Warrior was very much a featured attraction on the show.

Going into the contest the two were both babyfaces and sometimes tag partners (as the Ultimate Maniacs), but Ric Flair - upset at not being granted a rematch against Savage - and Mr. Perfect decided to stir the pot in a bid to turn them against one another.

As the two technicolour titans fought in front of 80,000 inside Wembley, the question was which one of them (if any) was Perfect secretly aligned with.

It added a nice bit of intrigue and the two didn't let down with their performances on the night, battling for almost thirty minutes and putting on a match that, while not as brilliant as their WrestleMania VII retirement bout, was up there.

The work itself was good, most likely due to Macho Man being a perfectionist who mapped out everything in advance, but what really sets this one apart is the storytelling and drama involved.

They kept everyone guessing until the end, where the Nature Boy's interference resulted in a countout victory for Warrior.

6. Rey Mysterio Vs. Kurt Angle - SmackDown (February 10, 2005)

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WWE jetted off to the Land of the Rising Sun for two sets of television tapings in February 2005.

To date, these are the only times that Raw and SmackDown have emanated from Japan, which is a true shame as the novel setting really helped the shows stand out and feel special.

So too did some scorching matches, with the Raw broadcast highlighted by Chris Benoit's Submission Match win over Chris Jericho, while SmackDown was stolen by Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio's superlative main event.

The Olympic Hero and Biggest Little Man were competing in the quarterfinals of the Number One Contender's tournament for the WWE Title. True to their reputations, they put on a barnburner in front of almost 20,000 at the Saitama Super Arena.

The two had worked together extensively over the previous few years and always had great chemistry when opposing one another. It was a classic tale of speed against aggressiveness, with Rey attempting to fly around while Angle sought to ground him.

Ultimately, Kurt proved to be too much for the masked man on the night, as he was able to get him down and slap on the ankle lock for the tap out, allowing him to advance to the semi-finals over the tournament.

A year or so later, Rey and Angle had another great televised match overseas when they clashed for Mysterio's World Heavyweight Title in Wembley Arena.

5. Shawn Michaels Vs. British Bulldog - One Night Only

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1997's One Night Only pay-per-view was quite possibly, top to bottom, the best international show WWE has ever put on.

A trio of phenomenal matches closed the show, with Vader versus Owen Hart followed by Bret Hart versus The Undertaker in a WWE Title match leading into The British Bulldog defending his European Title against Shawn Michaels.

Going on after The Hitman and The Phenom's title match was no small feat, but Davey Boy was far and away the most popular wrestler on the show, the local hero returning to (close enough to) his home town as the champion of Europe.

Conversely, Shawn Michaels was by far the most hated heel on the card, having done his best to antagonise everyone as the cocky and immature leader of D-Generation X.

Bulldog and the Heartbreak Kid had had put on many great matches together throughout the years but few had the intensity and heat of this.

Smith used his power moves, while Michaels bounced around for him and attempted to cut corners with the help of the other DX members, who were stationed at ringside.

Also at ringside were Bulldog's wife and cancer-stricken sister, so you'd think he'd go over for the feelgood moment right?

Wrong! 

He was unable to overcome the sheer amount of interference and ended up passing out in the Figure Four Leglock. The crowd were, shall we say, less than impressed with the result.

Judged on its own terms, it is a great match and a worthy pay-per-view main event, though when you dig into the backstory of how Bulldog was supposed to win, only to have the result changed on the promise of a rematch that would never happen, it takes the shine off of it just a little bit.

4. World Heavyweight Title Elimination Chamber Match - New Year's Revolution 2005

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Up until the show-saving main event, New Year's Revolution 2005 had been a disaster of a pay-per-view and gave the fans watching in San Juan, Puerto Rico very little to cheer.

Not only had the matches ranged from mostly bad to godawful, but Eugene and then Lita both suffered serious knee injuries during the first two bouts on the card.

Thankfully, the Elimination Chamber match for the vacant World Heavyweight Title delivered and (just about) made up for all of the dross that preceded it.

And how could it not, with Edge, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Batista, Chris Benoit and Randy Orton fighting over the gold, with Shawn Michaels added as special guest referee for good measure.

Not only was there some very strong wrestling and the requisite violence, but there was plenty of drama and storyline progression to boot.

Shawn Michaels and Edge continued their rivalry, with HBK helping to eliminate the Canadian thanks to a little Sweet Chin Music, while Batista continued to look very good as it became clearer that he was getting seriously over and was on the cusp of truly breaking out.

And The Animal was on hand to ensure that The Game walked out with the belt, ending a brutal and exhausting thirty-minute war.

3. Owen Hart Vs. The British Bulldog - Raw (March 3, 1997)

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During times in the mid-90's when WWE's popularity declined in the United States, they could usually count on their international fanbase remaining enthused and so increased the number of tours they took to places like Japan, the Middle East and Europe.

In an effort to appeal to their rabid European audience, WWE decided to create the European Title in early 1997, with the finals being held at a Raw taping in Germany.

Out of a field that also included Triple H, Mankind, Vader, Rocky Maivia, Flash Funk and Bret Hart, it was the British Bulldog and Owen Hart who emerged as finalists.

Making the match even more interesting was the fact that the two were reigning as Tag Team Champions at that time.

As such, their bout was a clean, very technical outing where the pair of ostensible heels were both cheered by a crowd that appreciated their work and were eager to see how the historic match turned out.

In opposition to the style at the time, Davey Boy and The Rocket wrestled a fast-paced match that was full of stuff more often seen in places like Calgary and Tokyo, with no dead spots and plenty of close falls.

It told a tremendous story and stands today as one of the best singles matches ever broadcast on WWE's flagship show.

The finish was excellent too, with Bulldog reversing a victory roll to bag the gold, something that referenced not only his SummerSlam '92 match finish with Bret, but also Owen's WrestleMania X victory over The Hitman.

The partners shook hands after the match in a display of sportsmanship. Nobody got their leg kicked out of their leg on this night.

2. John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels - Raw (April 23, 2007)

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After becoming WWE Champion and becoming the focal point of the entire company, John Cena experienced a severe backlash from a section of the fanbase who contended that he 'didn't know how to wrestle'.

Which was utter nonsense, of course, but Big Match John seemed to delight in proving them wrong and, from 2005 onwards would, more often than not, come through when it mattered and produce the goods in the biggest of big match scenarios.

That's why they call him Big Match John, folks.

If there is one example from that period to show people just what Cena was made of, it's probably his near hour-long match with Shawn Michaels form the April 23, 2007 episode of Raw.

The show took place in London and was headlined by Cena and Michaels in a (non-title) WrestleMania rematch.

Going an impressive fifty-plus minutes, the match was never less than entertaining and kept the crowd enthused throughout. I'm not going to try and recap so much action, but the selling, psychology and everything else was spot-on and you really owe it yourself to watch it at least once.

Michaels got the win with Sweet Chin Music after flipping out of an FU, as both men received a deserved standing ovation for their endeavours.

1. Bret Hart Vs. The British Bulldog - SummerSlam 1992

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And so we go back to SummerSlam 1992, which is so far the only 'proper' (i.e. non-UK-exclusive) UK pay-per-view in WWE history.

With American wrestling's popularity at an all-time high, WWE had no issues selling out Wembley Stadium and gave fans something to shout about when they booked the country's own British Bulldog against Bret Hart in an Intercontinental Title headliner.

Though the bout was the biggest of Davey Boy Smith's career, he didn't exactly prepare for it in a manner that suggested such. Rather, as Bret pointed out years later, he and Jim Neidhart spent the weeks beforehand going on a huge drugs binge.

While he was out of shape and not all there mentally (forgetting most of the plans right as the bell rang), Smith somehow managed to keep up with the Excellence of Execution for 25 exceptional minutes.

Both men were babyfaces and the story told was one of technique and perseverance. The exchanges were sharp and fast and Bret lead the way like a true ring general, calling the action and ensuring that the match stayed on course.

Hart kicked out of the Running Powerslam, while Bulldog survived the Sharpshooter, as it became clear that someone would need either a really big hit or a stroke of luck to get the win.

They were evenly matched until the last moment, where Bret went for a sunset flip only for Smith to hook his heels and lean forward, countering it in a beautifully simplistic finish.

A classic match between two brilliant wrestlers, the crowd came unglued at the result as the two men, along with Bret's sister/Davey's wife Diana embraced in the ring while fireworks went off.

Magic.