10 Best WWE Tournaments

Feeling confident after the roaring success that was the first WrestleMania, WWE presented their second pay-per-view in late 1985 in the form of the one-night tournament The Wrestling Classic, which took place thirty six years ago today (November 7).

Unlike WrestleMania, this was a one-off event and, while the tournament took up the bulk of the show, the main draw was Hulk Hogan defending his WWE Championship against Roddy Piper.

The tournament itself was fine, but the with fifteen matches on the card, most of the tournament bouts weren't given much time to develop and a lot of them were over before they could get going.

So as nice as it is to see Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat wrestle, or Savage take on Dynamite Kid, it's hard to get too excited about bouts you know aren't going past the five minute mark.

And the final - which was a comparative marathon at nine minutes - ended with the Junkyard Dog beating the Macho Man via countout.

Still, tournaments in general are pretty great and can be a great vehicle for storyline, character and career progression. They give us something to invest in and are prone to throwing up surprises from time to time, too.

I mean, come on, who doesn't love a tournament?

Well, I hope the answer's not you, dear reader, because I'm here to talk about ten of WWE's best.

10. WWE Title Tournament - WrestleMania IV

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The fourth WrestleMania was all about the tournament to crown a new WWE Champion.

The title was vacant heading into the event, after Andre the Giant had controversially beaten Hulk Hogan for it, before giving it to Ted DiBiase after the Million Dollar Man paid off the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Naturally, WWE President Jack Tunney wasn't going to stand for such shenanigans and put the strap up for grabs in a fourteen-man single-elimination tournament.

The star power was high, with Hogan, Andre, DiBiase, Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts and Rick Rude all sticking out as potential winners.

One issue the tournament had was that all of the matches (twelve in total) took place on one show, which also had four other non-tournament bouts. As a result, few of them got a chance to develop.

There were a couple of upsets, like Greg Valentine beating Steamboat in the first round, and some creative booking, too.

In the end, it was the Macho Man's night, as he got past Butch Reed, Valentine and One Man Gang before upending DiBiase in the final. It was a great one-night performance from Savage and a great moment for a deserving performer, who got to win his first WWE Title on the Grandest Stage.

9. United States Championship Tournament - SmackDown 2003

Not long after Raw resurrected the Intercontinental Title, SmackDown decided to do the same with the United States Championship, giving both brands a proper secondary singles title for the midcard pack to fight over.

And the blue brand's roster stacked at the time with those at the top of their game and those desperate to truly break out.

The eight men vying for US gold were Eddie Guerrero, Ultimo Dragon, Matt Hardy, Rikishi, Rhyno, Chris Benoit, John Cena and Billy Gunn. The quarters and semis took place on television, with the final going down at Vengeance (the first SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view of the brand split era).

In the final, Latino Heat bagged the strap by beating The Crippler in a customarily grand outing from two veterans who were very familiar with each other by that point.

Fittingly, it was the best bout of the tournament.

Overall, the tournament was a success, especially so for Guerrero, whose lying, cheating and stealing ways helped turn him from heel to babyface and shift him up the card.

8. WWE Tag Team Title Tournament - SmackDown 2002

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Months before resurrecting the US Title, SmackDown General Manager decided that her show really ought to have their own tag team champions and so introduced them before putting them on the line in a tournament.

The blue brand wasn't exactly awash with established units at that point in time, so most of the field was made up of makeshift teams. In truth, some of these odd combinations only made things more intriguing.

Joining Billy & Cuck and Los Guerreros were:

John Cena & Billy Kidman Reverend D-Von & Ron Simmons Tajiri & Brock Lesnar Edge & Rey Mysterio Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit Rikishi & Mark Henry

This was the perfect stage for the so-called 'SmackDown Six' (Edge, Rey, Angle, Benoit, Eddie and Chavo) to shine, as they all put in the effort and really made the tournament mean something.

The semi-final meeting between the Guerreros and Angle/Benoit was a thrilling TV match, but once again the final was on another level.

At No Mercy, Benoit and Angle met Mysterio and Edge in what was very likely WWE's best match of the year. If it's not, it's certainly up there, because the foursome put together a 22-minute barnburner that totally stole the show.

In the end, the bickering Rabid Wolverine and Olympic Hero prevailed. It was a great introduction for the titles and set the table for more great matches down the line.

7. King Of The Ring 1994

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The King of the Ring can be a tremendous platform to elevate a superstar to another level.

We've seen it countless times before, just as we're seeing it now with Xavier Woods. However, in the concept's earlier days, it was far from a sure thing that whoever won it would be given the opportunity to kick on from there.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case when Owen Hart went the distance in 1994.

The Rocket had been overlooked and underutilised for an age, but had finally started to step out of brother Bret's shadow thanks to a big win over The Hitman at WrestleMania X.

The '94 King of the Ring field amply demonstrated WWE's wealth of 'New Generation' era talent. Joining Owen as potential winners were Razor Ramon, Bam Bam Bigelow, Lex Luger, Jeff Jarrett, Tatanka, Crush and the 1-2-3 Kid.

Owen managed to score a victory over Doink the Clown on television, before downing Tatanka, Kid and finally Ramon at the pay-per-view.

Match quality was generally pretty good and the amount of would-be Kings, combine with a couple of shocking upsets, made this one of the better KOTR tournaments to date.

Would it have been better if Thurman 'Sparky' Plugg was instead booked to win the whole thing in a major upset? It's not for me to say but, yes, that probably would have made things even better.

6. WWE Title Tournament - Survivor Series 2015

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When Seth Rollins suffered a serious knee injury at a house show in Dublin on November 4, 2015, the timing wasn't great.

Not that it's ever a great time to get injured, but the Architect was reigning as WWE Champion at the time and gearing up for a showdown with Roman Reigns at the upcoming Survivor Series.

The Big Dog would likely have beaten his former Shield teammate at the pay-per-view, but WWE were now forced to improvise and come up with alternate plans.

And so they devised a 16-man tournament to crown a new champion, with the first round and quarter-finals taking place on television and the semis and final going down at Survivor Series.

Though Reigns and (to a lesser extent) Dean Ambrose were clear favourites, the field included a few others just bubbling under the surface that looked poised to cause a surprise.

Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Neville, Alberto Del Rio and Ryback were outside bets in a tournament where match quality was, on the whole, decent.

In the end, it was no surprise to see Reigns and Ambrose in the final and even less shocking to see Roman walk out with the belt.

What was slightly shocking was the post-match scene, with Sheamus running out and raining on his parade by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase - with a little help from Triple H - to win the title for himself.

5. Deadly Game - Survivor Series 1998

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If you're looking for great matches in your wrestling tournaments, then steer clear of the one for the WWE Title that took place at the 1998 Survivor Series.

Dubbed the 'Deadly Game', the tournament was comprised of mostly bad matches. But match quality was far from the point. It was the story, booking and execution that make this one so memorable and enjoyable.

The objective for Mr. McMahon - who held the title up following a long and complex saga I'm not about to recap - was to make sure that mortal enemy Steve Austin didn't get his hands back on the belt.

McMahon's preference was Mankind, who had recently found himself in the boss's good graces and was given an easy first round win over longtime jobber Duane Gil.

The most other notable thing from the first round was The Rock scoring the fastest victory in WWE history, rolling up a charging Big Boss Man in three seconds.

Boss Man got another shot against Austin, but also failed to advance. The semi-finals had plenty of star power, with Austin, Undertaker, Mankind and The Rock progressing.

That was whittled down to The People's Champion and Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy, who had the best match of the night in the final.

But nobody really remembers how entertaining the match was, because of the ending. In a rare swerve that really worked, McMahon 'screwed' Mankind out of the WWE Title and ensured that The Rock walked away as the People's - nay, the Corporate - Champion.

As mentioned, the matches themselves were largely rotten, but it's a hell of a one-night ride and a great use of the tournament format.

4. The Mae Young Classic 2018

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The Mae Young Classic was a brilliant idea that came about at just the right time.

As the likes of Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Bayley and Becky Lynch were doing all they could to change the perception of women's wrestling on the main roster and several waiting in the wings in NXT were showing the potential to do the same, WWE invited 32 women from around the world to compete in a single-elimination tournament.

The first tournament in 2017 was good, but the 2018 iteration was arguably even better.

It was a long and gruelling endeavour, with matches starting on August 8 and running until the all-women Evolution pay-per-view on October 28.

The matches varied in length and style and introduced the wider wrestling world to some lesser-known performers from countries such as Brazil, Chile, Portugal, China, Scotland and beyond.

There were notable moments (like Tegan Nox's unfortunate injury) and great stories being told throughout, too.

The standout performers from the tournament were Australia's Toni Storm and Rhea Ripley and Japan's Io Shirai and veteran Meiko Satomura.

In the final, Storm beat Shirai.

Both the 2017 and '18 version were successes and many of the talents who took part are now signed with WWE or elsewhere.

3. The Cruiserweight Classic

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A year before the Mae Young Classic, WWE ran the Cruiserweight Classic, a similar concept but for male performers who weighed 205lbs or less.

WWE invited the cream of the cruiserweight crop from the world over (at least those note signed to another company), as the high-fliers competed to become not just the tournament winner but the inaugural Cruiserweight Champion.

It was a great blend of styles and types, featuring those with well-known international reputations, like Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr. and Johnny Gargano and relative unknowns.

WWE also brought back some names from the past in the form of Tajiri and Brian Kendirk, in a nice touch.

The matches were mostly excellent and match quality seemed to get better and better as the tournament wore on and the stakes got higher.

Ibushi emerged as the true star, entertaining a couple of breathtaking performances in bouts with Cedric Alexander and eventual winner TJ Perkins, but everyone made a good account for themselves and the tournament became something that fans looked forward to following and watching on the WWE Network.

The success of the Cruiserweight Classic bred the show 205 Live and gave opportunities to many who may have otherwise been overlooked.

2. The Gold Rush Tournament - Raw 2005

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The Gold Rush tournament, which was devised by Eric Bischoff in May of 2005 in order to determine a new number on contender for World Heavyweight Champion Batista, may not have had the quantity of participants that other tournaments in this countdown did, but it sure made up for a lack of quantity with real quality.

The eight men looking to get a shot at The Animal were Triple H, Edge, Kane, Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Christian and Shelton Benjamin.

The tournament took place over the course of three episodes of Raw and most of the matches (save for Christian's easy loss to Kane) were gripping, competitive affairs.

In a first round surprise, Benoit made Triple H tap out to advance alongside the Big Red Machine, Edge and Michaels, who had been taken to the limit by Benjamin in the best match of the entire tournament (with a finish that will enjoy a place on the highlight reel until the end of time).

In the final, the Rated-R Superstar beat Kane to bag his title shot. It was another feather in the cap of Edge, who was enjoying a great year having already won the first Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 21.

1. King Of The Ring 1993

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Prior to 1993, the King of the Ring tournament was basically a yearly house show attraction designed to boost ticket sales in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island markets and the winners either embraced the gimmick of King whole hog or otherwise didn't bother acknowledging it.

Things changed in '93 when the tournament was not only televised but got its own namesake pay-per-view.

The first round went down on TV, while the quarters through finals took place at the PPV itself.

It was a mixed bag in terms of quality and believable winners, with Razor Ramon, Bam Bam Bigelow, Tatanka, Lex Luger, Mr. Perfect and 1991 winner Bret Hart (who received a BYE to the quarters) the bookie's favourites.

The Excellence of Execution would repeat the feat and win the tournament, the first (and thus far only) time it has been won either twice or consecutively by one person.

Grafting hard, Bret had his working boots on as he contested three brilliant but very different bouts with Ramon, Perfect and Bigelow.

He and his skilled dance partners really made it feel more like a sporting contest with how they laid out the matches and finishes and, come the end of the night, Hart had wrestled for close to forty minutes combined.

The rest of the tournament matches ranged from so-so to merely decent, but the quality of Bret's outings help make this the best WWE tournament there ever is, ever was and, it's possible, that there ever will be.