5 Best Championship Tournament Finals In WWE History
How will AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan in the finals of SmackDown's Intercontinental Championship Tournament rank among these stellar bouts?
Stripping Sami Zayn of the WWE Intercontinental title hasn't sat well with a few folks (Sami Zayn among them), but there is an upside to the forced abdication: a tournament final matching up AJ Styles against Daniel Bryan to crown a new champion. Based on reports of the match (which has already been filmed), Styles and Bryan apparently delivered the sort of "restaurant quality" match that'd be expected of the pair, energizing the stand-in fans at the Performance Center. We'll know for sure later on today if this is true.
WWE sure does love its tournaments, though, don't they? King of the Rings, Cups named for legendary figures, number one contender eliminators, and, of course, tournaments to crown new champions. That will be our focus for this list, as before we get to Styles vs. Bryan, we'll look back at the best tournament finals in history, when it came to determining new titleholders.
Honourable mentions: Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Ted Dibiase (WWF title, WrestleMania 4), 123 Kid and Bob Holly vs. Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka (Tag Team, Royal Rumble 1995), Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (United States, Vengeance 2003)
5. Charlotte Flair Vs. Natalya (NXT Women's Title, NXT TakeOver)
Paige vacated the NXT Women's title after her main roster Divas title win, setting the stage for the next generation of NXT women to take the spotlight. The first to enjoy golden spoils was Flair, who matched up with six-year main roster veteran Natalya.
In front of Flair's father Ric and Natalya's uncle Bret, the two put together a dramatic blend of technique and grit, evident especially in the lengthy figure four reversal sequence. Flair's victory began a near two-year run of NXT's "Horsewomen" monopolizing the title picture.
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.
