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We are halfway through 2020, one of the weirdest years in WWE history. The COVID-19 pandemic seemingly robbed the company of a successful WrestleMania week and with reports of various things and storylines that were canceled due to the circumstances, this could have been an excellent year for WWE.
However, we are now firmly in the 'Empty Arena Era', with over half of the year's shows taking place at WWE's Performance Center. This includes three of the six pay-per-views that transpired over the course of 2020 so far.
With no live paying audience present for the last three WWE special events of the year, we should only judge the shows based on the happenings within the squared circle, or in a cinematic setting. And this year has delivered some decent shows, regardless of atmosphere. But not all of them were great.
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Here is every WWE pay-per-view from the first half of 2020 ranked, from worst to best.
#6 WWE Super ShowDown
As one would expect, the worst WWE pay-per-view of the year so far was the one which took place in Saudi Arabia. Super ShowDown had a host of matches on it, featuring some of WWE's biggest names. However, there wasn't anything really good on the show.
It began with the "prestigious" Tuwaiq Trophy gauntlet match, won by a Superstar not even in the match. The Undertaker pinned AJ Styles to plant the seeds for their WrestleMania match. Brock Lesnar retained his WWE Championship, squashing Ricochet in the process. The former NXT star has not recovered since.
Meanwhile, we did see some solid action. The Miz and John Morrison won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The New Day in the best match of the night, while Bayley and Naomi had a fine match for the Blue brand's women's belt.
The main reason why Super ShowDown is at the bottom of this list is the main event, which saw Goldberg defeat 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt with unsettling ease to win the Universal Championship. It was a poor match, with Goldberg not even able to hit a proper Jackhammer on Wyatt.
That was a poor booking decision, with The Fiend looking weak in front of a part-timer, whose powers were severely diminished. It ended the show on a very sour note, with it not being all that great anyway. Super ShowDown was comfortably WWE's pay-per-view of the year so far, as it was in 2019.
#5 WWE Elimination Chamber
We continue with another diversion on the bumpy road to WrestleMania, Elimination Chamber. This was the last WWE pay-per-view to take place in front of fans, setting up quite a few things for the 'Show of Shows' nicely.
The Undertaker cost AJ Styles his No DQ match against Aleister Black, turning the heat up on their feud. It was a decent contest, albeit a little long. Some of WWE's secondary storylines developed throughout the night, with Kevin Owens costing Seth Rollins and Murphy the RAW Tag Team Championship and Otis literally crashing his way out of the Elimination Chamber.
The two Chamber matches were decent, with the SmackDown Tag Titles and a WrestleMania match for the RAW Women's Title on the line. The Miz and John Morrison withstood some fierce competition to retain their titles, while Shayna Baszler plowed through the field to win the main event Chamber match, last eliminating Asuka.
But the best match of the night came at the start, as Daniel Bryan engaged in a hard-hitting battle with Drew Gulak. It was a tremendous showcase for both men, particularly the latter. We also saw Sami Zayn win the Intercontinental Championship from Braun Strowman. Remember that?
Despite some noteworthy happenings, this was a pretty average show. There was zero mention of the WWE or Universal Championship at Elimination Chamber, proving the severe lack in star power and significance of the show.
#4 WWE Money in the Bank
The first pay-per-view after a stressful WrestleMania season was Money in the Bank, with a very clear vision of what to expect. A card that gradually felt bigger, culminating with one of the most bonkers cinematic matches that WWE has produced in recent months.
The first leg of the show was painfully average, with the highlight being an alright Universal Championship match between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt. It was merely their first confrontation of what could yet be an epic story. We also saw Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins put on an excellent WWE Championship match, one that would have been a classic had a crowd been present.
Other happenings included The New Day opening the show with a solid multi-man Tag Team Title defense, Tamina getting a Women's Championship match, and Bobby Lashley planting the seeds for his partnership with MVP. But the main focus of this show was by far the dual Money in the Bank Ladder Matches taking place at WWE's Corporate Headquarters.
Six men and six women indulged in a chase up the building, with us seeing various gags throughout the match. The highlight was probably when AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan fought their way into Vince McMahon's office and the way the two of them sold their fear of the boss.
The briefcases were won at the roof of Titan Towers by Asuka and Otis respectively. It was a fun "mini-movie" capping off a decent effort by WWE. Money in the Bank was fine, greatly enhanced by its short length. However, it cannot go any further up because of the slightly weak undercard it had.
#3 WWE Backlash
Like Money in the Bank, much of the promotion for Backlash was centered around the main event. Dubbed the "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever", Edge vs Randy Orton was undoubtedly the biggest match of the night. But WWE did a better job with the undercard of Backlash, with a few quality matches.
Some of the highlights included a solid brawl between Sheamus and Jeff Hardy, Sasha Banks and Bayley retaining their Women's Tag Team Championship, and one hell of a match between Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley.
The two heavyweights slugged it out in an intense contest, with Lashley looking as good as he ever has in WWE. The finish may have been questionable, with Lana running in, but this was an excellent showcase of both Lashley and McIntyre. We also saw a weird cinematic segment featuring the Street Profits and the Viking Raiders, as well as Akira Tozawa, some ninjas, and a "dumpster monster".
And then, it was time for the main event. WWE went all out in the production of the match between Edge and Orton, using various techniques as well as piped-in crowd noises. However, it was the action in the ring that stood out. The two WWE legends put their heart and soul into this match as they hit each other with every move they had and some more.
There were tributes to some of the greatest wrestlers ever like Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, and The Rock, while Edge's grit matched up to Orton's natural ability. Finally, after over 45 minutes of breathtaking action, the Viper put Edge away with the Punt Kick. This match lived up to expectations and may just be one of the greatest wrestling matches ever.
#2 WWE WrestleMania 36
This year, WrestleMania in its usual form was compromised as the first WWE pay-per-view after the outbreak of COVID-19. WWE had to significantly adapt, presenting the biggest show of the year from the Performance Center. Also, it was spread across two nights to avoid the problem of fans sitting through over five hours of empty arena wrestling in a row.
The layout was smartly done, with the perfect balance of matches on both nights. We saw countless 'Mania moments across Night 1 and Night 2, both in the ring and in other cinematic settings.
Night 1 may have had more of the fun in-ring action, as Kevin Owens jumped from a huge WrestleMania sign onto Seth Rollins and John Morrison won a highly entertaining triple threat ladder match. Becky Lynch's brawl with Shayna Baszler was intense but short. But the true magic of WrestleMania Saturday came through the Boneyard match.
The Undertaker put on a spectacular effort against AJ Styles, as the two crafted an entertaining match that played on a multitude of 'Taker's characteristics. It was a very exciting watch, as was the Firefly Fun House Match from Night 2.
'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt finally got his revenge on John Cena in what was an in-depth study on various plot points of Cena's career. There were so many layers to this match, coupled with inside jokes that would please the hardcore WWE fans.
WrestleMania Sunday also saw some big moments, like Charlotte Flair winning the NXT Women's Championship after a fantastic match with Rhea Ripley, Otis, and Mandy Rose finally getting together, and Edge gaining a brutal Last Man Standing victory over Randy Orton.
The overall main event of WrestleMania 36 saw Drew McIntyre defeat Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship, capping off a successful weekend of WrestleMania magic. The circumstances may have been vastly challenging, but WWE came up with two highly entertaining nights of action and storytelling.
#1 WWE Royal Rumble
Despite WrestleMania being as epic as it could have been, it's obvious limitations stop it from being the best WWE pay-per-view of 2020. The first one, Royal Rumble, is also the best one so far. Aside from the obvious boost the atmosphere gave the show, every match on this card was decent at worst, and legendary at best.
A wild Falls Count Anywhere Match between Roman Reigns and King Corbin kicked off the night at Minute Maid Park, ending with a Spear on top of the dugout. We then went straight into the Women's Royal Rumble Match, a typically entertaining affair.
Bianca Belair, Naomi, and Beth Phoenix had great showings, but it was Charlotte Flair who came away with the victory after last eliminating Shayna Baszler, who also impressed. Bayley vs Lacey Evans was fine, although hurt a great deal by the crowd being exhausted from the Rumble match that preceded it.
A couple of other title matches delivered at Royal Rumble, with The Fiend defeating Daniel Bryan in an extremely violent Strap Match to retain the Universal Championship. Becky Lynch also kept her RAW Women's Title, defeating Asuka in a brilliant see-saw encounter.
But obviously, the match of the night was the show-closing Men's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar began proceedings and dominated up to half of the field. He eliminated 13 men and had some very entertaining interactions along the way with Kofi Kingston, Shelton Benjamin, and Keith Lee among others.
The tide turned when Drew McIntyre entered at number 16 and immediately eliminated Lesnar, eventually going on a tear that would see him win the entire match. McIntyre had a stellar showing, as did the returning Edge, who shocked the world by wrestling his first WWE match in close to nine years.
A combination of fun moments, unique interactions, monumental eliminations, and emotional highs make this - the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble - possibly the best WWE match of the entire year. And that is the main reason why this year's Royal Rumble remains the best show of 2020 so far.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
