What Will Be The Next 5-Star WWE Match?

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The day was Sunday, July 17, 2011 and WWE was preparing for it’s annual “Money In The Bank” pay-per-view. Given that the event was taking place in a suburb just outside of Chicago, it was well known that the crowd would be quite rowdy for the main event which featured Chicago’s own CM Punk taking on then-WWE Champion John Cena, the number one enemy for many wrestling fans.

The WWE Championship was on the line, as was Cena’s job, as determined by RAW General Manager John Laurinaitis. If this drama weren’t enough, the added element created weeks earlier by Punk’s “pipe-bomb” promo where he announced that he would be leaving WWE at midnight following Money In The Bank was something that had everyone on the edge of their seat.

The event itself was pretty impressive, with Christian taking the World Heavyweight Championship from Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio and Daniel Bryan each winning the Money In The Bank briefcases for their respective brands, but the long-lasting memory created from this pay-per-view was CM Punk shocking the world and defeating Cena.

The match was phenomenal in all aspects, as were the post-match shenanigans that included a failed cash-in by Del Rio. It was so phenomenal, in fact, that it earned the rare distinction of being named a 5-star match by Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer, who is the king of wrestling journalism.

To date, there are only 73 matches in wrestling history to receive 5 stars, and only 5 of them have came from WWE. Prior to the Cena/CM Punk bout at Money In The Bank, there hadn’t been a 5-star match in WWE in nearly 14 years, which has caused many fans to believe that we’ll be waiting just as long for another.

Luckily for us, we’re not going to have to. The quality of wrestling has improved quite a bit over the years, especially as the company has opened up to letting top former independent stars like Daniel Bryan and Cesaro shine. These two, along with CM Punk, headline a movement in WWE that has seen more technical-based wrestlers rise to the top than seemingly ever before.

There are quite a few options throughout the roster, but to be able to put on a 5-star match, quite a few factors have to be in your favor. First, of course, your wrestling ability has to be top notch. On top of that, though, you need to have skill on the mic that will get the crowd involved with the feud that you have. Without the crowd behind you, a lot of the luster behind the match will evaporate.

With these things considered, there are a few top contenders that stand out amongst the pack.

Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro

The past few times that these two have met up, roars of “This Is Awesome!” have rang throughout the arena. They seem to have quite a bit of chemistry together, which can partially be attributed to their past battles in ROH. They certainly have the in-ring component down, so ultimately it will come down if they can get the crowd interested in a long-term feud.

If Cesaro stays with Paul Heyman for an extended period of time (long enough so that they can build him into a credible threat for Bryan’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship), they may just be able to make it work. Obviously Bryan has the entire WWE Universe behind him, and Heyman is capable of people hate just about anyone, so this could be the perfect pairing.

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt

Much like Bryan vs. Cesaro, we’ve already seen this match a few times in the past, and it’s safe to say that it didn’t disappoint. Their meeting in a steel cage on RAW was one of the more monumental moments of the entire “YES! Movement” that has swept up the country, and the following match at the Royal Rumble certainly lived up to expectations.

With Wyatt being one of, if not the best talker in the entire company, the fan interest part really shouldn’t be of any concern, but where they may get into trouble is his in-ring work. He’s been rather impressive throughout his time in WWE, but you just have to question if he can get it up to the standards of Meltzer, who is seen as having an anti-WWE bias by many fans. If he can step up for the occasion, though, this is a pairing that could make a 5-star rating possible.

Brodus Clay vs. Tensai

Woah, how did this one get in here? Moving on.

Cesaro vs. Brock Lesnar

Since returning at Extreme Rules in 2012, Lesnar has been pretty hit-or-miss as far as Meltzer’s star ratings go. He’s been as high as 4.5 in his matches with John Cena and CM Punk, but he’s also dropped as low as 1.25 with his match against Big Show at this year’s Royal Rumble.

It’s clear that he needs the right opponent to make things entertaining, and the versatility of the “King of Swing” may just be the key that brings out the beast in Lesnar. It may take a few matches for them to get some in-ring chemistry going, but I wouldn’t expect any feud between the two to be short, as Paul Heyman will be more than entertaining enough to keep fans interested.

The biggest problem that they may run into is the length of their match. When they eventually go to war, it almost certainly will not be the main event, so they might be limited by time constraints. On average, Meltzer’s 5-star matches last right around 27 minutes, and that might just be a little too long for WWE’s liking. If they decide to stretch them out, however, we could be in for something historic.

Thanks for reading.