5 Best Championship Tournament Finals In WWE History

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)

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.

4. TJP Vs. Gran Metalik (WWE Cruiserweight Title, Cruiserweight Classic)

Both men had their work cut out for them, having wrestled Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr, respectively, only a short while earlier. There was plenty left in the tank for each, however, as they worked a scintillating 18-minute match worthy of the belt.

TJP worked over the knee of Metalik more and more as the match progressed, an offensive and defensive approach alike, as he eventually grounded the dynamic Metalik enough to apply a handful of kneebars, before submitting him to a reverse figure four.

3. Davey Boy Smith Vs. Owen Hart (WWF European Title, Monday Night Raw)

The reigning Tag Team Champions battled it out in 1997 to determine the first-ever European champion, and is arguably each man's best match that didn't include shared relative Bret Hart. The battle in Berlin is also one of the top matches in Raw history.

Though each man had wrestled more formulaic WWF-style matches for the past several years, Smith and Hart turned back the clock to their formative years of faster-paced, highly-scientific offense and counters. Owen's subtle villainy also matched up well with Bulldog's virtue.

2. Tyler Bate Vs. Pete Dunne (WWE United Kingdom Championship, Tournament Day 2)

Incredibly, these two had a better match in them, which was unleashed that May in Chicago at NXT TakeOver. It was pretty hard to improve upon the tournament final, however, with 19-year-old Bate looking to overcome the odds against the ruthless Dunne.

Bate came in with a damaged shoulder, and the lupine-like Dunne, sensing the championship in his midst, ripped at the limb with his usual sadistic fury. But Bate, true to babyface form, fought against the current to put away Dunne with his Tyler Driver '97.

1. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit Vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio (WWE Tag Team Titles, No Mercy 2002)

SmackDown commissioned its own set of Tag titles in 2002, giving the vaunted SmackDown Six (these four plus Eddie and Chavo Guerrero) something to fight for. After the bickering Angle and Benoit downed the Guerreros in a classic semi, the stage was set for a glorious finale.

Unarguably, it's one of the greatest tag team matches in WWE history, especially among those that don't involve ladders or tables. The extended tag formula, combined with intricate spots and counters, further demonstrated SmackDown's superiority to Raw in 2002.