The WWE's Most Stunning Storylines of the Last 10 Years

Triple H taking the creative reigns of WWE has given fans reason to believe that the product will continue to improve and produce strong storylines and exciting matchups.

The newfound optimism for WWE's immediate future means that much more coming off a dry spell of uninspiring content from the company for so many years. Raw and SmackDown weren't entirely terrible, but by and large, the shows were a chore to sit through.

For as many faults as Vince McMahon had creatively, he was also responsible for some of the greatest angles in recent WWE history.

Although both had somewhat unsatisfying conclusions, the debut of The Nexus followed by the Summer of Punk captured the attention of fans in the early 2010s and kept them tuning in week after week in anticipation for what would happen next.

These stunning storylines defined the past decade of WWE and left a similarly lasting impact on the audience with the way they were initiated, executed and ultimately paid off.

The Rise and Fall of The Shield (2012)

WWE has long been criticized by fans for their failure to create genuine stars in modern times. But Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns were prime examples of how consistently strong booking can go a long way in creating new stars.

Collectively known as The Shield, the trio made an immediate impact upon their arrival at Survivor Series 2012. Outside of brief NXT runs for Reigns and Rollins, all three were relative unknowns to the WWE Universe and had no prior experience on the grand stage.

Despite that, they established their mission statement to dominate WWE from the get-go and amazingly remained a main-event act for their entire time together.

In addition to their six-month-long undefeated streak, The Shield conquered everyone from John Cena and Randy Orton to Big Show and Sheamus. They quickly captured gold and were never made to look weak at any point.

Just as they reached the peak of their popularity in the spring of 2014, WWE abruptly broke the group up in a shocking turn of events that saw Rollins betray Reigns and Ambrose to join The Authority. That spawned three successful singles careers, and eight years later, they share 13 wrestling world titles between them.

The story of The Shield was beautifully crafted from start to finish and unquestionably earns them a place among WWE's greatest groups of all time.

The Yes! Movement (2013-2014)

The Shield played a pivotal role in the rise of The Authority early on and often opposed the power-hungry faction's greatest archenemy, Daniel Bryan.

The initial angle that saw Triple H and Randy Orton reveal they were in cahoots at SummerSlam 2013 to crown Orton the WWE champion was exceptionally executed. Although the aftermath wasn't as well-handled, it unintentionally benefited Bryan in the long run and made for the perfect underdog story going into WrestleMania 30.

CM Punk walking out on WWE prior to the pay-per-view caused the company to change plans on the fly and transition Bryan into the main-event picture. From Royal Rumble to WrestleMania, he was forced to jump through hoops to earn an opportunity that should have already been his, making for a series of stellar segments that included “Occupy Raw” and a brutal beatdown at the hands of The Game.

The more Bryan was held down by The Authority, the more the audience rallied behind him to give them their comeuppance after months of corruption and chaos. At WrestleMania 30, he finally regained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by beating Batista, Randy Orton and Triple H all in the same night.

It's rare for the road to WrestleMania to shift to such a great degree, but Bryan's popularity was too much to ignore. The visual of him holding both belts while chanting “Yes!” with tens of thousands of fans in unison will not be soon forgotten.

John Cena's U.S. Open Challenge (2015)

John Cena was featured in the world title mix so frequently for a decade straight that fans thought they'd never see him at any level lower than the main event for the remainder of his career.

That was what made his brief detour to the United States Championship scene in 2015 so refreshing, along with the many matches he was able to have with a fun mix of fresh faces and familiar foes.

Cena's original pursuit of the star-spangled prize in the months preceding WrestleMania 31 was nothing special, but the reign that followed was one of his best ever.

One night removed from capturing the title for the fourth time (and the first time in over 10 years), Cena instituted the U.S. Open Challenge, where anyone on the roster could step up to take him on for the prestigious prize.

He set the tone for the weekly gimmick straight away by delivering a terrific match with Dean Ambrose. His long list of challengers in the subsequent months included Stardust, Wade Barrett, Neville, Sami Zayn, Cesaro and Seth Rollins, among others.

Virtually every one of those matches was excellent, and all of Cena's opponents had a chance to shine and showcase their skills. The U.S. Open Challenge carried Raw for the better part of 2015 and even included a tremendous trilogy between Cena and the debuting Kevin Owens.

Cena elevated the United States Championship to new heights from March to October of that year and turned something as ordinary as an open challenge into a recurring Raw highlight.

The Bromance and Breakup of Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens (2016-2017)

Some of WWE's most entertaining storylines are ones that begin with no intention of turning into anything more than a one- or two-month program.

That was exactly the case when Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho started interacting and joining forces in 2016. The two found instant chemistry and were put together permanently as partners soon after.

For the first six months of the resurrected Brand Extension, Owens and Jericho ran rampant over Raw and were constantly involved in the most entertaining segments on the show. Owens reigned as Universal champion while Jericho had a firm grasp on the United States Championship, so their complete control of the red brand during this period was undisputed.

What took their story from good to great was when Owens heartbreakingly betrayed Jericho during a "festival of friendship" in February 2017, cementing their split and kicking off a fun feud between them en route to WrestleMania 33.

Their three matches at 'Mania, Payback and on SmackDown were all enjoyable and ultimately saw Owens emerge as a much more menacing individual and capped off Jericho's latest WWE run on a high note.

The Man Comes Around (2018-2019)

Similar to Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch's character shift in the summer of 2018 was never supposed to have the endgame that it did. Rather, it was the fans' reactions to Lynch that changed the course of history and led to her being launched into another stratosphere of superstardom.

When The Irish Lasskicker became The Man by severing ties with Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam 2018, the audience responded with raucous cheers instead of a chorus of boos. That continued through the rest of the year and resulted in Lynch regaining the SmackDown Women's champion in a matter of months.

She was still as likable and as much of an underdog as she was previously, except now she had an attitude and edge befitting of a top star. She bested her archrival Charlotte Flair multiple times and made the audience want to see her battle Ronda Rousey in WrestleMania 35.

The Man's rocky road to the title only endeared her to the audience and played an important part in the women headlining 'Mania for the first time in 2019.

Lynch and Ronda Rousey were always bringing the best out of each other, and although the ending to their WrestleMania encounter fell flat, it succeeded in cementing Lynch's place among the elite. Walking out with both belts merely sealed the deal.

KofiMania (2019)

There aren't any other storylines listed that peaked simultaneously, but the buildup for WrestleMania 35 on Raw and SmackDown was so engaging on the whole and is widely regarded as the night WWE gave fans what they wanted.

Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan came completely out of nowhere shortly prior to the pay-per-view, but it wound up being the best move they could have made. Despite spending the last several years of his career toiling in the tag team ranks, Kingston retained a massive fan faction and was long overdue for a push of this nature.

Like others that came before him, he had to overcome a number of obstacles on every SmackDown leading up to 'Mania, and each one was harder than the last. The crowd's support for him, however, never wavered and made the environment for his outing with Bryan absolutely electric.

They told a spectacular story that didn't span a few months but rather Kingston's entire career. The sheer emotion from the audience when he won the WWE Championship made for a genuinely great, heartwarming moment.

The aftermath could have used some work, but WWE nailed every aspect of this storyline when it mattered most, and it added to an already thrilling WrestleMania season.

Roman Reigns Embraces His Bloodline (2020-Present)

It can easily be argued that Roman Reigns is WWE's biggest star of the past decade, but he spent many of those years miscast as a babyface.

The company gave it a valiant effort, but he never truly connected with the crowd in that role. He achieved great success but was constantly criticized by fans for how he was booked.

Then, in August 2020, the day finally came, but not in the fashion everyone had always envisioned it would.

Mere months into WWE's pandemic era, Reigns confirmed his heel turn by aligning with Paul Heyman, though it didn't receive a genuine reaction since no fans were in the building.

The circumstances weren't ideal, but Reigns' phenomenal character work more than made up for it. He gradually became more evil over time and eventually recruited both of The Usos into his ranks to form The Bloodline.

Every one of his Universal Championship defenses had a big fight feel from that point forward. He carried SmackDown for that first year of his reign while he was active, and at WrestleMania 38, he attained an unstoppable aura by beating Brock Lesnar to become Undisputed WWE Universal champion.

The Tribal Chief has been a revelation. At almost two full years in length, his ongoing title run has taken on a life of its own and could go down as all-time epic depending how it finishes.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.