WWE Programming's Best Match for Week of May 30

After a quiet spell last week, all parts of the WWE roster upped their game for a terrific run of competition over the last seven days.

Elimination Chamber produced some great bouts, and that energy seemed to stick around throughout the week's regular programming. What's more, it's not just the same few faces that are being relied upon to deliver top-tier matches.

It seems that there's a roster-wide effort in place to step things up in terms of in-ring action, and that's a very smart move. While long-form storylines are what sells tickets, it's the quality of individual matches that sends the fans home happy.

Honourable Mentions

First things first, massive credit has to be given to the tag team division for heading out of the doldrums in recent months. The tag team Elimination Chamber match was really excellent, and on most weeks would be a lock for the best of the last seven days.

Similarly entertaining was the Triple Threat between The Ascension, Lucha Dragons and the Prime Time Players on SmackDown. There's a lot of talent in the division at present, so here's hoping that this hot run can continue through the summer and beyond.

SmackDown also played host to an engaging match between Neville and Kofi Kingston. These two men have styles that mesh very nicely, so it should be of little surprise to see them have such a good bout.

Elsewhere, NXT saw Adam Rose take on Tyler Breeze, demonstrating exactly why many would say he's wasted in his current role. This pairing showed great chemistry as a tag team recently, and that provided the spark that made this match a must-watch.

Finally, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Elimination Chamber was a fittingly enjoyable bout between two great wrestlers. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose demonstrated how much they've both grown even since their matches last summer—expect them to steal the show at Money in the Bank.

Match of the Week for Week of May 30: Kevin Owens vs. John Cena at Elimination Chamer 2015

Kevin Owens' debut match on the main roster demonstrated just how good WWE can be at introducing new talent to their audience.

Owens made an impact when he showed up on Monday Night Raw to interrupt John Cena's regular open-challenge segment, but at Elimination Chamber, he managed to show fans exactly why he's set to be one of the most important figures in WWE over the next few years.

The match itself was great, but what really made it special was the fact that Owens wasn't simply pulling from the same bag of tricks that he's been using over the course of his time in NXT.

Credit: WWE.com

There, Owens has typically used a set of tactics designed to throw his opponent off their game and turn the crowd against him. Ducking out of the ring to control the pace and making full use of the ring apron have been his two staples, and they've been used very effectively.

However, Owens didn't rely on either to see him through his most high-profile WWE match to date. Instead, we saw him explore the furthest reaches of his war crate, pulling off moves that referenced his days on the independent scene as well as some wholly new techniques.

The match was essentially a showcase for Kevin Owens, but Cena played his part in proceedings perfectly. While the Doctor of Thuganomics deserves to be criticized for his capacity to derail exciting talent, he can do a lot of good in the right situation.

Credit: WWE.com

This wasn't a squash match a la Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2014, but it was every bit as shocking to see Kevin Owens pick up the win. It perhaps wasn't too dissimilar to Cena's matches against CM Punk at Money in the Bank 2011 or Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam 2013.

Both of those matches played up the idea of the outsider taking on WWE's golden boy. It's a scenario that's bound to appeal to fans of the wider world of wrestling, and it was once again very cannily implemented last Sunday.

It's easy to criticize the match for its generous use of big moves for near-falls, but those techniques were used to further the story that was being told. Owens felt disrespected by Cena's assertion that he was a veteran, so he was going to bring manoeuvres that demonstrated otherwise.

Credit: WWE.com

His modified superplex and moonsault were great moves to show the crowd what he's capable of—but that peacocking made sense in terms of the narrative, as well as its purpose of forging a connection with his audience.

Owens vs. Cena was a masterful way of introducing the NXT champion to a wider audience, without slowing his momentum. The jump to the main roster has been difficult for some NXT graduates, but it seems that WWE is getting much better at managing the transition, especially for their biggest prospects.

What was your favourite match this week? Let us know in the comments section below.