Bray Wyatt vs. AJ Styles vs. John Cena and Top WWE Matches for Week of Feb. 16

Bray Wyatt's fight to reach and stay atop the WWE peak produced two of the most thrilling matches of a stacked week.

The Eater of Worlds first took down AJ Styles and John Cena inside a steel enclosure at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. He then withstood those foes again two nights later on SmackDown. Each time, Wyatt and his opponents thrived.

Wyatt proved he belonged in the main event twice over. His two biggest victories led to two of his top in-ring performances. 

The sinister WWE champion wasn't alone in producing between the ropes, though. Bayley's crowning achievement, two United Kingdom stars visiting NXT and Luke Harper's breakout moment led to high-quality contests, as well. 

The following is a look at those matches and the week's best WWE action on Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live and Sunday's PPV. The bouts' story, in-ring action and biggest moments determined the rankings.

Honorable Mention

• Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James (Elimination Chamber)
• TJ Perkins vs. Neville (205 Live)

Elimination Chamber's opening match had momentum before the bell even rang. A strong story of a veteran angry about being forgotten and a rising star seeking payback powered Lynch vs. James.

In the ring, James outworked and outwrestled Lynch early on, but The Irish Lass Kicker persevered.

Theirs was a well-worked battle and a strong first chapter of their rivalry. There will be bigger, more dramatic matches to come, but this was a fun way to start things off.

Neville defeated Perkins in a match that featured a grind-it-out pace with flashes of quickness. The ring psychology was good in this non-title bout as Neville continually worked his foe's arm to set up Rings of Saturn. And Perkins was able to evade the cruiserweight champion with his great agility. Eventually, though, the predatory Neville caught him and sunk his teeth into him.

More buildup and stakes would have pushed this higher up the rankings. Even without the power of hype, however, Neville continued his run of excellent performances.

5. Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper (Elimination Chamber)

Sunday's Elimination Chamber proved to be Harper's coming-out party.

The longtime member of The Wyatt Family looked like a star in a losing effort. He more than held his own in a slugfest with The Viper. The two enemies' animosity burned on the screen toward the end as they clubbed each other.

This was a tale of two men who were once brothers. Orton pushed Harper out of The Wyatt Family, and the bearded bruiser sought revenge to soothe his broken heart.

The buildup was excellent, and this felt like far more significant than a standard midcard match because of it.

Had things got going early and the pace of the first third of the bout not been as lethargic, Orton vs. Harper would have edged out other matches for a higher spot here.

4. Tyler Bate vs. Trent Seven (NXT)

In a clash against his former tag team partner Trent Seven, United Kingdom champion Tyler Bate defended his title for the first time. The two Brits brought the same kind of hard-hitting, energetic action that made the U.K. tournament so great.

NXT headquarters Full Sail University housed the title match.

The bout took an odd direction early. The foes stroked each other's mustaches and dared each other to charge. The goofiness soon morphed into something more serious, though.

Seven blasted Bate with everything he had. The champ—his chest bruised and red—stood tall as he fought off his friend with his usual unorthodox offense.

Justin James of PWTorch wrote of the fight, "Really outstanding match here. A different style than we usually see on NXT, but both men have oodles of charisma and bring it in the ring."

This was not the culmination of some great angle, though. This was a showcase match for the U.K. brand and a novelty, albeit a thrilling one. The list's very best matches had the benefit of featuring Superstars fans have more of a connection to and a bigger prize at stake. 

3. Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley (Raw)

Charlotte Flair dismissed Bayley as a viable challenger for months, and when they met on Monday's Raw, she looked to destroy her.

The former Raw women's champ was a vicious, insatiable predator in this bout. She cracked her opponent's head against the security barricade and leaped onto her with a moonsault that buckled her knees. Bayley survived. She endured.

The challenger cut down The Queen in the end to win her first title on the main roster.

Her celebration was the apex of a journey she started back on the independent circuit. The likable, popular Bayley battled her way to the top. And the fans loved it.  

Kyle Fowle of the A.V. Club wrote, "Go back and listen to that crowd. It's an electric atmosphere, yet another statement that these women should be main eventing more often."

As dramatic and fulfilling as Flair vs. Bayley was, though, it was not without flaws. The chaotic ending that featured Sasha Banks smacking Flair with a crutch diminished Bayley's moment. WWE rushed this narrative, too.

Bayley climbed the mountaintop after just six months on the main roster, in her second title match against Flair, and on a Monday night rather than at WrestleMania.

Those issues will bother some more than others, but they were enough to allow Wyatt's two big wins to surpass it on this list. 

2. Bray Wyatt vs. AJ Styles vs. John Cena (SmackDown)

In a thrilling match that cemented Wyatt's place as champion and beast at the top of the SmackDown food chain, he defended the WWE title against Styles and Cena.

The highlights began before the bell even sounded. Harper superkicked Wyatt in the mush to pay him back for abandoning him.

The Styles-and-Cena saga continued with their phenomenal chemistry on display. Cena looked to have the match won with an STF and an Attitude Adjustment. Styles pounced on Wyatt twice to break a table underneath him. 

The energy of the bout was consistently on a high level.

While it didn't have the build of a PPV match, it felt like an added chapter to the Elimination Chamber story. Only a clash with more moving parts and breathtaking moments topped it this week.

1. WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber)

Arguably the best Elimination Chamber match to date unfolded on Sunday night.

Styles and Cena began the action, adding another chapter to their top-notch rivalry. The big moments followed, one atop another.

Baron Corbin blasted Dean Ambrose after getting eliminated, making him easy prey for The Miz. Styles leaped all over Satan's Prison, risking everything to reclaim his title. Wyatt ousted Styles and Cena in that order to claim the biggest prize of his career.

The bout was adrenaline-rich from the get-go, and it spotlighted everyone involved well. 

A safer design for the Elimination Chamber actually added to the drama. It allowed the wrestlers to focus on the in-ring narrative and not be spent and battered at its climax. As Voices of Wrestling's Warren Taylor wrote, "The 2017 chapter in the EC's history was not a car crash. It was a well-told story from beginning to end."

We may have all seen Wyatt's win coming, but it didn't matter. The result was a frenetic work of art.