10 Best WWE Kickoff Matches

The WWEKickoff Show has been a staple of PPV programming for the past decade, starting in earnest in 2012 before expanding to an hour-long show in 2014 and including at least one tee-up match before events.

Although at times skipped or even outright derided, the Kickoff Show gained a reputation over the past six years (and counting) for the occasional sleeper match and would even further the careers of those people willing to put in hard work outside of the main show. Let's take a look at the 10 best matches on a WWE Kickoff show (and available for free on YouTube).

10 Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs New Day - Royal Rumble 2015

In the early days of what is now the typical Kickoff Show, these teams met in a match that few paid attention to at the time, but that also set the pace for what is now considered an underrated period in the history of tag team wrestling. Cesaro & Kidd, a workhorse tag team, gelled very well with Big E and Kofi Kingston, turning out a surprisingly entertaining tag team encounter. Both teams would go on to put on even better matches on the Kickoff, but this was a preview of the solid wrestling that was to come.

9 Buddy Murphy vs Akira Tozawa vs Hideo Itami vs Kalisto - Royal Rumble 2019

One of the people who made the most of their time spent on the Kickoff Show was then-Cruiserweight Champion, Buddy Murphy. Murphy's matches were regularly relegated to airing before most PPVs he was on, but his performances and caliber of opponents elevated the matches to must-see affairs, with this fatal four-way being no different.

The frenzy of adding three competitors to the typical high-speed, high-impact Murphy match made for a fun and engaging Kickoff main event, the perfect title encounter to whet any fan's appetite before a big show.

8 Cesaro vs Sheamus - Summerslam 2016

In the summer of 2016, Cesaro and Sheamus engaged in a best-of-7 matches series that would lead to their long-running tag team, The Bar, and produce several fights to remember. This being the first in their series, the match had yet to be considered typical among fans and was received well for how gritty and hard-hitting it was. This match, and the series in general, was where both men proved their outstanding in-ring chemistry together and this solid encounter led to fans anticipating the next between the future Tag Team Champions.

7 Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs Los Matadores vs The Usos vs New Day - WrestleMania 31

Despite being on the Kickoff Show, the eight men involved in this match recognized that it was WrestleMania and busted out their very best for the fans. This fatal four-way tag match involved not only the teams but also their managers (Natalya, El Torito, Naomi, Xavier Woods), which made for a chaotic but wildly fun affair that set the stage for a well-received WrestleMania event. By this point, fans began to wonder why this type of match would be left off the main event card, especially considering how hard everyone worked despite that fact.

6 Buddy Murphy vs Tony Nese - WrestleMania 35

This match would mark the end of Buddy Murphy's long tenure on the Kickoff Show and as Cruiserweight Champion, but he and opponent Tony Nese went out with a stellar match. Nese proved to be a worthy successor to Murphy's style and added some high-flying flourishes that were unique to him.

What's more, this WrestleMania happened in front of a hometown crowd for native New Yorker Nese, who got to win his coveted championship in front of a very receptive crowd and be the one to break Murphy's long singles winning streak.

5 Viking Raiders vs New Day vs Undisputed Era - Survivor Series 2019

The encroachment of NXT onto the main roster for last year's Survivor Series led to a few dream encounters, including this triple threat champions tag match. Although fans balked at this match being relegated to the Kickoff Show, all six men worked hard to overcome the stigma of that distinction and turned out an excellent match. Considering that five of the men are NXT alumni (including the victorious Viking Raiders), it set the stage for the theme of the night that NXT was where the best competitors were to be found.

4 Cedric Alexander vs Mustafa Ali - WrestleMania 34

The cruiserweights of 205 Live have been able to use their time on the Kickoff Show as a showcase for their considerable talents and prove why they belong on any show's main card. Two talents who were able to prove themselves on the grandest stage of them all were Alexander and Ali, who fought to become the Cruiserweight Champion in a sleeper match. Both men brought their A-game for the WrestleMania crowd and turned heads once again with scintillating maneuvers and a story of heart (Ali) vs. soul (Alexander).

3 Buddy Murphy vs Cedric Alexander - TLC 2018

Murphy and Alexander will be remembered as two of the best cruiserweight talents ever to be featured on 205 Live and they proved it to the world with matches like this.

Held during Murphy's career-making title reign, both men cut a pace that few in the world could follow and battered each other with moves that most were used to seeing either on the independent scene or outside North America. Both men were featured on Raw in the coming year and performances like this are proof for how good they truly are.

2 Neville vs Austin Aries - WrestleMania 33

Before the days of Buddy Murphy, performers like Neville and Austin Aries were the original cruiserweight wrestlers who made people pay attention to the mostly-ignored Kickoff matches because of how good they were. Both men pulled out all the stops in a terrific daylight encounter which had many fans vocal about how it deserved to be on the main show, a trend that continues with cruiserweight matches to this day. The athletics on display were far beyond what most of the main roster could accomplish and would lead to further international recognition for two of the best wrestlers in the world at the time.

1 New Day vs The Usos - SummerSlam 2017

Engaged in an underrated feud at the time, both teams decided to put on a clinic in the Kickoff Show that had fans on the edge of their seat before the PPV had even properly begun. Those four proved that just because a match is not placed on the main card doesn't mean it has to be forgotten and their match was given attention in many "match of the year" lists. Fans still remember this as the best match ever put on a Kickoff in one of the best tag team feuds of all time.

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