10 Best Near Falls In WWE History

A wrestler leaving it to the very last moment to kick out of a big move sends electricity down your spine like few things else on planet Earth and WWE has provided plenty of memorable examples of this over the years.

A lot goes into a good near fall - the move involved, the stakes of the match, the likelihood of it being the actual finish - and these 10 examples all nailed those traits to a tee.

These are the 10 Best Near Falls in WWE History.

10. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns - Royal Rumble 2022

Seth Rollins was taking on his former Shield BFF Roman Reigns for The Tribal Chief’s Universal Championship at Royal Rumble 2022.

Rollins had done a great job at getting inside the head of the Head of the Table. His mind games made him one of the most believable challengers to Reigns in months, which might be why this extraordinary kick-out got such a great response.

After countering a Spear, Rollins then laid out his adversary with a Buckle Bomb that transitioned directly into a Stomp. He then immediately made the cover, but the champion just about got his arm off the mat to prolong the contest.

In that one moment, we were all that redheaded fan with the beard.

A great moment from a great match, let’s choose to focus on this instead of that dumb DQ that came right at the end. We’ll all be happier for it.

9. Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan - Survivor Series 2018

Brock Lesnar is one of the best kicker-outers in all of wrestling…when he can be bothered.

He was most definitely bothered against Daniel Bryan in their Champion vs. Champion Match at Survivor Series 2018. Bryan had just won the WWE Title by hoofing AJ Styles in the plums, setting up a rather intriguing heel-versus-heel match for the event.

Lesnar showed his dominance during the battle, except for one moment where it looked like WWE might have chosen the upset.

After the referee went down, Bryan went to the well once again and planted Lesnar right in his next big things, which he followed up with a Running Knee. But this wasn’t enough to put Brock down, as The Beast kicked out at the last possible second.

D-Bry had the credibility to realistically beat Lesnar, especially if he’d cheated to do so. Also, a big win over the Universal Champion would have been a great way to cement his recent heel turn.

Alas, it didn’t happen.

8. Daniel Bryan in the World Heavyweight Title Elimination Chamber Match - Elimination Chamber 2012

Six or so years before he nearly floored The Streakbreaker, Daniel Bryan was almost beaten himself by a very unlikely candidate.

As the final pay-per-view before WrestleMania 28, Elimination Chamber 2012 offered one last chance for someone to beat Bryan and carry the World Heavyweight Championship into the big event.

The champ was defending against five other men inside the titular structure, where the match came down to himself and longtime comedy jobber Santino Marella.

In a moment nobody saw coming, Santino pulled out his trusty cobra sock and struck Bryan in the face with it. Up to this point, nobody had ever kicked out of the Cobra.

Surely they wouldn’t? Surely even WWE weren’t mad enough to have Santino go into WrestleMania as world champion? In the end, they didn’t pull the trigger on the faux Italian, but you’d be lying if you said you didn’t buy into this finish, even just for a split second.

In an utterly baffling statistic, Bryan remains the only person in the history of WWE to be shown kicking out of Santino’s finishing move.

7. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle - WrestleMania 21

We could have filled this list entirely with moments from WrestleMania. Instead, we’ve cherry-picked some of the greatest false finishes from across WrestleMania’s illustrious history, starting with this gem from Mania 21.

In one of the greatest Mania matches of all time, Shawn Michaels took on Kurt Angle in a battle of style versus substance, sports entertainment versus pro wrestling.

One of the highlights of this epic encounter came when Michaels ascended to the top rope and quick as a flash, Angle jumped up behind him, caught him in an Angle Slam position, and dropped The Showstopper all the way to the mat below.

At the last possible second, HBK powered out of the super move, leaving everyone in a state of shock. Kicking out of a finisher is one thing, but a top rope finisher? Beautiful madness.

6. Cactus Jack vs. Triple H - Royal Rumble 2000

During Triple H’s early days as a main eventer, he could have hit a T-Rex with a Pedigree and it would have stayed down for a three count.

The move was protected as all hell - despite The Ultimate Warrior’s best efforts a few years earlier - which is why it was truly special to see Mick Foley overcome it at the 2000 Royal Rumble.

As part of their legendary street fight, Foley as Cactus Jack was laid out with The Game’s finisher right after a back body drop into some thumbtacks. Just when it looked like the end, Jack somehow denied Trips the victory as the Madison Square Garden crowd went wild.

He did then eat a Pedigree face first into a bunch of tacks.

Not only did this make Foley look like a beast, but it also made Triple H even more of a heel for resorting to such fiendish tactics to put his opponent away.

5. John Cena Vs. Edge - New Year's Revolution 2006

Though it’s part of the furniture nowadays, there was a time where people weren’t sure that this whole Money in the Bank thing would work out.

Thankfully, the first cash-in was so good that everyone’s fears just went away.

John Cena successfully retained his WWE Championship in a bloody and brutal Elimination Chamber Match at New Year’s Revolution 2006. Unfortunately, the celebrations didn’t last long, as who should come out but briefcase holder Edge.

After Mr. McMahon explained what was going on like he was some sort of tutorial in a video game, Edge cashed in for the first time ever and we had ourselves a world title match!

Cena was an exhausted mess who’d just outlasted five other competitors in a brutal match. Surely he would fall to the very first Spear Edge hit him with? Clearly you don’t know your Cena.

The champ somehow kicked out of the initial attack, adding a great layer of uncertainty to the moment. Had Edge made a huge mistake? Should he have waited for another moment? Was he going to…oh wait, he’s just hit another Spear and won.

It did look like he’d initially messed up, though.

4. CM Punk Vs. John Cena - Money in the Bank 2011

A whole city was desperate for John Cena to lose on this fateful night.

The now-iconic main event of Money in the Bank 2011 pitted WWE Champion Cena against challenger CM Punk. The Straight Edge Superstar’s contract was up at midnight, meaning that, if he won, he’d be taking the WWE Title with him.

This was WWE’s chance to do something genuinely interesting for the first time in years, so naturally fans were nervous that Cena was just going to win and sweep the whole thing under the rug.

Imagine how frightened everyone was then when the champ hoisted Punk up on his shoulders and hit a second AA.

Thankfully, the wrestling gods were smiling down on the fans in Chicago that day, because the hometown hero managed to escape defeat right at the final moment. Not only is it a perfectly executed near fall, but the reaction from the nuclear crowd was monstrous.

3. AJ Styles vs. John Cena - SummerSlam 2016

The third instalment in our accidental trilogy of John Cena moments took place at the 2016 edition of SummerSlam.

Cena had been embroiled in a dream feud with AJ Styles and the pair were tied up at one victory a piece. Now it was time to settle the score once and for all.

Much like with Punk five years earlier, fans were desperate to see AJ win. A loss to Cena on a big stage would do so much damage to the former TNA man and ruin what had been a pretty decent run in the promotion up to that point.

Knowing that they had the audience in the palm of their hands, WWE decided to mess about with our collective emotions by having Cena hit Styles with a top rope AA.

Right, that’s it. Match is over. Everybody burn your AJ Styles t-shirts and - oh my God, he kicked out!

The incredible nature of this near fall combined with Cena’s prolonged reaction to it transformed this entire match into an instant classic. And guess what? AJ actually won the whole thing! Clean, too.

Sometimes dreams do come true.

2. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker - WrestleMania 25

Like with Money in the Bank 2011, we really don’t need to talk about Shawn Michaels versus The Undertaker from WrestleMania 25 any more than we already have. It’s widely regarded as one of the best matches of all time.

As Michaels tried to skin the cat to get back into the ring, Taker took advantage and got him in position for a Tombstone. He hit the move, crossed Michaels’ arms, but that still wasn’t enough for the three.

The setup to this moment, Michaels’ selling of it, and the overall quality of the match all help make this moment special, but what really takes it over the edge is the classic face that Undertaker pulled right after it.

His look of “Seriously? Are you kidding me?” exemplifies just how incredible this moment was and will live on in meme form for the rest of time.

1. The Undertaker vs. Triple H - WrestleMania 28

The End of an Era Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and The Undertaker at WrestleMania 28 was the culmination of a four-year-long story between The Deadman and D-Generation X.

Not only was this the sequel to Trips vs Taker from the year before, but it also tied up the Taker/Michaels matches from the years before that, as HBK was the guest referee.

In a moment so obvious a foetus could have predicted it, Michaels sided with The Game and tried to help him beat The Phenom. Triple H countered a Tombstone by pushing Taker right into the path of Sweet Chin Music. He then hit the Pedigree to surely seal the deal and finally bring the mighty Streak to an end.

And then Undertaker kicked out.

Even with help from his best friend, even with two separate finishers, Triple H couldn’t put his nemesis away.

For capturing so much emotion and history within the space of about 10 seconds, this has to be the best near fall in the history of WWE and maybe even wrestling as a whole.