Luke Harper’s 5 Best WWE Matches

We bid a fond farewell to Luke Harper.

Luke Harper

It’s no secret that Luke Harper has been trying to find an escape from his WWE contract for quite some time, having been sat on the sidelines for so long. With little to no consideration given by the creative booking team, there’s no surprise that Harper wanted to explore opportunities elsewhere. The former Intercontinental and Tag Team champion was finally granted his release as part of WWE’s pre-spring clean, alongside Sin Cara and The Ascension. It’s always a shame to see such a talented performer be let go, but in this case, the grass may be greener on the independent scene for a veteran like Luke Harper.

It’s hard to imagine where Harper would have gone after his recent programme with Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan. It seems that WWE always had Harper penned as a tag team wrestler, something he excelled in as a member of The Wyatt Family and The Bludgeon Brothers, but there was always an untapped potential for Luke Harper to expand into a singles career. Where WWE did occasionally flirt with the idea of Harper having a run on his own, momentum never really came his way.

Fortunately for us wrestling fans, Harper has left a lasting impression on the WWE Universe through some hidden gems of the modern era. Harper’s matches with the likes of The Usos, Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler will all go down as some of the most underrated performances from the past few years.

Let us all bid Luke Harper a fond farewell (for now) and give some love to his best 5 matches in WWE. Make sure you drop your own favourites in the comments below.

 

5. Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match – WrestleMania 31

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9-evLZ6cAk

Luke Harper found himself in amongst the seven guys selected to do battle in a multi-man ladder match to kick-off 2015’s extravaganza. Harper was the token big-man of the match, who slaughtered the smaller opponents with his explosive and innovative offence. This was very much one of Harper’s biggest moments from his singles career, getting to compete in a high-profile title match on a WrestleMania card as a singles performer. Even though there was a high chance of him being lost in the shuffle of the match, Luke Harper was a name on everyone’s minds afterwards, second to the match winner, Daniel Bryan.

Harper delivered one of the more cringey spots of the match, crashing Dean Ambrose through a balanced ladder outside of the ring with an insane powerbomb. There was a moment where Harper even had his hands on the IC title, only to be foiled by former rival Dolph Ziggler and a sleeperhold.

Even though Luke didn’t walk out of ‘Mania with his second Intercontinental Championship, this was a fantastic match and a great moment for Harper.

 

4. The Wyatt Family vs Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Chris Jericho – Night of Champions 2015

Most would remember this match for the in-ring debut of Braun Strowman, who at the time was the newest member of The Wyatt Family. The trio met two thirds of The Shield and their mystery partner (a returning Chris Jericho) at Night of Champions, a match which naturally stole the show.

The focus was very much on the power of ‘The Monster Among Men’, presenting him as the biggest threat to anyone on the roster and somewhat of a revival of Bray Wyatt’s menacing faction. Regardless, Luke Harper displayed once again that he was a very capable in-ring performer, battling all three opponents throughout the majority of the match.

This was definitely an occasion where you could see Harper’s experience shine through, coaching the younger Strowman while showing some stellar tag psychology alongside Wyatt. Harper always had a great chemistry with the Shield boys, which only added to how much fun this match was.

 

3. Luke Harper vs Randy Orton – Elimination Chamber 2016

‘The Viper’ was preparing for a WrestleMania title bout after winning the 2016 Royal Rumble match, but Randy had yet to announce who he’d be choosing as his opponent around the time of Elimination Chamber. Although around the same time, Orton’s partnership with ‘The New Wyatt Family’ was teetering on edge. Tensions were high between the three, after Orton played his usual mind-games to try and split the last remnants of The Wyatt Family apart.

What ensued was a classic back-and-forth contest between two masters of the art at Elimination Chamber. If you’re looking for the last great singles bout from Harper then look no further than this exhibition contest with the 14-time World Champion. Orton has a knack for putting on fantastic matches when he’s in the ring with someone that will bring it out of him. Harper was definitely someone who was willing to go the distance and string together some brutal moves to hang with one of the best of this generation.

A few weeks after this stunner, Orton split from The Wyatt Family and instigated a long and lengthy feud with the then WWE Champion, Bray Wyatt. The pre-WrestleMania scuffle between Randy Orton and Luke Harper was really Harper’s last ditch effort at becoming a singles star, so if you’re looking for the most recent example of Harper’s attempted singles run, then check this one out.

 

2. The Wyatt Family vs The Usos – Battleground 2014

As Luke Harper and Erick Rowan steadily distanced themselves from Bray Wyatt and their typical henchmen roles, they started to breach the borders of the tag division and found themselves in contention for the WWE Tag titles against The Usos. Most of their matches were unfortunately relegated to the pre-show, which tends to be a theme that runs throughout the Usos’ careers, but these truly could have stole the show on any pay-per-view main card.

After wowing the WWE Universe in previous championship bouts, the two teams were matched once again in a 2 out of 3 falls contest at Battleground. This huge match was a great way to kick-off the show, setting the pace for the rest of the card and putting most of the other matches to shame. This match in particular received a lot of praise from other wrestling journalists, many sharing the same opinion of it being match of the night.

Luke Harper was an integral part of this match, his chemistry with Erick Rowan is something that hasn’t been given enough credit over the years, and their combined efforts against The Usos should go down as one of the better tag feuds from the past few years. Credit to everyone in this match for going the extra mile for tag wrestling.

 

1. Luke Harper vs Dolph Ziggler – TLC 2014

Of course this match had to take the number one spot; the ladder match between Luke Harper and Dolph Ziggler is another one of those modern day instant-classic ladder matches that will forever be remembered as an underrated gem. Both Harper and Ziggler were reaping the benefits of the highly-acclaimed traditional Survivor Series match between Team Cena and The Authority. With Ziggler riding a wave of momentum after being given the sole survivor spot, he entered a feud with the then IC champ Luke Harper and managed to put together a match that captured the hearts and minds of fans across the world.

Harper looked like an absolute star throughout this match, not only acting as a great heel against Ziggler but also for putting his body on the line in ways that nobody expected him to. Harper proved that he was a very capable singles performer who could put together exciting championship matches on the big stage. This was very much a coming-out party of sorts for Luke Harper. It’s just a shame that WWE were unable to recapture that same reception in any of his other singles feuds.

Ziggler was the perfect opponent to sell Harper’s offence, and orchestrate an almost picture-perfect ladder match. I’m not sure what it is about the IC title and ladders, but they just go hand in hand. Please go back and check out the highlights of this phenomenal title match, if anything, this should get you very excited for Luke Harper’s future, wherever he might end up.

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