Year End Awards 2013

For the third year in a row I find myself noting that wrestling attracts lists. As I have for the past two years I thought I’d put together lists of my favourite wrestling related things of 2013.

As with the last two years (2011 is available here and 2012 is available here) there are six categories. Top fives for the best characters, feuds and shows, top tens for the best matches and tag teams, and a top twenty singles wrestlers (which, in the terminology of the sport we all follow, is the main event). Those of you with too much time on your hands may remember that I expanded the tag list from five to ten for last year’s awards post. This year it’s been the turn of the top matches list to grow. I don’t know why it’s taken this long. A list of top five matches seems odd. Ten is a much better number for that.

As with previous years there are no non-North America based grapplers on any of these lists (except one, but that’s for a match that took place in the States). This isn’t a reflection on the quality of wrestling outside of the United States, it’s simply a case of me not following anything outside of North America enough to feel I can fairly judge and compare it.

The way I’ve ranked wrestlers takes into account the company they work for, their spot on the card, what is required of them by their employer and how well they’ve performed within their parameters. Different things are expected of Adam Cole and Randy Orton for example, despite both men being world champions. Even within WWE there are different expectations of wrestlers: more is expected of Alberto Del Rio than of, say, Big E Langston for example.

TNA and ROH made some headway in their standings here last year after 2011 was dominated by WWE. This year things have swung back in WWE’s favour. TNA had to make some pretty severe cutbacks which led to their product become more unfocused and counterproductive than I think it’s ever been before. ROH had a great time in the first six months of the year but things fell apart for them when they decided to vacate their world championship. Had that not happened I think they could have ended up having their best year since Gabe Sapolsky left (left being the tactful term).

As I’ve noted before I’d watch both companies more if they got themselves together and presented enjoyable and compelling television programmes. That they’re not encouraging me to watch means they’re not going to rank highly.

We’ll start, again, with the Character of the Year category. Wrestling ability plays no part in this at all. It’s an award that acknowledges how good performers have been at establishing their character through the art of the promo and with continuous development, as well as interpreting the vision of the writers. All the other awards should be fairly self-explanatory.

Top Five Characters of the Year

5. Christopher Daniels

His antics weren't enough to make people tune in to Impact but there were enough to entertain those who did. 'The Ring General' was routinely amusing and did a great job of turning wrapping up nonsense storylines into a great gimmick. Without this man's ability to produce watchable skits TNA would be even duller.

4. Bo Dallas

Turning a bland babyface heel because they're booed is nothing new in wrestling. But it's not been done for a while and it's rarely been done as well as with Bo Dallas. The guy's brilliant as the oblivious narcissist who thinks everyone loves him and his title reign, with the puns he makes on his own name (Bolivia, the fans chanting "Bo!") warranting particular praise. Perfecting this character is Bo's best shot at getting promoted to the main roster. Bo! Bo! Bo!

3. Bully Ray

Bully Ray has been about the only man to be used in a consistent manner by TNA this year. That's helped him stand out as one of the few reasons to actually watch their shows. Whether he was the relatable, tough guy babyface or the bullying leader of Aces and Eights Ray made his character work. ‘Calfzilla’ was one of the better aspects of TNA in 2013.

2. Bray Wyatt

This is a man who turned talking nonsense into an art form.  Bray has been completely believe as an unhinged swamp preacher. Proof that gimmick characters can still succeed in the modern wrestling world, if they’re introduced well and not treated shabbily afterwards.

1. Tyler Breeze

There’s so much to love about Tyler Breeze. The selfies. The furry phone. The fact that said firry phone is used as a foreign object. The boots. The Zoolander impression. The Blue Steel facial expression. The former Mike Dalton has taken a tired cliché of a wrestling character and reworked it into something that connects with wrestling fans of the twenty-first century. Tyler Breeze has been a joy to watch.



Tremendous

Top Five Shows of the Year

5. ROH 11^th Anniversary Show

Ring of Honor didn’t have a great year but they did manage to put on some memorable events in the first six months. The best of these was the 11^th Anniversary card. The highlights of the evening were tag matches: The Forever Hooligans versus The American Wolves and the Briscoe brothers’ loss to reDRagon were two of the best ROH matches of the year. The show also featured an enjoyable TV title match and a hectic six man opener. It was a packed show that helped to balance the slightly disappointing teen v Lethal main event.

4. WWE SummerSlam (18.08.13)

SummerSlam 2013 will always be remembered for Triple H’s heel turn and Orton’s surprise cash-in on a prone Bryan. Without that event closing the show it would be a poorer viewing experience, but there’s more to it than just that. John Cena and Daniel Bryan had a fantastic WWE championship clash in which ‘The CeNation Leader’ worked hard to show that Bryan was on his level. If you’re reading this in order I won’t spoil things for you but that match is somewhere on my top matches of the year list. SummerSlam would not be ranked here without Cena v Bryan. The decent-but-not-great undercard and the show-closing angle add to that match to create a show worth watching.

3. WWE RAW 08.04.13

We all know why this show is here. It’s because of the crowd. The post-‘Mania RAW naturally attracts fans already in town for the biggest show of the year, but because wrestling tickets ain’t cheap only the most dedicated splash the cash on going to both ‘Mania and RAW. It creates a wonderful atmosphere and that’s never been more true than this year.

The show was packed with memorable moments. The Shield confronting The Undertaker. The Ryback pwning John Cena. The sensation that was Fandangoing. Ziggler’s triumphant cash-in on ADR. You have to feel sorry for Wade Barrett: he won the Intercontinental championship on this episode and nobody remembers or cares.

2. WWE Payback (16.06.13)

John Cena’s feud with Ryback was never what you’d call enjoyable so this show so this show gets bonus points for featuring the last in the series. It’s the best match they had, fittingly. Genuine reasons this show is ranked here are The Shield’s red hot encounter with the team of Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan (noteworthy considering what would happen with those two later in the year), the fun triple threat opener, and the incredible double turn outing of Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio.

1. WWE Money in the Bank (14.07.13)

No one match stood out enough from this show for me to pick it for the top ten, but there were several that I was tempted by. The all heel ladder match opener was a flawlessly laid out match that not only featured as much stunt work as you could want but also told a nice story. The evening’s second ladder outing wasn’t quite as good but was still one of wrestling’s better stunt affairs of the year. Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio produced the match of the night and capped off their series in style. Even John Cena and Mark Henry exceeded expectations in their WWE championship match, helped greatly by an enthusiastic crowd. It was, all told, a damn fine show.

Top Five Feuds of the Year

5. The WWE roster v The Shield

That sounds unspecific and it is. There’s no accurate way to sum up the various babyfaces ‘The Hounds of Justice’ tangled with from January to April. The Shield slipped from facing one gaggle of good guys to another, all of them big names and all of them united in a common cause: trying to hand a loss to the ne bad boys on the block.

Had they been facing mid-card nobodies Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns wouldn’t be listed here. But they weren’t. In the first four months of the year they faced and defeated Ryback, Sheamus, Kane, Daniel Bryan, The Undertaker, and John Cena, amongst others. No matter your feelings on the abilities of those guys they’re all big names. The various matches The Shield had were big deals that helped get them established.

4. CM Punk v The Rock

Their Rumble encounter could easily have been a flop if ‘The Great One’ hadn’t acknowledged Punk as someone on or near his level. The same is even more true of the Elimination Chamber rematch: by that point Rock had proven he was capable of beating ‘The Second City Saint’. Neither match was that great but through their promos they at least made viewers care about them. Their interactions and the hype for the two bouts were among the highlights of WWE’s first month and a half of the year.

3. Daniel Bryan v The Authority

It’s surprising, when you consider the popularity and talent of Daniel Bryan, that this programme didn’t produce any really classic matches. Randy Orton, the chief pawn of The Authority, may not be blessed with charisma but he can wrestle a fast, physical match and he’d proven earlier in the year that he could have excellent matches with ‘The World’s Toughest Vegan’. They didn’t manage to click in the high profile setting of pay-per-view main events, sadly.

What made this feud a success were the promos, mostly handled by Triple H on the subject of why Daniel Bryan could not be allowed to succeed, and the beatings dished out. The psychology of the programme was designed to let Bryan be a big success. It’s just a shame he wasn’t allowed to win more often and was so easily outsmarted. That would never have happened to ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. More to the point it would never to John Cena.

Triple H explains to Daniel Bryan that wearing only a shirt and trunks is kind of Randy Orton's thing...

2. Antonio Cesaro v Sami Zayn

With the unassuming environs of the NXT Arena as their stage and nothing more than a wrestling ring and their experience as tools Zayn and Cesaro constructed one of the most compelling wrestling feuds in years. Together they proved that wrestling fans can still be convinced of the importance of wins and losses and be drawn in with great wrestling. Their feud was one of the many reasons NXT was the best weekly wrestling show of 2013.

1. Alberto Del Rio v Dolph Ziggler

No two men consistently produced great matches like Ziggler and Del Rio. Their rivalry began when ‘The Show Off’ cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase in what would turn out to be the best four minute match I’ve ever seen. They had a captivating double turn exchange at Payback and a heated return bout at Money in the Bank. By pure coincidence (or perhaps not) my top three shows of the year feature matches from this programme.

They didn’t get much mic time to hype their feud but that was actually a bonus: all people wanted was to cheer Ziggler at this point and ADR turned out to be the man who brought out the best in him. The only bad thing about this feud is that it didn’t stretch to SummerSlam.

Top Ten Matches of the Year

(There’s no analysis here. If you want to know why these matches are in the top ten just go and watch them...)

10. Alberto Del Rio v John Cena – WWE Hell in a Cell (27.10.13)

9. Daniel Bryan v Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro and Ryback – Gauntlet match, WWE RAW 22.07.13

8. John Cena v CM Punk – WWE RAW 25.02.13

7. SHINGO v Johnny Gargano – Dragon Gate USA Open The Ultimate Gate (06.04.13)

6. The Shield v Team Hell No and John Cena – WWE RAW 13.05.13

5. Antonio Cesaro v Sami Zayn – Two-out-of-three falls match, WWE NXT 21.08.13

4. The Shield v Undertaker, Kane and Daniel Bryan – WWE RAW 22.04.13

3. Dolph Ziggler v Alberto Del Rio – WWE Payback (16.06.13)

2. Undertaker v CM Punk – WWE WrestleMania XXIX (07.04.13)

1. John Cena v Daniel Bryan – WWE SummerSlam (18.08.13)

Top Ten Tag Teams of the Year

10. Prime Time Players

The latter months of 2013 have seen WWE introduce new tag teams and overhaul existing ones. It's given the company the packed division that's been teased for the last few years. This has been good news for viewers, those who like doubles action (oh!) at any rate, but it's left Darren Young and Titus O'Neil to kill time in mostly pointless matches.

This doesn't seem a big deal until you remember that for much of 2012 they were one of the few WWE teams of note. A lighter division would have meant their interplay earned them a higher spot. Clearly a packed tag roster is not good for everyone.

9. Jimmy and Jey Uso

When it comes to dependable if unspectacular tag teams you don't get much better than the Usos. Throughout the year Jimmy and Jey have had several really fun matches, against The Shield at Money in the Bank and as part of the three-way title match at Hell in a Cell for example, but they've never truly connected with audiences. They're a good team that do good work but I can't bring myself to place them higher because they fall down when it comes to connecting with people. If they can master that they could get a little higher on the card. But they've got their work cut out for them.

8. Adrenaline RUSH

ACH and Tadarius Thomas were always a fun pair to watch. They didn’t win all that often but they always had exhilarating matches that got crowds worked up. That’s the role and job the RUSH boys have been given and they’ve performed very well. I’d like to see them rewarded with a more substantial role in 2014. A series with reDRagon could be gold!

7. Bad Influence

They didn't win TNA's tag team titles this year but that doesn't matter because they're worthless anyway. Daniels and Kazarian did everything in their power to make every ludicrous situation they were placed in (and they were placed in some belters) memorable and fun. On top of that they had good or better matches with every twosome on the roster this year.

6. Forever Hooligans

I didn't follow their New Japan work closely but whenever I did watch their work there it was of high quality. It's their ROH appearances that have got them onto this list. They had a string of worthwhile exchanges with top tandems reDRagon and the American Wolves, won the company's tag gold, and had one of the best ROH matches of the year opposite The Young Bucks. Bringing them on board as semi-regulars has proven a wise decision by ROH.

Big in Japan

5. Young Bucks
Let me be clear. I do not like the personalities of Nick and Matt Jackson. I'm also aware that they're basically living their gimmick and-or are rarely out of character. I don't care. I find their lack of humility irritating, and not in a heel-being-effective kind of way.

That said I can't deny they've had a phenomenal year, especially for two guys without permanent links to any meaningful company. They won the Open the United Gate championship in April, the PWG tag team titles in January (and still have them), and the IWGP junior tag straps in November, plus they won PWG's DDT4 tourney at the start of the year. In addition to these accolades (which illustrate how highly they're regarded around the world) the duo also had cracking matches with Kevin Steen and El Generico, the Forever Hooligans, and Adrenalin RUSH (and those are just the ones I saw). If they worked regularly in a company I can watch more I'm sure they'd be placed higher.

4. American Wolves

The year's ended on a bit of a sour note for these two. They should have enjoyed a swan song at Final Battle but instead Davey was expelled from the company for speaking out of turn during an interview, leaving 'Die Hard' to team with BJ Whitmer against the random unit of Jay Lethal and Roderick Strong.

Before they were robbed of the send-off they deserved (by Richards' big mouth) they'd been one of ROH's most popular acts, helping to remind everyone that the tag titles could be seen as main events prizes too. They had plenty of good matches but I particularly enjoyed their dream match against the Forever Hooligans at the 11^th Anniversary and their unsuccessful title challenge at Supercard of Honor VII. ROH will miss having access to the Wolves.

3. Cody Rhodes and Goldust

Had the brothers Rhodes been together for another couple of months they'd probably be number one on this list. They've not had a single bad match since being paired up in October. They bring out the best in each other and the team has benefited greatly from 'The Bizarre One' seemingly being in the prime of his career. I've never wanted a tag team split to be held off more.

2. The Shield

Here I'm talking about Rollins and Reigns, although their six man work alongside Dean Ambrose has been great too. As a pair they had a five month reign as WWE’s tag team champions after besting the incomparably popular Team Hell No. During their time with the gold they had great doubles outings against Bryan and Orton, The Prime Time Players, the brothers Uso, and the brothers Rhodes. They were the most reliable, storyline formidable, and dominant duo in a tag team division which heated up considerably as the year went on. I think the success of Rollins and Reigns as a duo helped convince WWE that the tag scene was worth investing time in. Is there any greater success in a company like WWE than that?

1. reDRagon

Put simply they were the best tag team in Ring of Honor, a company that despite its faults remained the best promotion (that I watch, anyway) for tag wrestling. After capturing the tag team titles from perennial top boys the Briscoes at the 11^th Anniversary Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly went to produce great matches with everyone they faced. Their matches against The Forever Hooligans and The American Wolves were amongst the best offerings from ROH all year. And it’s not just in the ring that they shine: Fish’s arrogant heel persona has brought out some long-needed character in O’Reilly and they’ve been one of ROH’s top antagonist acts.

Top Twenty Wrestlers of the Year

20. Big Show

Another year, another ridiculous number of face-heel switches for 'The World's Largest Athlete'. Despite this character inconsistency he remained surprisingly (uncharacteristically, considering his career as a whole) reliable in the ring. He had an above average programme with Alberto Del Rio at the beginning of the year, numerous excellent outings opposite various members of The Shield, and a fine encounter with Randy Orton at Extreme Rules.

The autumn saw Show become embroiled in the Authority plot. The payoff match he had with Randy Orton at Survivor Series was dreadful, the worst WWE pay-per-view main event of the year (a pity they couldn’t recapture the synergy they had at Extreme Rules). But Show kept getting strong reactions throughout the entire thing and his mic work was top notch. I wouldn't be surprised to see him back on top next year. WWE seems happy to have him floating up and down the card, and he's proven he can slot in where needed.

19. Randy Orton

When his return to the main event came at SummerSlam he instantly transformed himself into one of the most irritating wrestlers on the planet. Why? Because he can probably. Before that he’d quietly been having a good year. He met Big Show in ‘The Giant’s’ best match of the year at Extreme Rules, had a wild-by-modern-standards street fight with Daniel Bryan on the June 24^th RAW, and was part of the frenetic six man opener opposite The Shield at WrestleMania. And unifying the WWE and World Heavyweight titles has to count for something right?

18. Seth Rollins

Along with his Shield teammates Rollins helped to popularise six man tag matches this year. The number of amazing trios outings they had verges on astonishing. There are far too many to list, but two appear in the top ten matches list and several others have been mentioned elsewhere. Rollins also teamed with Reigns as a duo to enliven the traditional tag scene, and had numerous excellent singles matches, most notably against Daniel Bryan (but doesn’t everyone?).

17. Roman Reigns

His entry could be substituted for Rollins’ for the most part. It was only during the final few months of the year he begun to rack up accomplishments he didn’t have to share. Survivor Series saw him as the sole survivor, being booked as a dominant force that encouraged cheers. The next month at TLC Reigns was once again booked to elicit cheers, and sympathy too. They’ll end up as career highlights one day. And I suspect there’s another one on the way at the Royal Rumble.

A stare that makes butter, ice and women melt

16. AJ Styles
'The Phenomenal One' was, as usual, one of TNA's best in-ring performers this year. Despite being lumbered with a knock off of Sting's fifteen year old Crow gimmick he managed to remain one of the company's most over performers. He ends the year as a jobbing indy talent but I think it's likely he'll resurface in the promotion he's most associated with next year. When that happens a feud with Magnus seems likely. In the meantime there are plenty of fresh matches for him to have in Ring of Honor.

15. Dean Ambrose

The best all-round member of The Shield: solid ring psychology and a damn fine wrestler. It’s the quirky little touches that have helped to set him apart from his compatriots this year. And his singles outings, of course. He’s been called on for non-tag outings more than Reigns or Rollins. The best was his meeting with The Undertaker on the April 26^th SmackDown, but he also had worthwhile matches with Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and (astonishingly mayhap) Big E Langston.

14. Dolph Ziggler

Everything went well for Vickie Guerrero's former client in the first half of the year before falling apart in the second. He lasted for nearly fifty minutes in the Royal Rumble and got great reactions at Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania despite being in matches that were basically meaningless. His cash-in on the April 8 RAW was unquestionably the high point of his year and the catalyst for WWE's decision to turn him face.

That happened in a fantastic double turn encounter against Alberto Del Rio at Payback, a match almost equalled by its rematch at Money in the Bank the next month. But that's where things fell apart. After MITB Ziggler found himself in an afterthought bout against Big E Langston and spent the last few months of the year in similar matches on RAW, SmackDown and PPV pre-shows. It's not too late for WWE to get behind him again but I don't think they will.

13. Austin Aries

'A Double' would have really had to go some to better the year he had in 2012. Unsurprisingly he didn't manage it. He remained amongst TNA's best all-rounders and had high quality matches with everyone from Jeff Hardy to Kurt Angle, and had an all too short run tagging with Bobby Roode but Bully Ray's push and too many flips between the heel and face divisions kept him from being TNA's top boy on this list.

12. Johnny Gargano

Mr Gargano was the best thing on every Dragon Gate USA show I watched. His match with SHINGO at Open the Ultimate Gate is ranked seventh in my top matches of the year and his battle with Chris Hero from Freedom Fight came close to making it in too. His lengthy reign as Open the Freedom Gate champion, which started in November 2011 and is still chugging along now, has given that title meaning. I'm interested to see it he can he hold on to it for another full year.

His promos are not as smooth as they could be but they're fine for a headliner in a company that emphasises wrestling ability. As a wrestler he's more than deserving of a mention here. Johnny Gargano is DG USA's best all-rounder.

11. Kevin Steen

'Mr Wrestling's' world title reign started with a bang in 2012. It stumbled to a halt in 2013. After an exciting defence against Tadarius Thomas he had a mild letdown against Jay Lethal at the 11 Anniversary Show before finally losing the strap to Jay Briscoe. From there had a confusing meeting with Matt Hardy at Best in the World, made it to the semi-finals of the world title tournament and then got into a series with Michael 'Don't Call Me Mike, Bro' Bennett. That produced a spirited stretcher match at Final Battle but I can't help but feel nobody in ROH has known what to do with Steen since he lost the title. He remains popular and always does well with what he's given. He's just not being given that much.

10. CM Punk

Although he's remained one of WWE's most consistent wrestlers and promo men he failed to capture spirit and attention as he had in previous years. He started off fairly well, bringing his lengthy WWE championship reign to a close with two underrated outings against The Rock. The match that followed, opposite The Undertaker, was one of the best of the year, but the feud that accompanied it signalled the beginning of Punk's decline.

When he returned in June after some time off he contributed to the list of lacklustre Chris Jericho pay-per-view matches of 2013. The overly long programme that Paul Heyman that followed didn't produce anything of value (yep, including the Punk v Lesnar SummerSlam bout). Punk did have good matches this year, they just weren't frequent enough for a good with his spot and role. Hopefully 2014 will see a return his 2011 form.

9. Sami Zayn

The artist formerly known as El Generico has proven that he can achieve at least some success in "the big leagues". The regulars at the NXT Arena have rallied behind his smooth and charismatic in-ring performances and he's shown that he's a dan hand with a microphone. His series with Antonio Cesaro was the highlight of his year but he's also had great matches against everyone from Bo Dallas to Leo Kruger. Easily NXT's MVP of 2013.

8. Cody Rhodes

Cody is almost the inverse of Dolph Ziggler: his year picked up at Money in the Bank where 'The Show Off's' slowed down. Unlike Dolph Cody had more highlights in his hot portion of the year and his bad period wasn't as bad.

His Rhodes Scholars unit with Damien Sandow was an early highlight of the year for WWE, although they weren't utilised as well as they could have been and didn't get the tag title reign they deserved. Cody did get a reign with those belts though: his team with (half) bro Goldust has continued to keep the tag team scene invigorated since defeating The Shield on the October 14^th RAW. That was the best match on the show, a trend that's continued at Hell in a Cell, Survivor Series and TLC. And he had that excellently booked face turn during his near victory in a Money in the Bank match too!

7. Antonio Cesaro

‘The Swiss Superman’s’ year started with his push being halted. Never a good sign. That lasted through WrestleMania, culminating with his loss of the US title to Kofi Kingston in order to get it on to Dean Ambrose. A month later things picked up for him, presumably because WWE had time for him again with ‘Mania out of the way.

In May he started his great feud with Sami Zayn on NXT. In June he formed an on-screen alliance with Zeb Colter and began tagging with Jack Swagger. What could have been one of many random and forgettable WWE pairings has endured thanks to the work Swagger and Cesaro have done making themselves look and wrestle like a unit. He’s not won all that often but Antonio Cesaro has turned everything thrown at him and made it work. He even got the Big Swing over!

6. Bully Ray

It was Bully Ray not AJ Styles who did the most to hold the perpetually sinking ship that is TNA together this year. His work as a hard case good guy from January to March was very good but it was bettered by the heel character he played from Lockdown onwards. Showing a nice blend of bravado and cowardice Ray was easily the best performer TNA had from a promo point of view.

In the ring his cage match with Jeff Hardy was mildly disappointing but was balanced by the manic Full Metal Mayhem (tables, ladders and chairs rules) bout that followed it. The reverse was true for his pair of title switches with Chris Sabin: the first was a shambles but the second was pretty fulfilling. His Slammiversary main event opposite Sting was pretty good, considering 'The Stinger's' limits. Meanwhile Bully’s Bound For Glory effort against AJ Styles, while incredibly strange in its booking, was as good as it could have been. Sadly it wasn't as good as it needed to be to get TNA out of the trouble it's in, but that's normal by now.

5. Adam Cole

The heel turn in ROH is clearly the thing that got Cole here. He teased it for well over six months but always in a way that left you unsure when and where the official turn would come. More importantly he made it believable. His motives for going bad were obvious to anyone watching.

In the ring Cole had probably the best match of the ROH world title tournament when he clashed with Michael Elgin in the final, gave Jay Briscoe the best challenge of his ill-conceived reign, and had good matches with everyone he was pitted against, from Tommaso Ciampa to Roderick Strong. With Elgin not being allowed anywhere near the world championship by ROH management (at least not right now) Cole is the best choice to have the belt.

Adam Cole may have the title but he's not the highest ranking ROH wrestler on this list

4. Michael Elgin
If Michael Elgin's not been the best wrestler in ROH this year I don't know who has. He's not only had some of the promotion's best matches against Jay Lethal, Kevin Steen, Paul London and Adam Cole but he's also become a master of electric finishing sequences. That's an important skill for any wrestler to have, but it's particularly crucial in Ring of Honor. He has grown into a dependable member of the roster.

Will 2014 finally be the year he wins the ROH world championship? I'd like to think so, but I've learnt my lesson about hoping for it. I’ll say it would be nice and leave it at that.

3. Alberto Del Rio

'The Essence of Excellence' excelled this year as the epitome of an upper mid-carder. His feuds with Big Show and John Cena produced matches far better than could have been realistically expected and he had the rivalry of the year with Dolph Ziggler. The two men never had a bad match, even when they were lumbered with disappointing DQ finishes and four minute run times. He also proved he could work as a babyface and survive without Ricardo Rodriguez.

I don't think ADR will ever get back into main events on a regular basis but that's okay. He's found his niche on the card.

2. Daniel Bryan

Four entries on my top ten matches of the year list and only at number two?  Yes. Bryan had more incredible matches than any other wrestler in any company I follow this year. He had dozens of high quality matches. Antonio Cesaro, Ryback, John Cena, every member of The Shield, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow are amongst the men he’s had notable matches with this year. There are others. In the ring nobody has come close to bettering Bryan.

But there’s a reason he’s not at the very top of this list. As good as he was in the ring he wasn’t as good as he could have been with his promos. He’s playing a character that doesn’t really talk very much and when he does he’s capable of putting his point across eloquently and effectively. But the spot he’s in (number one, two or three babyface depending on who you ask and what WWE’s doing with his push at the time) requires just a bit more. Bryan is not the sort of guy who could open up RAW with a twenty minute promo without being interrupted, and he’s now at the level where he should be seen as capable of doing that.

In the ring Bryan is the best in WWE. But as a headliner there’s been one man better than him in 2013…

1. John Cena

The previous two times I've put together a Year End Awards post I've dismissed ranking Cena amongst the best wrestlers of the year out of hand. Everyone knows he's not very good in the ring and that his promos are childish and rivalries and matches with The Miz and John Laurinaitis haven't changed that.

Things have been different this year. This year Cena has lived up to his spot. He appears on my top ten matches list no less than four times, and that's a list that omits his involvement in the six man tag match at Elimination Chamber (opposite The Shield with Sheamus and Ryback), his successful defence of the World Heavyweight championship against Damien Sandow on the October 28^th RAW, and the better than expected match he had with Mark Henry at Money in the Bank. Cena has had more great matches in 2013 than I can remember him having in one calendar year ever before. He's proven that he can wrestle to a high standard and draw people into matches with people who aren't CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. As a main event guy that's what he should be doing, along with providing first class promos as and when necessary but that's his speciality.

This is a John Cena I don't have a problem seeing at the top of the card. I hope he sticks around.

The best wrestler of 2013

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 25

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 25 by Dave Hatton on Mixcloud

Cesaro deserved a World Heavyweight title match more than Orton

I had planned to change my habits and start writing substantial entries for the podcast posts, but it's failed to happen. In this episode we discuss Sin Cara leaving WWE and I originally planned to accompany this podcast on a bit of writing on that. But it became lengthy enough to stand on its own, so it will. Tomorrow.

The other main topics discussed are the TLC pay-per-view and Davey Richards' current career direction. I'll (obviously) be posting about TLC nearer the time while I've already posted something about Davey Richards (read that here). As interesting as the possibility of Richards ending his time on the indies in Dragon Gate and-or EVOLVE is one piece of writing and one mention on a podcast is enough.

All of which has resulted in another workmanlike, conversational piece of writing where I have very little to say but feel compelled to say something because, well, there needs to be some writing addressing what's discussed in the podcast. I'm a creature of habit.

Survivor Series 2013 preview

Survivor Series used to be considered one of WWE’s Big Four shows. It’s difficult to say when it lost the spot. It could have been when the In Your House project began in 1995. It might have been at the 1998 edition when the elimination tag matches, the show’s original “USP”, were replaced by an unwieldy tournament to crown a new WWF champion. It may even have been as early as 1993 when King of the Ring was upgraded to pay-per-view status. Or perhaps the event’s image simply never recovered from the events of the 1997 edition.

Ultimately it doesn’t really matter. Survivor Series is an event passed its best, with a format that most are either not interested in or actively dislike.

I think there’s potential left in the ten (or eight, “tradition” varies) man elimination tag matches .It would take very little effort from WWE to create feuds amongst its mid-carders, making a reason to book one of the multi-man matches. It’s not the most wonderful format in the world but it could be used to create some interesting scenarios, much as the Royal Rumble still can.

This year’s event is not likely to be the one that sees the beginning of a new trend in this area. There are two traditional Survivors matches. The first is a stacked affair pitting Kaitlyn, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, Aksana, Summer Rae, Tamina and Divas champion AJ Lee against The Funkadactyls, The Bella Twins (get on board the Bella Babyface Express), Eva Marie, JoJo and Natalya. The second will see The Shield and The Real Americans take on The Usos, Cody Rhodes, Goldust and Rey Mysterio.

Let’s deal with the Divas first. Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted that the match will see besties-turned-rivals Kaitlyn and AJ Lee on the same team. This could have meant something if WWE had put some effort in. In fact it’s exactly the sort of thing I was talking about above. That this match is simply a case of cramming every woman on the roster into a match and splitting them into Total Divas stars and non-Total Divas stars shows just how little effort WWE puts into the middle of the card. This attitude is nothing new, but it’s still depressing.

The ladies have so many people in their match that’s it’s unlikely anyone will get to have a standout performance. The best booking idea would be to have Tamina dominate everyone on the Total Divas team without needing to tag out. That would keep the running time of the match low (and you know that’s going to be an issue with this match) and make Ms Snuka look fearsome. I can’t see it happening though. We’ll get a more traditional approach.

The other traditional match could be considered promising thanks to the involvement of a variety of hot acts. Cody Rhodes and Goldust are, as has been noted on this blog before, a massively popular team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either or both of them get a lengthy showing and possibly even survive until the end. Swagger is the weak link on his team but in truth he’s not that bad. He’s simply overshadowed by everyone around him (and I’m including Zeb Colter in that).

The Usos are, unfortunately, non-entities. They get decent reactions when they enter but audiences seem to switch off during their matches. They’re not bad or boring but they are bland. Perhaps they’ll enjoy a boost in popularity thanks to the affiliations they’ll enjoy in this match. Don’t get your hopes up though: these affiliations have been going on surreptitiously for a while now and they’ve had no effect yet.

Then there’s Rey Mysterio. This is the man who’s missed huge chunks of the last two and a half years to various nagging injuries and phantom personal probs. ‘Mr 619’ stated before this most recent comeback that he wanted to prove he was better than he’s ever been and have the greatest run of his career. Rey is not only banged up after two decades of wrestling but he’s accomplished an awful lot previously. I can’t see him equalling the in-ring height of his WCW cruiserweight division heyday, recapturing imaginations as he did when he made his WWE debut, or scaling the card to become a regular in the main event picture again (he’s become too unreliable for that). I can’t see this becoming the defining run of his career.

The men’s match has several people that could stand out. I’ve already mentioned Cody and Goldy getting the star-making treatment. I could also see Rey being given time to enter a gutsy performance against long odds as a way of ham-fistedly reminding everyone that he’s an underdog that gets the job done. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Roman Reigns given the one against many shtick either: it would give him a Career Moment™ and test him out in a role where he’s not obviously a monstrous, roaring heel. I could also see it being given to Cesaro: a dominant showing here could be used to set him up as an opponent for John Cena at TLC. At the very least I can see a sequence where he performs the Big Swing on several guys in a row, or perhaps on two men at the same time.

Predicting winners for these sorts of matches is tricky because there are so many things that can happen. As far as winning teams go I’ll select the Total Divas in the ladies’ match, with Nikki, Brie, or both being among the survivors, and the heels in the guys’ match. The women’s match is inconsequential so it doesn’t really matter who wins and I think we’ll see Colter and co win their match because it allows for challengers to be set up for the tag team championship, along with possibly prepping ‘The Swiss Superman’ for something.

Meanwhile, in the main event, eight time WWE champion Randal Keith Orton will defend against former two time champion Big Show. The match itself is not that peculiar. Show and Orton have both been on the roster for a long time and have wrestled each other many times before. Their exchanges have never been spectacular or noteworthy, they’re just the sort of thing that crop up in a company like WWE from time to time.

What is peculiar is how the match came about. Big Show was drafted into the feud between The Authority (not the Warren Ellis-created supergroup, the McMahon family heel stable, obvs) as a bit part player, playing a reluctant enforcer and being humiliated by Stephanie. His role grew in prominence, seemingly by happy accident, thanks to the positive reaction of crowds around the US.

The cynic in me feels that he may have been given every chance to succeed. Having him make the save for Daniel Bryan and being presented as an incredibly sympathetic figure week after week gave him every chance to overshadow the man fans really wanted to see in main events. I got the feeling that the writing crew weren’t fully committed to Bryan, but ultimately I think that’s unfair: Bryan headlined four straight shows, won the WWE championship twice, was presented as the biggest star in the company, and has been moved into a prominent role with a hot act during WWE’s quiet months. He had his time on top and is being given a well-timed cooling off period to prevent audiences becoming bored of him.

Big Show v ‘The Viper’ is unlikely to be the best match on the card but I don’t think it’s going to be bad. Usually I’d be remarking that Show is the man likely to hold a match down but here I don’t think that’s the case: he’s been very reliable throughout the year (and for much of last year too). It’s ‘The Apex Predator’s’ involvement that concerns me. The guy’s practically a charisma vacuum. He has little real heat and hasn’t put on a truly excellent match with someone of lesser ability than him (which Show, technically, is) for a long time.

I’ll be surprised if ‘The Giant’ wins the championship. Popular as he is I don’t think WWE are interested in taking the championship off of Orton. Now that he’s finished with Bryan I think he’s going to be champion until Royal Rumble at the earliest.

The John Cena v Alberto Del Rio World Heavyweight championship rematch is viewed by most as predictable. I find it hard to disagree. Cena losing the title back to Del Rio after only four weeks just doesn’t seem like something that will happen. Beyond keeping the feud alive it would serve no purpose, and the feud can be kept alive without it.

It’s tough to know what’s coming up for both men after SS. Their feud could continue until TLC although that’s unlikely. Cena won the first match of the programme clean and so Del Rio would need to in the second, either clean or by disqualification, to set up a third. That doesn’t seem likely. The rivalry could continue with Damien Sandow added to proceedings, but he’s done nothing of note since the week he unsuccessfully cashed in. That failure could have been used as the beginning of a push but the chance has already gone.

The final idea is one I’ve already touched on. That’s to move Cena into a feud with Antonio Cesaro. That would continue the trend of TLC being a show where WWE experiment with new guys in headline spots and would give us something interesting to watch for the next month. It would keep Cena busy into the New Year (because the payoff would probably come in early January) and would give Cesaro a chance to prove his worth. The only bad point is that it would leave ADR without anything obvious to do. Perhaps that’s a price that WWE are willing to pay.

Cena and Del Rio will undoubtedly base the match around Cena’s injured elbow again. That worked well last time and if they can come up with a fresh spin to accompany their proven success story I think they could be one of the highlights of the show. Cena to retain.

The final announced match is CM Punk and Daniel Bryan taking on Erick Rowan and Luke Harper of the Wyatt Family. If there’s one match likelier than the rest to steal the show this is it. Bryan’s popularity may have diminished ever so slightly over the last few months but he remains immensely over. As does Punk, despite a string of below average pay-per-view outings during his much ballyhooed breakup with Paul Heyman.

Erick Rowan is still a bit of an unknown quantity. He’s wrestled few televised singles matches and I’m not at all familiar with the work he apparently did in Japan before heading to NXT. Luke Harper, on the other hand, I think is great. He throws a mean clothesline and has nailed the WWE requirement of selecting an interesting move, the alligator roll, as a match signature.

I think this match will be fun. I’d love to say that Bray’s boys will go over but I don’t expect it to happen. I think they’ll get some close calls but it will ultimately go to the two former WWE champions. I get the feeling that their pairing could be a long term thing or the start of a lengthy storyline so giving them a loss on their first pay-per-view  together would be peculiar.

All this and there are still plenty of names left without announced matches. Dolph Ziggler and Damien Sandow are the obvious names to mention because they have, at one time or another, been on the cusp of big things this year. Their standings have taken a tumble but with space left on the card they’re both still prime candidates to make “unscheduled” appearances.

While they’re not quite on the same level as ‘The Show Off’ and ‘The Duke of Decency’ 3MB have consistently grabbed screen time over the last couple of months. Their recent gimmick of changing their ring attire and altering their name (The Union Jacks and The Rhinestone Cowboys) has been amusing and they seem like ideal candidates for a filler Survival match. As do Los Matadores. R-Truth and his newly introduced partner Xavier Woods, Ryback, Curtis Axel and new Intercontinental champion Big E Langston. Some or all could be chucked into a ten man tag match or they could be spread out across a few singles matches. I’m convinced we’ll see some of these guys wrestling.

Survivor Series does not look like the most appealing WWE pay-per-view of the year. But it does have some pretty stiff competition in that area, and nothing about it makes me think it will be dreadful. If the show is used as a means of making guys like Rhodes, Harper, Reigns, Cesaro and Big E look like stars I think it’ll be on the right track.

Predictions summar:

Randy Orton to defeat Big Show
John Cena to defeat Alberto Del Rio
CM Punk and Daniel Bryan to defeat The Wyatt Family
The Real Americans and The Shield to outlast Cody Rhodes, Goldust, The Usos, and Rey Mysterio
Team Bella to outlast Team AJ Lee
The Miz to defeat Kofi Kingston

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 13

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 13 by Dave Hatton on Mixcloud

Today’s episode is an almost fifty-fifty split between to topics. One is Paul Heyman and his Paul Heyman Guys. Specifically we chat about what WWE’s premier agent’s three current clients are up to and what they could do in the future and what they could be doing in the future. Also, who on the roster and in developmental would work well alongside Heyman as fresh clients.

 

This is how Heyman struts to the ring when managing Paul Heyman

 

The second topic, the first discussed, is about wrestling. It turns into a stream of nonsense fairly quickly but amazingly doesn’t veer off course at all. And we discuss ring gear for eleven minutes.

The final thing I’ll mention is that I refer in this podcast to Enzo Amore being from New York. I suspect he may be from New Jersey. If this is the case then I can only apologise.

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 3

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 3 by Dave Hatton on Mixcloud

Episode three’s are tough. Just ask Ricky Gervais. He cracked the joke a load of times when he was doing promotional work for The Office Christmas specials. Bearing this (third episode trickiness that is, not Gervais and Merchant’s festive send off to Wernham Hogg) in mind we played it safe with our third instalment.

Episode 3 of That Wrestling Podcast features us discussing three WWE wrestlers: Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro. We ask how far they could go in the company. Could they replace John Cena as the promotion’s leading man? Or are they forever doomed to life in the middle of the card? It’ll be a recurring topic.

I Like Sami Zayn

Anyone who watches NXT will be aware of Sami Zayn. For those who skip it (and you shouldn’t, it’s easily the double W’s most consistent and fun weekly show) he’s the artist formerly known as El Generico. Since first appearing on the May 22^nd edition of the show he’s had several very entertaining matches on the show, the most notable being an impressive trilogy of with Antonio Cesaro.

Those matches are amongst the reasons he’s been such a big hit. That he’s been the one beating the more established star hasn’t hurt but it’s not the main reason. It’s more a case of the two putting on incredibly good matches. Cesaro being willing to sell for a smaller man helps there, which is such a standard thing from him that it’s easy to take him for granted.

That a guy from the main roster showed up and wrestled such competitive matches with a guy being portrayed as a member of a lower caste (that’s basically what the developmental roster, y’know) helped Zayn make an immediate splash. Which was the point of the exercise, of course.

That his former identity is an open secret has been both help and hindrance to Zayn. It has ensured that fans paid attention to him early on, which gave him a leg up on other NXT fellas. But the “Olé!” chants that used to be a rallying cry for ‘The Generic Luchador’ being heard at Full Sail is less than ideal. It shows that he is still more readily associated with his former identity than his current one.

I like this guy

 

That could make WWE think twice before moving him up to the main roster. If they can’t find a reason to explains the chants yet the chants remain then they could be wary of promoting him to the centre stage. WWE does not like things cropping up on their TV shows that they haven’t created. And they definitely haven’t “created” Spanish language chants being directed at a French Canadian.

In truth I can’t see it being that much of an issue. WWE will surely appreciate that Full Sail attracts a regular audience with knowledge of indy wrestling, and as such wrestlers who made a name for themselves in that area will be more popular.

When he does advance to the bright lights of the bigger shows Zayn will be a tremendous asset. He works a fast, exciting style and has a repertoire of big moves that should set him apart from his peers . He has a great range of facial expressions and body language that begs to be put into an underdog babyface role. He’s a naturally witty guy and a snappy dresser to boot. He’s also one of a growing number of guys under WWE contract who’s come up through the modern day equivalent of the territories, which means he can be relied on more than many of his peers.

I like Sami Zayn. And when he appears on the main roster you will too.

Light in a World of Darkness

As he only debuted on Monday it’s too early to comment on Bray Wyatt’s WWE career. I can say it looks promising and that I hope he becomes a main event star but that’s about it. It is, however, the perfect time to comment on his introduction to WWE television.

There has not been such a successful WWE debut in a long time. Certainly none of last year’s standout debutants, Damien Sandow, Ryback, Antonio Cesaro and The Shield, received such a great introduction to TV. ‘The Intellectual Saviour’ featured in a series of talking head vignettes which, while funny, proved to be nowhere near as compelling as Bray’s.

Ryback spent six months squashing nobodies in a slow-building push. It was effective but there was no immediate gratification to be had. And what enjoyment did exist was dampened slightly by chants of “Goldberg”.

Antonio Cesaro was linked to charisma vacuum Aksana in backstage skits and was touted as a disgraced rugby star banned from the game for excessive brutality. Yes, despite him being a textbook Vince McMahon world champion that was what Cesaro had to work with. Indy success going against someone starting out in WWE? Who’da thunk it?

The Shield’s first appearance was memorable but it came unannounced. The trio interfered in a WWE championship match at Survivor Series. Sharing screen time with CM Punk and John Cena is not a bad way for someone to start off in WWE, but the lack of hype means that their first appearance is unlikely to be as fondly remembered as Mr Wyatt’s.

Not since CM Punk has the introductory series of vignettes approach been employed so effectively. Even then I think a large part of Punk’s eagerly anticipated first appearance was due to his reputation and the fact that he was going to be booked by Paul Heyman in ECW. The vignettes had their place but there was a bigger picture that meant people were keen to see ‘The Second City Saint’.

Wyatt’s first appearance was a succession of visual triumphs.

His look alone is enough to make him memorable. That he wore street clothes may seem like a minor thing but when the rest of the roster wears either tights or trunks (even singlets are a rarity these days) it helps someone stand out. Specifically the colourful shirts were a good choice, creating a memorable image that, when combined with the wooded glades and vacant, slack-jawed expressions on the faces of the followers we saw, helped to build the image of a fascinating character.

There was the lamb mask too, of course. That abstruse addition to the videos was another easy-to-remember visual. Masks are creepy in general. It was a nice touch.

 

A wonderfully eerie debut

 

Entering into an arena with dimmed lighting, clutching a lantern (a lovely anachronism: these days torches are a more common, more pedestrian, sight,) was another striking visual. The symbolism was clear: the light was representative of Bray’s knowledge in a world of darkness. For a drama series it would be painfully on the nose. For a wrestling show, which so often rely on symbolism and shorthand, it was perfect.

The scene of Harper and Rowan beating Kane was not a particularly impressive sight at first glance. It’s something we’ve seen dozens of times before, ‘The Big Red Machine’ having lost is undefeatable aura within eighteen months of his debut.

But looking at it as knowledgeable fans we know that it’s a signal, specifically a signal that WWE wants the Wyatt Family to be taken seriously and viewed as dangerous. While ‘Taker’s brother has been beaten down more times than I can remember it’s always been done either by an established headliner or an act the creative department have meaningful plans for.

Wyatt and his Family actually elicited a few surprised screams from the audience when they first appeared in the darkness. If that’s not proof that the vignette series and introduction in general had done the job of establishing them as a threatening and creepy I don’t know what is.

They're Coming

Tonight RAW will play host to the eagerly anticipated debut of Bray Wyatt and his family. Not since CM Punk debuted on WWE’s ECW show in 2006 (seven years already? Yikes!) has the video package approach generated this level of excitement been attached to someone being called up from a WWE developmental territory. Not that I can think of anyway.

Obviously this is a very good sign for Wyatt. Wrestling fans these days only tend to get excited about the latest indy star getting called up from NXT. It’s rare for anyone who’s not made their name in companies like Ring of Honor and Dragon Gate to generate anything above a perfunctory level of buzz. That more people are talking about his call-up than they were about Antonio Cesaro’s last year shows that his rebranding has worked well.

Yeah, rebranding. That’s exactly what it’s been. Two years ago he was Husky Harris. I always quite liked that name but it was never going to get the man whose real name is Windham Rotunda to the main event.

The man has done a cracking job reinventing himself and revealed a knack for odd and peculiar promos. His natural charisma didn’t show when he was playing CM Punk’s heavy in the New Nexus but it’s shone through since he became Bray.

 

He's coming...

 

It’s impossible to know what Bray, along with Erick Rowan and Luke Harper, will do on RAW tonight. Presumably they’ll target someone. That’s the standard operating procedure for any debuting faction. There’s no obvious person or persons for them to target. There are simply no good guys on the roster that are sufficiently over to make a good introductory feud for the likes of the Wyatt Family.

That’s assuming they come in as bad guys. While their vignettes have been creepy and strange they haven’t actually been portrayed as clear villains. It’s possible the trio will arrive on RAW to face off with The Shield. That could be interesting, but it’s not likely. The Shield are currently being kept warm for a SummerSlam match against Kane and The Undertaker.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wyatt Family were used as tweeners. Their build to the introduction has been so well produced that WWE could do anything they want with them right now. The faction has captured fans’ imaginations. That’s not a bad spot for newcomers to be in.

The Managers

During the Attitude Era the WWF phased out male managers. They were replaced by female valets, who were there more to provide eye candy than to help disguise the weaknesses of a wrestler. Terri? The Kat? Debra? Remember them? They’re the ones I’m thinking of. Even Trish Stratus started off in that role before transitioning into WWE’s most valued in-ring female wrestler ever.

The manager change fit with the direction of the Attitude Era but, in the long run, would prove harmful to the development of new stars. The WWF was blessed during the late 90s and early double zeros with a batch of stars who were gifted talkers. There were very few people on the roster who needed someone to talk for them. Those that did were so low down the pecking order that giving them mic time wasn't a priority anyway.

Before that managers had been used often to help main event stars whose promo skills weren’t terribly strong. Every person who filled the role, from Bobby Heenan to Harvey Whippleman, did so because they added something to the product. They knew how to do things that their various charges didn't.

The change stuck for much of the following decade. Paul Bearer remained linked to the Undertaker and Kane until 2000 and returned for various runs alongside both men from 2005 to 2012. Paul Heyman was the only other manager of note. He introduced Brock Lesnar in 2002 and went on to manage Big Show, Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas before being written off TV. He returned in 2006 and was affiliated with Big Show, Hardcore Holly, Test and various others before finally leaving WWE in December. Heyman was easily the industry's top manager (although he went by the decidedly more modern term “agent”) by that point.

When Heyman returned to WWE last year it was to once again manage Lesnar. He helped to sell the feud between his client and Triple H over the summer with excellent microphone work and facial expressions. His ability to cut a clear and concise promo that drew people in and at the same time made his motivations clear was and remains marvellous.

When 'The Pain' disappeared from television (because WWE like to hoard the limited dates they have him for) Heyman was given a very different role alongside CM Punk. His job there was not to talk for his charge but to enhance Punk's promos with his facial expressions and reactions. He'd occasionally provide a long winded, heat-seeking introduction but that would it as far as speaking went.

 

Strange little hand gesture from Heyman, there

 

When Punk left television after WrestleMania (he was granted time off for some R&R) Heyman was paired with Curtis Axel. That partnership has seen him return to a role he's not played since introducing 'The Pain' to audiences over a decade ago, namely helping to establish a new act.

Both Punk and Lesnar are big names in WWE in their own right. Heyman adds something to both (particularly Lesnar) but he's not an absolute necessity for either man to be perceived as a star. The entire point of his partnership with Axel is to make Axel a bigger name by the association. Once managers reach a certain point this is a great use for them.

That he excelled in all roles is not only a testament to Heyman's talent but also an example of how varied a skilled manager's (or agent’s) role can be. I suspect the work done by Heyman last year is what prompted WWE to try out other traditional managers.

The only other one that's made it to the main roster so far is right wing fanatic Zeb Colter. That WWE drafted in an old pro to be their second manager isn't a surprise. Dutch Mantell (the man behind the whiskers) is a forty year veteran. He knows how to be effective with a microphone and has been successful at masking Jack Swagger's distinct lack of charisma.

His new pairing with Antonio Cesaro is a sign that WWE is pleased with his work. On the surface it may appear slightly disappointing that ‘The Swiss Superman’ has been deemed in need of a manager. I don’t think it’s necessarily indicative of poor standing though. Punk was paired with Heyman after all. Perhaps Cesaro will get to do his fair share of speaking. Even if not it should at leats get him more time on TV.

 

Colter's new charge, roaring like a bear

 

Anyway, if Colter's been a test run to see if people other than Heyman can do well in the agent-manager role I think he has to be considered a success.

There are two guys lined up as managers in NXT. The first is Sylvester Lefort,  a French wrestler trained by Lance Storm. His obligatory NXT repackaging has seen him not only transform into a manager but also develop an apparent fondness for leopard print. He's got a good look to him, and his accent will not only help him stand out but also make punters more inclined to boo him. Some things in wrestling never change. One of those things is the foreign heel.

The other man is Bray Wyatt, someone you'll probably be aware of if you've watched RAW lately. Wyatt's preacher gimmick and southern twang set him apart from the rest of the WWE pack, as does his southern drawl. It's still not clear if he's going to be wrestling or managing or both when The Wyatt Family make their debuts he's capable of both, and I'm hoping he's used in a way that allows him to manage Rowan and Harper.

Good on WWE for resurrecting the role.