WWE BFFs

The last week of WWE TV made it fairly clear that Dean Ambrose is being shunted in the direction of Kevin Owens. They were presumably  pencilled in to wrestle for KO's Intercontinental gold at Survivor Series before Seth Rollins got injured and a tournament was announced They still may face off but it's less clear now that WWE has an emergency booking solution to conjure up. If Owens v Ambrose does happen I'm sure they'll do something fun. But that's not what I'm interested in here. What I'm interested in is what WWE originally seemed to be setting up for Survivor Series.

That's a Dean Ambrose heel turn.

The night after Hell in a Cell Ambrose told Reigns that he was almost within reach of achieving his dream of becoming WWE world champion. This was the same night Roman defeated Kofi Kingston to qualify for a number one contenders match in which he beat Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio and big Kev Owens. The message of those matches was clear: Reigns was earning a world title match by winning, and winning good matches to boot.

The timing of Ambrose's words of inspiration and affirmation would have raised eyebrows with anyone familiar with the standard tropes of WWE's interpretation of wrestling (sports entertainment). 'The Lunatic Fringe' was suppressing jealousy over Reigns' spot. Reigns, the trusting good guy, couldn't bring himself to see this.

The lads.

It's a story that WWE viewers have seen before and although it seems to have been dropped for now it's one we we'll almost certainly see Reigns and Ambrose go through a split at some point. And that will be both a shame and one of the best takes on the plot ever. Because not only do Reigns and Ambrose have years of on-screen friendship to play off but they've also done a stellar job of making it far more genuine and affectionate than the vast majority of on-screen friendships ever seen in wrestling.

The standard play, especially in WWE, is to present guys aligned on the same sides of the heel-face divide as mates no matter what. Which is problematic because it leads to situations where guys are tagging with people they've had intense feuds with months earlier or who have beaten the for championships (y'know, those things we're supposed to believe every wrestler wants to win and keep hold of?). When this is how it's presented the concept of friendship really doesn't mean much, which limits possibilities when it comes to storytelling and lessens any "friend turns on friend" spots we're meant to care about.

The Ambrose and Reigns relationship is different. It's easy to believe they're mates, quite possibly because they really are. We've had jokes about how Dean knows what beer Roman likes. We've had Roman supporting Dean in his quest to take the world title from Rollins earlier this year. We've seen Dean come to Roman's aid in his battle with the Wyatt Family. Perhaps best of all, dating all the way back to their time in The Shield, we've seen Dean consistently display the ability to make Roman break character and laugh during promos. Those genuine moments not only helped to humanise an all too wooden Reigns, they showed that the pair do genuinely get on and have a rapport.

They will come to blows at some point. Friendships in wrestling sadly only tend to exist either in tag team divisions or to set up rivalries. It would be nice if the Reigns and Ambrose friendship could be exempt from this and be a wrestling relationship that transcends the trope. But it won't be. At least we can take solace in the fact that, because they're so believable together, the inevitable Ambrose versus Reigns feud should be near impossible to mess up.

That RAW Recap 19.10.15

This week's RAW featured a few key moments.

You just had to know where to look for them. Here's a hint: they weren't in the Nikki Bella and Alicia Fox v Naomi and Sasha Banks match, or the throwaway Bad News Barrett, Sheamus and Rusev versus Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro and Adrian Neville six man. Nor were they in Kevin Owens versus ark Henry. Although, for the record all three good for what they were. Nikki over as the serious title contender she should be considering her tenure and status as longest reigning Divas champ ever. The six man was a fun match which got some over lads on the show and gave them time to do their thing. And Owens v Henry featured Owens hitting his pop-up power bomb on 'The World's Strongest Man', establishing that he's strong enough to hit Ryback (his HIAC opponent) with it should the opportunity arise.

But, as I say, these things weren't anything noteworthy. The big segments from this week's RAW were the Undertaker and Lesnar confrontation, a dressing down of WWE champ Seth Rollins by Shawn Michaels, and an impromptu Shield reunion and match opposite their old foes the Wyatt Family.

This was fun to see but what an unbelievable waste.

The Shield reunion wasn't. It was Rollins agreeing to team up with Ambrose and Reigns to demonstrate to Shawn Michaels that he could "stop the show" then turning on them at the end of the match. Because the whole point of Rollins' character is that he's a dick who deserves a slap. In theory this worked but in practice it was incredibly wasteful. The first teaming of 'The Hounds of Justice' since their split in the summer of last year should have been a huge deal.

Instead it was a transparent attempt to increase ratings and it didn't even get that right. The least WWE should have done if this was their plan was to announce the match a week in advance and plug it non-stop to get people watching next week. Okay, that may have made some people think it was a full-time reunion but the answer to that would have been simple: have Rollins give a promo about not needing Ambrose and Reigns and Ambrose and Reigns say they don't trust Rollins but need him for this one match. It would have made time for word to spread and people to get excited about the match, increasing the chance of a larger viewing figure.

But it was more than that. The Shield shouldn't be something tossed out as a ratings grab. It will devalue their inevitable full-time (until the equally inevitable second split at least) reunion whenever it comes. The three men, though particularly Rollins and Reigns, are all clearly going to be big parts of the WWE landscape for years. They should be protected. And that means planning things like a reunion far in advance, working towards it and getting it right when it happens, not giving it away on free TV with only an hour's build-up.

On top of that things just felt off. Erick Rowan returning to the fold is fine. It actually helps get across Wyatt's cult leader deal because he slotted in with new lad Braun Strowman beautifuly. But Luke Harper not being involved was wrong. He and Wyatt are more over than Rowan and Strowman by a significant margin. He clearly should have been in the match yet he wasn't even at ringside. Rowan and 'The Black Sheep' are both very good in their roles but they can't hold a candle to Harper's ring skills and compelling weirdness.

Strong mic work from HBShizzle here.

HBK dressing down Rollins worked. The gist of Michaels' argument was that 'The Future' is content with the accolade of being the new Shawn Michaels when he should be concentrating on making his own name mean more and creating a legacy for himself. Which is hard to argue against (although it's worth noting that comparisons between Rollins and Michaels haven't been as frequent as this segment would suggest). Not to say that Rollins' doesn't have name value of his own, he clearly does, but he seems content to accept mediocre booking in exchange for getting to be world champ. Stories of 'The Heartbreak Kid' from the 90s make it hard to imagine him standing for this sort of booking.

Of course WWE now is different to the WWF then. And, perhaps more importantly, Vince McMahon has some bizarre attitudes towards the "millennials" that make up the bulk of his roster. That he was about as close to a Michaels mark as he could be in the 90s is a factor here too. Vince was less inclined to knock 'The Heartbreak Kid' than he is his current stars. But these political undertones, Michaels acting as Vince's mouthpiece, just added another layer of enjoyment to the situation.

It worked on the intended level of a respected veteran returning and condemning the current champion and as an insight into the backstage manoeuvrings of the promotion. Michaels and Rollins were both excellent. Particularly 'The Showstopper'. The only bad thing about it is that it made people (by which I mean me) want a Rollins v Michaels match that will never happen.

The showdown between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar was good because of how everything was slotted together. Despite having basically become a guy obsessed with avenging the loss of his WrestleMania Streak and being willing to make cheap shots to do it 'The Dead Man' was presented as the face here. The reason for that is that he was introduced by 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin (hey, he was there anyway, I've been saying since the podcast specials started that I think it makes sense to put him on RAW) and they were in Texas. Despite being announced from Death Valley he's a Texan and this audience was not going to boo him.

In Your House: Mind Games.

'Taker was basically there to remind anyone who's forgotten what is motivation is and to react to Brock Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman. He gave 'The Last Outlaw' plenty to react to, explaining the story of the rivalry one final time, making clear what both men stand to gain from a win, and, of course, hammering home that his client, Brock Lesnar, conquered The Streak. 'Taker tried goading Lesnar into leaving the ramp and getting into the ring to fight. Hothead Lesnar was ready to accept this challenge before being convinced to hold off by Heyman. This framed 'The Beast' as a coward to the live crowd but the wider point was that Heyman knew 'Taker was trying to get inside Lesnar's head to gain an advantage going into their match, another cheap move by 'The Phenom' (although not one out of character, to be fair). The segment worked as a hype job for the Hell in a Cell main event and left the two men ready to take their correct roles: Lesnar the monster face and 'Taker the subtle heel desired desperate to win at any cost.

It wasn't the most exciting episode of RAW ever. But it was memorable and significant because of and for these segments. With such a clear unwillingness from WWE to formulate a long term creative plan, alter the way they present their performers, or do something different to what they've been doing for the last fifteen years, that's the most that we can realistically hope for on a Monday night.

WWE Payback 2015 preview

Payback is going to be an historic pay-per-view. In the main event, for the first time on a WWE television show, all three members of The Shield will face off against one another. This isn't like a generic, run-of-the-mill triple threat pitting three guys against each other for no reason. This is a big deal. Because the three have a shared history.

At the time of their split last June The Shield were one of WWE's top acts. They're one of the creative team's biggest successes of the last half decade. They achieved a lot together and were presented as a headline act despite being a faction, rare in WWE. That a match involving all three working against one another wasn't rushed into, instead being saved for later, further emphasises the importance and significance of its first occurrence.

At this point Rollins and Reigns are both bona fide main eventers. Dean Ambrose has cooled off considerably since the second half of last year but he remains popular and talented. It's come at a good time for 'The Lunatic Fringe'. He's there to take the fall but being involved gives him a status boost, something he's in need of after failing to capture the Intercontinental title (because what sort of self-respecting WWE wrestler can't win the IC belt in 2015?). The last few weeks of television have shown that he can still get crowds to react to him when given something to do.

I find myself unable to get as excited about the match as I'd like though. Because it's not the logical three-way that it deserves to be. Instead it's a four-way also involving Randy Orton. What should be a meaningful, memorable, landmark moment in the careers of all three Shield guys is instead something that's happening because Vince is in a bind when it comes to main events. A Reigns versus Orton versus Rollins triple threat was initially decided on via public vote on the April 27 RAW. Ambrose was added a week later when Kane was irked for the umpteenth week in a row by Rollins' arrogance. The reality of the situation is that WWE realised that this would be the third pay-per-view of the last five with a triple threat WWE championship match going on last. With a triple threat also planned for SummerSlam (a 'Mania rematch of Reigns v Rollins v Lesnar) the decision was made to make this a four-way.

The logic behind the switch is sound but it was a situation WWE could have avoided if they planned better and concentrated on elevating a wider variety of talent. They're throwing away one of the few meaningful matches they have access to to salvage a B-level pay-per-view. Technically, yes, they can still go ahead with a Shield triple threat at some point in the future but its appeal will be lessened because we'll have already seen the three at loggerheads here. You only get one chance at a first impression and all that.

Honestly, I'd have preferred Kane in the match in place of Ambrose. It would be far less offensive for him to be in there as the blatant fall fodder and it would have made sense in terms of recent characters directions. A month ago Ambrose wasn't involved with Orton, Rollins or Reigns while Kane and 'The Future' have been sniping at one another since shortly after WrestleMania (and Kane was running interference against Orty before that). His issues with Rollins could have been safely paid off in a four-way saving us the chore of sitting through a Rollins and Kane singles match, and as he's technically a heel his involvement would have made more sense from a ring psychology perspective: it would have been two heels and two faces in one match, instead of the three faces against one heel we're actually getting.

None of this is to say the match won't be good. Reigns has had a number of very good matches recently. Rollins is quite possibly the best active wrestler on the WWE roster. Ambrose and Orton are both reliable and over. Unless something very surprising happens the match will be satisfying. But this doesn't make it any less of a massive waste.

A Rollins win seems painfully obvious.

In the second biggest match of the night John Cena will defend the United States championship against Rusev in an I Quit match. This will be the fourth straight meeting for the pair on pay-per-view. Nothing about their previous three explains why a fourth is necessary. They haven't been bad together but they haven't been anything special either. The win-loss record also makes this a bit of a pointless meeting. After suffering a loss in their first showdown at Fast Lane Cena has dispatched Rusev twice. As we've been told this will be the final entry in their series the best Rusev can do here is draw the feud. That means it's impossible for him to come out of Payback looking like the juggernaut he was shaping up to be before he was sent Cena's way. It would have been better for all involved had WWE cut their losses and split them following Extreme Rules.

Not that that matters much. Cena is going to win this match and keep hold of the US championship so he can continue his run of surprisingly exciting TV matches against mid-carders. Rusev's future isn't clear but the last month of TV has made one thing certain: Lana won't be featuring in it. Not as his manager at least. Lana, you see, has been corrupted by The West, waving at crowds who chant for her and dancing with Fandango. She and 'The Super Athlete' are going to split. Presumably Lana will find someone new to manage and Rusev will take them on.

The obvious finish would be to have Lana quit on Rusev's behalf. She could argue she felt she was doing the right thing, Rusev's shaky claim of only having one definitive loss to his name could be maintained (just), and the desired split could be achieved. I don't want this to happen. Rusev and Lana are a great act and both will suffer for being apart. But what I want and what I think will happen aren't always the same thing when it comes to WWE.

Another fine example of this is the Bray Wyatt versus Ryback match. The idea is that Wyatt, having suffered a high profile loss to The Undertaker at WrestleMania, can be rehabilitated with a few victories over 'The Big Guy'. I can't see it working. I enjoy Ryback's character (especially when he's an anti-internet heel) but he's not on a level where a win over him is enough to make up for a recent loss, especially to someone like 'The Phenom'. He's not even a good enough wrestler to provide 'The New Face of Fear' with a good match.

This said I'm going to go against the grain and pick Ryback as the winner. Every so often WWE goes through a phase where obvious pay-per-view outcomes don't happen. Sting's loss to 'The Game' at 'Mania and Sheamus's loss to Dolph Ziggler at Extreme Rules indicate we're in one of those periods. A Wyatt win seems like the obvious thing but a Ryback win wouldn't alter any major plans so I think they'll go with it. 'The Eater of Worlds' can get his win back in the rematch (there's always a rematch).

Speaking of Shaymo and 'The Show Off', their bout is far more promising, although their feud seems to be running in reverse to booking logic. Instead of starting with a normal match against one another and running through gimmick matches afterwards they started with a gimmick match and have regressed to regular rules. Not that a Kiss My Arse match is a classic gimmick or anything but it's a gimmick nonetheless. They work well together and I expect they'll put out something good here. As Ziggles won at ER it's Sheamus's turn to go over this time.

Another outcome that seems easy to predict is The Ascension's loss to Macho Mandow and Curtis Axel. After four months on the main roster what potential The Ascension had is completely gone. Teaming Mandow with Axel isn't the best use of either man. Mandow has been one of the most popular guys on the roster for over six months now and it's disheartening that in that time WWE have blundered splitting him from Miz and preparing something meaningful for him to do afterwards. But at least they've come up with something. That's better than doing nothing with him, right? Right?

King Barrett v Adrian Neville is another one that seems fairly straightforward to predict. They met on the pre-show of last month's Extreme Rules. Neville won. They met again in the finals of the (shambolic) King of the Ring tournament two nights later. Barrett won. Barrett got himself a new royal gimmick with that win, which means he's the favourite to win again here.

The match I'm most looking forward to at Payback is the tag team title match. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd will challenge New Day for the championships they were cheated out of a month ago. If previous encounters are anything to go by this will be one of the best matches of the night. They also have a well chosen stipulation to work with: two-out-of-three falls. That's a good choice for two good teams anyway, but it's especially good here because New Day are defending their titles under the Freebird rule.

In case you don't know (unlikely as that is, being that you're reading a niche blog about wrestling already) this is a rule that allows any members of a three man unit to defend a two man tag team championship. It's application in a two-out-of-three falls environment could create some amazing heat as New Day swap members in and out on different falls, giving them an advantage in the latter stages of the match. I expect New Day to retain via shady tactics. I expect this to be the best match of the night.

And I expect Payback to end up being the latest forgettable WWE pay-per-view. There are elements of it that are promising, such as the main event, the tag title match, and Ziggler versus Sheamus, but there's not enough to make it look like it'll be worth more than one repeat viewing (if that). There are too any rematches and shoddy booking choices for that. Sadly, this isn't the first time I've expressed that sentiment about a WWE pay-per-view. Even more sadly, I'm yet to be wrong.

***

Predictions summary:

Seth Rollins to retain the WWE championship against Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose
John Cena to defeat Rusev after Lana quits on Rusev's behalf
New Day to defeat Cesaro and Tyson Kidd
Ryback to defeat Bray Wyatt
Sheamus to defeat Dolph Ziggler
King Barrett to defeat Adrian Neville
Macho Mandow and Curtis Axel to defeat The Ascension

Where's the Hate?

Last Thursday's episode of SmackDown was headlined by a singles matches between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Obviously this is notable for being a rare singles match main event, SmackDown usually having some sort of tag match on last. But the more notable thing about the match was that it was the first singles clash between Rollins and Ambrose since their Hell in a Cell match last October.

That HIAC match was the blow off to the long-running feud the pair had been having since June, when Rollins betrayed his Shield teammate Ambrose (along with Roman Reigns) and "bought in" to The Authority. Rollins came out on top in every (televised) match during that rivalry and ultimately won it. But at the time that didn't matter. Ambrose had stated that he wasn't motivated by beating Rollins. Instead he was motivated by the opportunity to hurt Rollins during matches. He also made a point early on to state that he would do anything in his power to stop Rollins successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank contract and becoming the WWE champion.

What motivates this man? Besides Renee Young.

Both of those things are rare in WWE. Generally speaking we're left to assume that any given wrestler is motivated to win because winning is better than losing. Which is, generally speaking, true but it's not particularly inspiring or interesting. There's never any mention of winners being paid more or a string of victories earning a wrestler a title match or anything else that would explain why guys choose to compete. It's a big contributing factor to WWE programming being so dreary. Nobody has a motivation to wrestle beyond the fact that they are a wrestler.

So when Ambrose said he didn't want to win, he just wanted the chance to hurt Rollins, it made him stand out. As did his promise to stop Seth getting a WWE title shot. The trouble is that his promise to try and stop Seth becoming champion was never fulfilled.

In and of itself this wouldn't necessarily be a problem. Ambrose could have been written out of shows before Rollins tried his various cash-ins, explaining why he didn't come out to stop him. But he wasn't. Every time Rollins tried exchanging the briefcase for a title match, up to and including his final and successful attempt at WrestleMania 31, Ambrose was, in storyline terms, perfectly able to dash to the ring and stop him.

An argument could be made in favour of this being the right approach. Ambrose moved on to programmes with Bray Wyatt and Bad  News Barrett after he'd lost to Rollins at Hell in a Cell. Having him still targeting Rollins would have jarred with the way WWE sequences things. It would have been a needless booking wrinkle too, each time Rollins appeared to attempt a cash-in Ambrose would either have to follow and be eliminated or provided with a suitable reason to remain absent earlier in the show. The writing team has enough headaches to deal with, adding another was less than desirable.

I don't think these are strong enough reasons to explain Ambrose failing to follow through on his promise though. If he truly felt betrayed by Rollins, and everything he said and did indicates that he did, he would have stuck to his promise and done everything in his power to stop Seth winning the world title. Being involved in a dispute with someone else shouldn't have been enough to stop him. You can, after all, dislike more than one person at once. That it would have upset the natural order of things on WWE television would have been a good thing, things on RAW are far too predictable and stale. The WWE formula has needed refreshing for years and this would have been an ideal first step to making changes. By forgetting that promise Ambrose has been shown to be just like every other WWE babyface. That may be part of the reason he's cooled off considerably since last autumn.

There is a silver lining to all of this. The writing team still has the option to have Rollins and Ambrose reunite at some point in the future (and that's going to happen, a Shield reformation is too lucrative a thing for WWE to pass on) and reveal that after they finished their initial feud they reached a secret understanding that Ambrose would not interfere in any of S-Roll's future cash-in attempts. They could even initially reunite the pair by having Ambrose aid Rollins in a title defence, perhaps in a match where there's a stipulation in place stating that no Authority members can interfere. That would set up the revelation of their secret pact nicely and create a new dynamic between the currently-still-friendly Reigns and Ambrose.

Motives need to be mentioned far more in WWE. They got it right with Ambrose last summer. Let's hope they can get back to that again, and with more wrestlers.

The Shield Versus The NXT Five

A few weeks ago I suggested that Finn Bálor be called up to the main roster to team with Adrian Neville against Cesaro and Tyson Kidd at Money in the Bank. I went on to suggest that Nev and Bálor could capture the tag team titles at SummerSlam, giving them a memorable debut at what is traditionally one of WWE's more important events. I stopped short of spelling it out but the implication (or intended implication) was that the two could lose the titles a few months later and then go their separate ways.

This scenario has stuck with me and made me think of a larger scale, longer term booking plan that could create roles for more guys currently working in NXT and help to reinvigorate a variety of championships and the WWE product as a whole. One stone, lots of birds. These are all things WWE needs so being in a position to accomplish all or some of them at once would be ideal.

I'll start by addressing The Shield. At some point they'll reunite. That's just how wrestling works. There are lots of things the group could do together and they would sell merchandise. That's all that's needed to make it a certainty for the future. Based on nothing at all I suspect WWE will bring the group back together at or around WrestleMania 32 next year (the eventful post-'Mania RAW is probably a good prediction to make). By that point it will have been getting on for two years since The Shield was last a unified trio. That's more than enough time for WWE to deem a reunion acceptable.

These lads will be back together eventually.

Truth be told The Shield reuniting at 'Mania 32 wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. It wouldn't be too early to make sense, there's enough time for Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns to be shunted into alignment. It could even work if 'Mania features a Reigns versus Rollins versus Ambrose three-way match, as it may do (because WWE apparently wants to set an attendance record in Dallas, which will require a loaded card). It wouldn't be easy and it would require a swerve to be thrown in, but it wouldn't be impossible to pull off.

Despite their attendance record-smashing aspirations and the timing being decent I think WWE should hold off on putting 'The Hounds of Justice' back together for another year. They could use 'Mania 32 to solidify the three guys as bona fide main event stars. Rollins and Reigns are on their way to that right now while Ambrose is flagging. That's not an issue. There are eleven months before WM32, plenty of time to raise the standing of 'The Lunatic Fringe'. Renewing his rivalry with Rollins would be a good start.

Adrian Neville could also be in a prominent spot by then. As could Finn Bálor, if he gets promoted in the next few months (and it looks like he will). Both lads would likely get a match at WrestleMania, probably some sort of multi-man deal for the IC title if recent years are anything to go by. There's enough time to call up another one of the group dubbed 'The NXT Five' by the geniuses in the company's marketing department. Sami Zayn is the frontrunner for that, with Hideo Itami still acclimatising to WWE and Kevin Owens looking like a long-term fixture in NXT thanks to his current grasp on the league's singles championship.

Were Zayn called up ahead of 'Mania WWE would be in a strong position for 2016, with Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns (plus Cena, Orton and whoever else) working as main event guys and Bálor, Neville and Zayn being key contributors to a meaningful mid-card. They could call up Itami and Owens across the course of the year, getting all members of 'The NXT Five' onto the main roster. They wouldn't all need to be linked with one another nor would the whole 'Five' thing need to be referenced. It would simply be enough to have them around on the roster, being used properly. Not that guys getting handled properly is a particularly safe assumption these days but we can all remain hopeful that extra care will be taken with these particular high profile talents.

By the time WrestleMania 33 was reached WWE would be ready for a fresh angle that would do all the enlivening I mentioned above. And that's where they should reunite The Shield. By holding it off for nearly three years the reunion would mean more and both Reigns and Rollins should both be former multi-time champions, giving the group even more credibility than they had when they split last June. Ambrose may even have had a world title reign or two by then, although I think that's a little optimistic. An IC championship win isn't beyond the realms of possibility though, and there's a slim chance that belt may mean something by 2017.

The perfect opponents for The Shield would be the next golden boys from NXT: Adrian Neville, Finn Bálor, Sami Zayn, Hideo Itami and Kevin Owens. They could be brought together on the RAW after 'Mania in response to a Shield get together on the big show or they could come together across a few weeks to face down the threat the Shield poses to the top of the card. What would be nice about The Five's dynamic would be that conflicts could be created within the group. Zayn and Owens, for example, could be presented as guys who have a history of friendship but no longer like or trust one another but are united by a common cause of opposing The Shield.

Using these two factions would provide WWE with a way to move away from the played out approach of defining heels and babyfaces. It would be enough to pit the two factions against one another and let viewers choose sides on a match by match basis. Rollins, for example, would work well as a heel against guys like Zayn and Bálor but could fight as a valiant underdog babyface against a big lad like Owens.

This would be the greatest faction ever.

There would be plenty of these matches to run through too. By my count (and I'd like to mention at this point that maths isn't really a strength of mine) there are fifteen singles matches, thirty tag matches, and ten six man tag matches to be had using these two groupings. That's a lot of fresh content. The singles matches could be saved for pay-per-views and the wealth of tag and six man combos could be rolled out as audience-grabbing TV main events. Involving the WWE, Intercontinental and tag matches in these matches, in which quality is practically guaranteed to be high, would enhance the status of those belts and make them mean more, which in turn would give a rub to any guys holding them later on.

A Five versus Shield programme could easily last a year if planned out in advance and paced correctly. It could also be used to seed storylines for later. I've already mentioned Zayn and Owens as two guys within The Five who could be presented as not getting on. The faction could implode and they could splinter off into their own thing. The same could be done with any two members of The Shield. Rollins could start the factions rivalry as champion and lose the belt, with Reigns stepping in to reveal that The Shied had agreed amongst themselves that once a member lost a belt another member would get a crack at it. He could win the WWE title. Rollins could be angry. Resentment could build. They could splinter off into their own feud. There are dozens of things that could be done, matching the dozens of matches WWE would be able to book.

The most important thing to note with this approach is that it would be putting talented wrestlers at the centre of the TV product. This is what modern audiences want right now. It's how Lucha Underground has achieved success, why New Japan's popularity continues to grow despite their lack of concessions to a western market, and it's why Ring of Honor is still in business. People want good wrestling, and that doesn't mean WWE could still use the celebrity-heavy approach they've always favoured or that Cena and Orton have to disappear. It just means that in-ring action merits a bit more focus than it's currently getting. This feud could be world class. I'd love it to happen.

23-1

Yesterday I wrote about Vince McMahon’s peculiar assessment of his roster with regard to ending The Undertaker’s WrestleMania Streak. You can read that here. The gist is that Vince was wrong to say that there was no chance a fresh face couldn’t be prepared to convincingly defeat ‘The Phenom’ within a two year period. This is the fantasy booking half of that topic.

It’s seems likely that Undertaker will retire at WrestleMania 32. Vince’s comments about having two years to prepare someone tallies with this. The show is apparently being held at AT&T Stadium in ‘Taker’s native state of Texas. With WWE expected to set a new attendance record at that show there could be no better way for him to go out. And after, by that point, twenty-six years with the company and becoming one of their most successful wrestlers ever, he would deserve to go out in such a manner.

They're pushing Reigns anyway. Why not give him The Streak?

This would have given WWE two years to take a guy climbing the ranks. From the current crop of full-timers that’s basically anyone but John Cena, Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. The obvious choice would have been to focus on the Shield guys, which is what they ended up doing. At the time of WrestleMania XXX, when Vince decided he couldn’t get anyone ready within two years, they were the company’s second hottest act behind D-Bry. They’d shown they could get over collectively. They looked like they could get over individually.

The summer split has confirmed that. Rollins is lead heel while Ambrose’s popularity has gone from strength to strength. Reigns has struggled to keep up, but his apparently legitimate Superstar of the Year Slammy win shows there may be hope for him yet. As do the rumours that he’ll be the man to defeat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31.

Had Vince had a little more foresight he could have had ‘The Dead Man’ defeat ‘The Pain’ at WrestleMania XXX and continue his Streak at WrestleMania 31. He ideal opponent there would have been Cena. As stated in yesterday’s post, he was the man most people would have pointed to had they had to select a Streak ender from WWE’s current crop of stars. That the reason would be “Cena wins everything” isn’t important. What matters is that he, WWE, and Undertaker could have convinced a lot of people The Streak was coming to a close at Cena’s hands.

Which would have made it all the more surprising when Cena lost. Undertaker would have been free to head into ‘Mania 32 with a 23-0 record. That could have been advertised as his retirement bout, the last chance for someone to end his run of dominance at the biggest annual wrestling show in front of WWE’s biggest crowd ever.

That brings us back to The Shield. At time of writing all three are in positions that could lead them to a WWE title reign in 2015. Obviously if one man had to be picked over the others as the man who’d face Undertaker at ‘Mania 33 it would be Reigns, but for what I’ll suggest below it could have been any of the three.

What WWE could have done at the beginning of 2015 is assess which of the three Shield members was best positioned to go to WrestleMania 32 as champion to defend against The Undertaker. Ambrose, Rollins or Reigns defending the WWE championship against a still-undefeated-at-‘Mania Undertaker in his final match would have been huge. By that point whichever Shield member was facing him would have been in WWE for three and a half years, just about enough time to be settling in as a mainstay of the main event. The title being on the line could have thrown some doubt on the outcome, as would the fact that it was ‘The Dead Man’s’ last match and in his home state.

Let’s say it was Reigns versus Undertaker. They could have had a good match with Reigns working heel. Undertaker could have taken it to Reigns early on before taking a beating and the commentary team acknowledging that he may not have it in him anymore. ‘Taker getting his second wind could have blown the roof off the place (metaphorically speaking, obvs) and they could have had a great exchange of pin attempts and submissions based around their signature moves.

This would've been better than Lesnar v Undertaker. Fact.

Then Ambrose and Rollins could have shown up for a three-on-one beatdown of Undi’ (because a match like that would be no DQ). Ambrose could have given him Dirty Deeds. Rollins could have given him a Curb Stomp. Reigns could have given him a Superman punch (a way better finish than his ropey spear). And Undertaker could have kicked out. That would call for the triple power bomb to be busted out, finally putting Undertaker down for a three count at WrestleMania.

This would have accomplished several things. Firstly, Reigns would have been the man to end The Streak. A completely unique bragging right that could be brought up for years to come (because, unlike Lesnar, Reigns will be around for years). Secondly, it would have reunited The Shield after nearly two years of them being apart. It’s going to happen sooner or later, why not do it at the biggest show of the year and get some real heat on them by having them steal Undertaker’s Streak from him. Okay, so it wouldn’t have been clean. That’s not ideal but it would have been good for Reigns’s career and plot development, and would have allowed WrestleMania 32 to go off the air with a great visual of the reformed Shield doing their fist bump pose over the defeated Undertaker.

This idea won’t be to everyone’s tastes, obviously. But it would have done more for Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins than the ‘Mania XXX victory did for Lesnar. And that’s what WWE should want.

Year End Awards 2014

For the fourth year in a row I’ll kick this bad boy off by saying that wrestling attracts lists. Also for the fourth year in a row I’m presenting lists of my favourite wrestling-related things of 2014. Previous years' awards can be found here (2011), here (2012), and here (2013).

But this year there are a few changes. In previous years I’ve kicked off with the five best characters in wrestling. That won’t be happening this year. There are two reasons for that. First, I didn’t think it was a particularly interesting topic anymore. Second, it’s a slog to write this thing and I felt that if I wasn’t especially interested in the topic it wasn’t worth writing about. For anyone interested Batista and Damien Sandow definitely would have made it onto that list. Tyler Breeze probably would have as well.

That leaves us five categories: top cards, top feuds, top matches, top tag teams, and top individual wrestlers. People with too much time on their hands may notice when reading what follows that the number of ranked cards has expanded from five to ten. I’ve no idea why I’ve only previously done five. It seems a pretty slim amount. Ten’s far more natural so that’s what I’ve done here. On this subject the number of feuds would have been expanded if there were enough interesting feuds on offer. Maybe next year.

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. If English language commentary becomes a regular thing for New Japan, or if I end up signing up to their streaming service, that could very well change by this time next year.

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 Daniel Bryan and Jay Briscoe for example, despite both men being world champions. Even within WWE there are different expectations of wrestlers: more is expected of Seth Rollins than of, say, Jack Swagger.

Last year I noted that TNA had had to make some cutbacks which had resulted in “their product become more unfocused and counterproductive than I think it’s ever been before.” Little did I know that things would become worse this year. As such TNA barely features on these lists at all. What positives the company has aren’t used well enough to make me interested in watching, and if they’re not making me watch they don’t get ranked. EVOLVE fans may be pleased to see them getting a few mentions.

We’ll start, for the first time ever, with the top shows category (because the traditional opener of the top characters has gone). It should be a fairly self-explanatory subject. If you can’t figure it out probably give this post a miss, eh?

Top Ten Shows of the Year

10. ROH Best in the World (22.06.14)

(Full review here.)
This is the show where Michael Elgin finally captured the ROH world championship. Yep, a mere twenty-seven months after he became the hottest star in the company in an unsuccessful challenge against Davey Richards. Was it worth waiting for? Well… it was a good match with the right result but it came over a year too late, and I think the crowd reaction and following reign reflected that. But it’s worth watching, as are the tag title match, Strong v Alexander, Steen v Young, and the no DQ tag bout.

9. ROH 12^th Anniversary Show (21.02.14)

(Full review here.)
At the time it felt like it was existing between bigger events, which is something that often happens with ROH’s anniversary offerings. But reDRagon v Adrenalin RUSH, Hero v Cole, and the show-closing brawl between Kevin Steen and Cliff Compton all have something to offer and make this a show worth revisiting.

8. ROH All Star Extravaganza VI (06.09.14)

(Full review here.)
This show is probably most notable for Elgin’s unceremonial loss of the ROH title to Jay Briscoe, apparently necessitated by Visa issues that were sorted out fairly promptly. While good that match was not the best thing on offer. That accolade went to reDRagon v The Young Bucks. Cole v Styles was a strong effort too, as was Jay Lethal’s TV title defence against Cedric Alexander. It was a show that featured a number of matches we don’t usually see, and benefitted accordingly.

Best ROH TV champion ever? Your call...

7. WWE WrestleMania XXX (06.04.14)
(Full review here.)
Despite being incorrectly referred to as WrestleMania’s thirtieth anniversary (it was the thirtieth edition, there’s a difference) WWE got the important things right with their biggest card of the year. Daniel Bryan got two of the most popular victories of his career and Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista all did their best to make him look good getting them. Cesaro also got the most noteworthy win of his WWE career so far when he won the Andre The Giant Battle Royal (hey, it’s not his fault nothing’s been done with him since). Those matches and performances were strong enough to make the show memorable in spite of a shoddy Undertaker v Lesnar match and a rushed Shield six man.

6. WWE Elimination Chamber (23.02.14)

(Full review here.)
This show is here because of three matches: Titus O’Neil v Darren Young, Cameron v AJ Lee, and Alberto Del Rio v Batista. I’m joking, of course. It’s the Chamber match and the Shield v Wyatts six man collision that are most memorable about this show and they’re two of the reasons I’m ranking it here. The third is the Big E v Jack Swagger opener, which was far better than anyone could have reasonably expected. That nothing was done with Swags and E off the back of that performance is exactly what was wrong with WWE this year.

5. NXT ArRIVAL (27.02.14)

(Full review here.)
Looking back I think this was the show where people realised that NXT was more than just an enjoyable developmental programme. In these two hours the NXT crew put on a show better than the vast majority of RAWs (possibly all RAWs) this year and became “the new ECW” or “the new ROH in its prime” or whatever else you want to label it. Basically, it became better than WWE’s main product with this show. We all just took a while to realise.

4. WWE SummerSlam (17.08.14)

(Full review here.)
Brock Lesnar’s fifteen minute demolition of John Cena is the obvious thing to mention here. It was something different to the average WWE match made all the more powerful because it was the usually untouchable Cena who took the one-sided beating. Supported by Ambrose and Rollins’ wild lumberjack fight, a surprisingly entertaining Stephanie McMahon match, a great Rusev v Swagger match, and what was probably Miz’s best match of the year opposite Dolph Ziggler, this was the best main roster effort from WWE all year.

Sixteen of these bad boys. Sixteen!

3. ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds (17.05.14)
(Full review here.)
ROH and New Japan collaborating to put on some never before seen matches was practically guaranteed to produce a great card so it wasn’t a surprise when it did. In spite of some odd choices (The Decade v Gedo and Jado and Hiroshi Tanahashi being tasked with carrying Michael Bennett) the event was a classic. The three-way main event was very good, an achievement in itself considering how unfamiliar the three were with one another, Jay Lethal and Kushida had a wonderful tussle over the ROH TV strap, and the Bucks and reDRagon had one of their many great matches. The news that the two groups will offer a similar collaboration in 2015 was most welcome.

2. NXT Takeover: R Evolution (11.12.14)

(Full review here.)
It’s probably a bad sign that WWE’s best show of the year was one put on by developmental talent. Because the main roster is clogged up with guys like Big Show, Mark Henry and R-Truth, none of whom are capable of contributing anything constructive, names like Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Finn Bálor and Hideo Itami have to make do with wrestling on Network specials. It’s not how the world’s biggest wrestling promotion should be run.

What’s good is that the stupidity of the company doesn’t seem to get any of the performers down. All of them do amazing work week after week, participating in a well-written, logical show that doesn’t rush anything and gives its characters time to development. The result of that approach is R Evolution. If that’s not a reason to apply that approach to the main roster I don’t know what is.

1. ROH Final Battle (07.12.14)

(Full review here.)
Ring of Honor takes the best show spot with, well, the best show of the year. It was easy to overlook how good Final Battle was as it came just days before NXT’s acclaimed R Evolution event. As much as I enjoyed the NXT spesh Ring of Honor’s year-ender was better. Every match did what it needed to. The majority did far more. The three title matches, the six man bout, and Strong v Page were all cracking efforts, and there was even an amusing swerve turn from Veda Scott. The show could not have done more. If this were the benchmark for ROH they could expand in no time.

Top Five Feuds of the Year

5. reDRagon v The Young Bucks

It wasn’t the most heavily emphasised rivalry in wrestling but the two teams clashed several times during the year: Raising the Bar Part 2, War of the Worlds, All Star Extravaganza VI, and the Super Junior tourney finals show. Every single time they did they produced something very enjoyable, and usually superior to their previous clash.

4. The Shield v Evolution

The two teams only met twice. But both of those matches were excellent and there was a compelling story to the feud: The Shield were tired of being used as mere enforcers by ‘The Game’ and The Authority so they turned babyface. It sounds simple and it was, but there were layers and nuances to it that really made it stand out, such as Triple H becoming obsessed with ending The Shield at any cost and the way the programme was presented as having tinges of the young guys wanting to take the older guys’ spots. Plus, of course, there was the ending. Which we’ll get to in a moment…

Note Batista's stylish red boots.

3. Sami Zayn v Adrian Neville
Friendly rivalries are not something we see all too often in WWE which is a shame as they can be very effective when done right. As was the case with Neville and Zayn’s rivalry. What’s particularly good about it, looking back, is that it actually had the seeds sown for it (intentionally or not) in late 2013 when the pair clashed in a number one contenders match (won by Neville).

They started interacting more frequently in the lead-up to Takeover II, being presented as pals that shared a healthy competitive streak. As things escalated, Neville becoming increasingly antagonistic and Zayn played the troubled babyface, doubting himself as he continued to fail in his quest to capture the NXT gold, the pair participated in a number of exciting matches against one another and shared opponents (such as that young prospect Titus O’Neil), and even had a couple of memorable verbal exchanges. They made everything they did matter.

2. Daniel Bryan v The Authority

It was the rivalry that drove the 2014 WrestleMania Season. And one of the reasons I like that fact is that it wasn’t the original plan. Things had to be rejigged after the CM Punk walkout and the fans’ unwaveringly positive reactions to Daniel Bryan week after week.

It worked because it stuck to probably the most successful formula WWE has ever had: the downtrodden babyface who keeps going no matter what’s thrown at him. Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Batista, Randy Orton ad Kane were all deployed against D-Bry in a wide variety of skits and segments and he kept going, determined to win the WWE championship. His opening match battle with Tripper at WrestleMania XXX was a joy to watch and cleverly saw Bryan gain the retribution he needed to before he went on to have his moment of victory later in the night when he made ‘The Animal’ tap out to the Yes Lock for the title.

1. Dean Ambrose v Seth Rollins

When The Shield were split and went their separate ways I was disappointed. Not only did it feel like the lads had plenty left to accomplish together but I wanted to see a member of a faction win the WWE championship without his teammates turning on him. It came across as an act of desperation designed to distract viewers from the absence of Daniel Bryan rather than a well-considered move that would improve WWE programming.

But improve WWE programming it did. Rollins became a bratty, entitled egotist who was handed opportunity after opportunity and cheated to come out on top every time. Ambrose was cast as the deranged vigilante, the one man determined to give Rollins what he deserved. After making us wait nearly three months for a proper match the pair didn’t disappoint: they had a great battle at SummerSlam and followed up with memorable performances on the August 18 RAW and at Hell in a Cell. It was exactly the rivalry WWE needed to make it through the year without their hottest star.

Greatest rivalry of 2014. Fact.

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. Big E v Jack Swagger – WWE Elimination Chamber (23.02.14)

9. Sami Zayn v Adrian Neville – NXT R Evolution (11.12.14)

8. Dean Ambrose v Seth Rollins – Falls Count Anywhere match, WWE RAW 18.08.14

7. Kushida v Jay Lethal – ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds (17.05.14)

6. reDRagon v Time Splitters – ROH Final Battle (07.12.14)

5. Dean Ambrose v Seth Rollins – Lumberjack match, WWE SummerSlam (17.08.14)

4. The Shield v Evolution – No holds barred elimination match, WWE Payback (01.06.14)

3. reDRagon v Young Bucks – ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds (17.05.14)

2. The Shield v The Wyatt Family – WWE Elimination Chamber (23.02.14)

1. Cesaro v Sami Zayn – NXT ArRIVAL (27.02.14)

Top Ten Tag Teams of the Year

10. New Age Outlaws

Because the Outlaws were in the first wrestling match I ever really paid attention to and they're the reason I became a fan. There's no way I'm passing up an opportunity to rank them somewhere in a Year End Awards in what will probably be my only chance. Plus they won the tag belts and had more than competent matches with the Usos and the Rhodes brothers. That’s enough to justify their inclusion.

9. The Vaudevillains

A vaudeville act that enters the arena as part of a silent movie. One is a strong man incapable of working a particularly strong man style. The other is a skinny, pale fella originally introduced as a singer. Written down it sounds a mess. But the pair have done everything possible to set themselves apart on a lively, interesting roster. For that they deserve a tonne of credit.

8. The Usos

Jimmy and Jey had the underwhelming honour of being WWE’s most reliable team, guys who’d always put on a good match and occasionally push themselves to great ones. Their most notable offerings this year were a pair of tag matches against Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan, their tag team title win over the New Age Outlaws in early March, and a six man tag match against The Wyatt Family alongside John Cena, towards the beginning of their lengthy series with Harper and Rowan. The trouble the Usos have is that they’re in WWE, where tag wrestling takes a back seat. That and the fact that they’re not especially interesting characters.

7. The Wolves

TNA’s premier tag team. It’s not much, but it’s something. They did put in good performances against Team 3D and the Hardy Boys in the three-way series, getting the overall victory when they won a Full Metal Mayhem match (on Impact because TNA can’t afford pay-per-view). Outside of that series Eddie and Davey rarely shone, but they did have a handful of decent outings against The BroMans and MVP’s heel unit.

They'd have been better off in ROH.

6. Adrenaline RUSH
ROH were stupid to split ACH and TaDarius Thomas back in April. There was so much more that could have been done with them and a disservice was done to the tag division by not pitting them against The Young Bucks. Imagine how good a Bucks v reDRagon v Adrenaline RUSH match could have been! In less than three months they had numerous exciting matches with reDRagon and even dragged enjoyable showings from various Decade pairings. They were exactly the sort of team that makes ROH worthwhile.

5. The Dust Brothers

The Rhodes boys had competent matches against the New Age Outlaws at the start of the year before doing a whole lot of not much for months on end. They were reinvigorated when Cody became Stardust: he threw himself into the new persona and Goldust subtly reconfigured himself to become the intimidating enforcer of the team. It’s tough for tag teams to stand out in WWE but the Dusts have come about as close as can be reasonably expected.

4. The Bravado Brothers

After sending The Young Bucks packing from EVOLVE (in storyline because of a suspension, in reality because the Bucks cost top dollar) the Bravados went on to become the longest reigning Open the United Gate champions ever. They became the focal point of a thin but talented doubles scene in the company, working a series of matches with The Colony before progressing to The Premier Athlete Brand. Not the flashiest wrestlers but a pair of guys who know their gimmick and make the most of what they do well. Not bad for a pair of guys Ring of Honor (stupidly) cut a year or two back.

3. The Premier Athlete Brand

Technically this entry should about the pairing of Caleb Konley and Anthony Nese, but Trent Barreta tagged with both men on different occasions and all three wrestled some very good trios matches throughout the year. The Brand’s highlights of 2014 were a win in the six man tournament final at Mercury Rising, a loss in a spot-heavy TLC match against Uhaa Nation, AR Fox and Rich Swann, their tag title victory at EVOLVE 35, and their three-way collision with The Colony and the Bravados on the final night of the WWN China tour. Not bad for a group who hadn’t really teamed at the end of 2013.

2. The Young Bucks

They had great but psychology lite matches with everyone. Most notably they tangled several times with reDRagon and always put on a great show. In addition to that they had enjoyable bouts against Daniels and Kazarian, the Briscoes, and the dashed together pairing of ACH and Matt Sydal. This is, of course, without mentioning their stellar New Japan work (for reasons discussed above), although I say that their three-way IWGP junior tag defence against Forever Hooligans and Time Splitters at Global Wars was top notch.

1. reDRagon

Another really strong year for Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly, the undisputed team to beat in ROH as well as two of its most well-defined and popular characters. With two ROH tag title reigns to their name, one of which started in 2013 and the other of which started in May and is still going at well over two hundred days, and cracking bouts against The Young Bucks, The Addiction, Adrenalin RUSH and Time Splitters, amongst others, there was no other choice for the number one spot. Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly continue to be the benchmark for tag team wrestling.

Two time tag team of the year winners. Prestigious, no?

Top Twenty Wrestlers of the Year

20. Jack Swagger

Even 2010, the year he won the World Heavyweight championship, wasn’t as good a year for Swagger as 2014 was. He was part of an underutilised tag team with Cesaro until they split had some enjoyable matches after WrestleMania. His summer series of matches with Rusev were surprisingly gripping and he made a surprise appearance in the Matches of the Year list alongside Big E.  

19. John Cena

Cena had a pretty unspectacular year all told. He failed to elevate Bray Wyatt in their feud and had numerous unspectacular high profiles matches on RAW and pay-per-view, many of which co-starred 'Mr Charisma' Randy Orton. But he did have two very enjoyable main events against Brock Lesnar and did a good job of making 'The Beast' look unstoppable in both (though particularly the first). He ended the year on a strong note with a decent tables match victory over Seth Rollins at TLC.

18. Rusev

‘The Super Athlete’ has been very good as an emotionless, unstoppable killer. He sells far more than he needs to and he’s had above average matches with everyone from Big E to Jack Swagger to Sheamus. He’s gotten his character over (with an assist from Lana) and been sensibly protected. One of WWE’s few successes.

17. Bad News Barrett

Took a bit part on a YouTube show produced by obnoxious commentators and turned it into one of the most over characters in wrestling. His post-'Mania RAW match opposite Rey Mysterio was a fun demolition and his IC title winning outing against Big E at Extreme Rules exceeded expectations. Had he not had some, ahem, bad news in the form of a separated shoulder Barrett would likely be much higher on this list. I hope his push gets back on track in 2015. The dude deserves it.

And yes, Barrett's half year in WWE was better than anyone's full year in TNA.

16. Luke Harper

Got a borderline-stunning win (via interference, natch) over Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental title late in the year. The rematches they had were amongst the few highlights of the TV shows they were on. This is in addition to the six man matches he worked as part of The Wyatt Family, most notably the ones against Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns, all of which were never less than fun.

He'd have been number one in a Greying Beard category.

15. ACH
ACH retained his status as both ROH’s premier flyer and wrestler least effected by ring psychology. He didn’t get any major wins over any established company names but he did have some electric outings against everyone from Adam Cole to Jay Briscoe to his favoured sparring partner Cedric Alexander. Before Adrenaline RUSH were (prematurely) split they had been a highlight of ROH’s tag division. That they didn’t get more opportunities to steal the show with reDRagon and The Young Bucks is a real shame. But now that he’s been selected for a prominent singles role ACH deserves to be one of ROH’s most heavily pushed guys in 2015.

14. Cesaro

Cesaro seemed poised for big things back in April. After winning the Andre The Giant Battle Royal, to a huge pop, he broke away from Real Americans tag partner Jack Swagger and took on Paul Heyman as his manager. But after winning a three-way match against Swagger and Rob Van Dam at Extreme Rules nothing much was done with the Cesaro and Heyman pairing. After they split a few months later Cesaro was mostly used as a guy who’d produce good matches, most notably against Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler on pay-per-view. It’s nice that he’s seen as reliable but so much more could be done with him.

13. Bray Wyatt

Character-wise it was a great year for 'The Eater of Worlds'. He managed to turn every sketchy bit of material sent his way into something worth watching. Unfortunately he was lumbered with a string of less-than-ideal opponents and gimmick matches. John Cena in the spring and early summer for example. His programme with Dean Ambrose has yet to pick up. It might end without doing so. The pointless autumn sabbatical didn't help either. But when he was good (v Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble, v The Shield at Elimination Chamber, the ladder match at Money in the Bank) he was really good.

12. Roman Reigns

Yeah, Roman Reigns. Surprising, right? He rose to the occasion in the Royal Rumble, making sure he looked like the machine he was booked to be. He participated in great six man tags before The Shield were split, most notably against the Wyatts and Evolution. He again looked like a beast in the WWE championship ladder match at Money in the Bank and did what he could at Battleground a month later. Sadly, things fell apart for him after that, with a drab SummerSlam outing opposite an unmotivated Randy Orton preceding a three month layoff. He's going to struggle as the leading man WWE seem keen to cast him as but he has at least proven he'll give every chance he's given his all, and that he’s trying to improve. 

11. Johnny Gargano

‘The Whole Shebang’s’ epic run as Open the Freedom Gate champ was ended at the hands of Ricochet in a great match at Open the Ultimate Gate in April. Seven months later Gargano regained the title during the WWN tour of China in another belter opposite Ricochet. In between he produced compelling work with Anthony Nese, Matt Sydal, Drew Gulak and Rich Swann and turned babyface again. His burgeoning rivalry with The Premier Athlete Brand should be a highlight of EVOLVE in 2015.

10. Daniel Bryan

This should have been Daniel Bryan's year. The WWE creative hive mind okayed a pushed for him when it became obvious that audiences weren’t willing to accept a Batista v Orton singles main event at WrestleMania. That saw him beat Triple H in the ‘Mania opener before capturing the WWE title in the main event. Had he not needed an extended amount of time off the likelihood is that he’d have held the title until SummerSlam before dropping it to Brock Lesnar. Instead he made a single defence against Kane before vacating the strap and getting surgery. Appearances he’s made since indicate he’s as popular as he was at the start of 2014 so hopefully he can return and get back on track next year.

9. Jay Briscoe

He got a surprise second reign as ROH champion when visa issues necessitated a quick change from Michael Elgin. He then got a surprise extension of that reign when Adam Cole's Final Battle win was scrapped because of injury concerns. It wasn't just luck that got him placed here though. Briscoe had enjoyable matches at the ROH 12^th Anniversary Show, Glory by Honor XIII, and Final Battle, and tag outings alongside his brother at War of the Worlds, Survival of the Fittest Night Two, and Champions Versus All-Stars. At this point he is out doubtlessly ROH's 'Mr Reliable'.

Headliners of the show of the year.

8. Tyler Breeze
'The Gorgeous One' arguably has the most rounded act in all of NXT. He has a unique look. He can talk. And he can wrestle a very good match. Obviously his performances at the NXT specials were all particularly good, but his less noteworthy matches, such as the three-way against Zayn and Kidd, his match with Kalisto, his unsuccessful challenge for Neville’s title on episode 111, and his tag match alongside Tyson Kidd against Hideo Itami and Finn Bálor, were worth a look too. If Neville and Zayn make the leap to the main roster next year then ‘The Gorgeous One’ could finally get his hands on the NXT championship.

7. Adam Cole

For the first half of the year he was the ROH world champion and during that time he produced great defences against Chris Hero, Kevin Steen, Jushin Liger, ACH, and Jay Briscoe in a hard-hitting Ladder War at the Anniversary Show. He dropped the strap to the not-as-hot-as-he-was-in-2013 Michael Elgin in a solid headliner at Best in the World and then focused on establishing his Kingdom faction with Michael Bennett and Maria Kanellis (and later Matt Taven). The second half of the year saw him work some “dream matches” against the likes of Matt Sydal and AJ Styles before failing to regain the title from Briscoe in a wild Fight Without Honor. With or without the world title Cole was ROH's top in-ring performer.

6. Dean Ambrose

Seemingly surpassed Roman Reigns in popularity after the split of The Shield thanks to his Feud of the Year opposite Seth Rollins. Their matches never failed to disappoint. They even managed to do something interesting with the usually tedious lumberjack gimmick. While they were doomed to fail their attempts to match Mick Foley’s death-defying bumps inside Hell in a Cell were appreciated. Before that split the Shield lads showed themselves to be the best three man unit WWE's ever had with their performance opposite the Wyatt Family at Elimination Chamber and Evolution at both Extreme Rules and Payback. It’s just a shame that he ended the year on low note in a dreary programme with Bray Wyatt.

5. Adrian Neville

'The Man That Gravity Forgot' was one of the many consistent highlights of NXT. His ladder match with Bo Dallas at the inaugural NXT special was ace, as were his defences against Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd, as well as the four-way match at Takeover II. Neville is a reliably crisp hand who can do incredible things in and around a wrestling ring. And his verbal work has been good too. Considering how wooden he's been in the past I think that deserves particular credit.

4. Dolph Ziggler

Floated about for the first half of the year before finally being given something meaningful to do in the second. With his three Intercontinental title reigns he desperately tried to make the championship mean something again. He didn't manage it trading the belt with The Miz but he fared better opposite Luke Harper. The handful of matches he had with Seth Rollins were excellent and I wish there’d been more. Survivor Series saw ‘The Show Off’ presented as a top guy, outlasting three heels to come back and win, sending The Authority packing.

He ended the PPV by having the match of the night at TLC. I hope the renewed interest in him carries over into 2015. Ziggler is a guy that fans want to see. WWE should be embracing that.

Solid back half. Not like that...

3. Ricochet
‘The Future of Flight’ became EVOLVE’s top star this year after defeating Johnny Gargano for the Open the Freedom Gate title and getting first dibs on choice opponents. His performances against Chris Hero, Trent Barreta, Matt Sydal, and Uhaa Nation were all first rate, as were his two title exchanges with Gargano. Outside of WWN Ricochet won a great Battle of Los Angeles tournament in PWG, became the first non-Japanese wrestler to win the Open the Dream gate championship, and defeated Kushida to win New Japan’s Best of the Super Junior tourney.

Surely he should be ‘The Present of Flight’ by now?

2. Sami Zayn

The former El Generico (I’m smashing kayfabe there, right?) stood out as the most naturally likeable man in all of wrestling this year. His ongoing quest for the NXT title was one of the plots that made NXT such an enjoyable watch during the year, punctuated with charismatic promos and attention-grabbing matches. Highlights of his year in the ring were matches against Corey Graves, Tyler Breeze (Takeover), Adrian Neville (R Evolution), Tyson Kidd, and, of course, his match of the year showing opposite Cesaro at the original NXT special. His upcoming programme with old rival Kevin Owens should be a highlight of NXT next year.

1. Seth Rollins

For the first half of the year Rollins was part of the incredibly popular Shield trio. That saw him participant in lively six man tag matches against The Wyatt Family at Elimination Chamber and Evolution at Extreme Rules and Payback, in addition to entertaining singles outings against Batista and Dolph Ziggler and a memorable performance from the number two spot in the Royal Rumble.

His heel turn on June 2 provided him the opportunity to change his act up for a prominent singles role, which he seized. It also provided the launching pad for his Feud of the Year opposite Dean Ambrose. The second half of the year saw Rollins enter a dynamic, and winning, performance in the Money in the Bank ladder match, wrestle the most enjoyable WWE lumberjack match in years, headline a pay-per-view in prime gimmick bout Hell in a Cell, and rub shoulders with top lad John Cena on TV and PPV.

Rollins made 2014 a breakout year for himself by seizing every opportunity WWE sent his way. If only everyone in WWE were given things to work with.

The best wrestler of 2014.