I’m keeping this one quick because there just aren’t enough options there.
Sami Zayn’s Road to Redemption worked like a charm with the blowoff making it worth the journey. You could argue this story started back when Sami debuted and started his feud with Cesaro. Over the last few months, Sami has gone back and defeated everyone that has given him a loss before finally capping it off with a title win over NXT Champion Adrian Neville. It’s a classic story and the matches working like a charm made it even better. Yet another reason to love NXT.
Shield breaks up, which ties into a bunch of singles feuds. You had the Shield as perhaps the greatest three man combination ever and there was only one way to get out of that: someone had to turn. In this case it seems to have been the best option, as Rollins turned on his brothers and joined the Authority as the new ace heel. He has since become the top heel in the company and looks ready for the heel push towards the stars. It was a shocking moment and kicked off one of the best set of stories all year.
That leaves us with one option and this really shouldn’t surprise anyone paying attention: Daniel Bryan’s Road to Wrestlemania. Bryan going from the tag team guy to the champ to being screwed over to a Wyatt for a little while to being the people’s choice to the WWE World Heavyweight Champion was one heck of a rollercoaster and the blowoff was in the main event of Wrestlemania. I really don’t think I can give it more praise than that and this might be the easiest winner of the awards all year.
2014 Awards: Surprise of the Year
The main two options here should be obvious, but the honorable mentions are interesting too.
I think you know what the two finalists here are, so we’ll look at the others first.
To begin with, Lucha Underground is freaking awesome. What felt like a standard indy company with some fairly well known names has turned into one of the most enjoyable wrestling shows of the week. They’ve tried something totally different and the entire production is so different from what you get in WWE and TNA. Lucha Underground actually feels like an alternative and that’s something we haven’t gotten in wrestling for a LONG time.
CM Punk walking out wound up being the story of the year and the reaction when he first left was about as shocked as you were going to get. Immediately people started asking questions such as why, how long, why, real or fake and many others which weren’t quite as intelligent. It’s been nearly a year since Punk walked out and it’s amazing that it’s still one of the biggest stories going. Punk has mastered the art of self promotion and is making a fortune for himself as we all wonder what he’s going to do next.
Quick mention of the New Age Outlaws winning the Tag Team Titles. Seriously, who would have ever believed that two years ago?
The Shield breaking up was a great moment that I questioned at the time, but Rollins has blown this so far out of the water that I’m very happy with where things are going from here. The surprise when Rollins nailed Ambrose with that chair set up a great feud, and even though the story didn’t make a ton of sense, it was one heck of a shock. You had to know Shield was going to split one day, but I think most of us weren’t expecting it for a very long time.
Daniel Bryan not being in the Rumble was more of a REALLY??? moment than a surprise, but it deserves a quick mention.
I would say Paige debuting and winning the title the night after Wrestlemania, but I had that from a few weeks out.
Dolph Ziggler being a sole survivor was a surprise, but a bigger surprise of that match was Cena being knocked out. Coming into the match, a lot of people, myself included, were banking on Cena overcoming the odds to win the match and send the Authority away for awhile. It was a very nice surprise to see the curve thrown in with WWE giving Ziggler the rub of a lifetime instead of going with the same idea again.
Now that we have all that out of the way, let’s get to the real surprise of the year: JTG FINALLY GOT RELEASED! That guy somehow kept a job for SIX YEARS in his second stint alone, despite not winning a televised match since early 2012. Him having a job was a running joke online and I think most fans believed WWE forgot he was still getting paid. The idea of him actually getting fired was shocking and everyone shed a tear when it finally happened.
See? I do actually think when I write these things.
The real options here were Sting FINALLY debuting in WWE and the Streak ending. I was tempted to go with a tie here, but at the end of the day, one of these is a bigger surprise for me.
The Streak is something we’ve lived with for over twenty years. I remember being on the radio once for a predictions contest and saying “Undertaker wins. It’s Wrestlemania.” That’s all I ever needed to say because that’s all that was ever going to happen. Over the years, WWE had teased us a few times with some very near falls (most of which came off of Sweet Chin Music) but it never actually happened. This became an issue in the Wrestlemania XXVII and XXIX matches, as I would sit there and roll my eyes at the near falls because it just wasn’t going to happen.
Well this year it actually did happen. Brock Lesnar laid out the Undertaker with a third F5 and the Streak actually ended. I mean….it actually ended. There was no changing the ending, there was no interference, there was no changing the decision. The Streak actually ended and people weren’t sure how to feel. Some were angry, some were sad, but almost everyone was surprised.
On the other hand, we have Sting debuting. Since the day WCW ended, people have been waiting for Sting to finally show up in WWE. He was the one that got away from WWE (which for some reason means he isn’t good enough to get into Meltzer’s Hall of Fame, but a promoter in Argentina could. That still gets on my nerves.) but he FINALLY showed up at Survivor Series earlier this year. It was quite the moment and did everything it was supposed to and more. Also, major points to HHH for taking one heck of a Death Drop.
However, there’s one thing that holds it back for me: that video game commercial.
Earlier in the year, WWE reached an agreement with Sting to appear in WWE2K15, setting up an awesome video where a full orchestra in Sting masks played his music and Sting turned around to face the camera to end the video. It worked perfectly and made me want to but the game. Granted that would be stupid as I don’t have a video game console but you get the idea.
The problem though is it made me realize that Sting debuting was a matter of time. It was no longer about would Sting debut, but when would he debut. Now, it was still a major surprise that he finally showed up, but I knew it was coming at some point or another.
I can’t say that about the Streak. I truly believed that the Streak was never going to die, but I saw it with my own eyes. The reaction to the moment was pure shock and awe, which is the point of a surprise. The Streak being broken is the Surprise of the Year, and it’s one of the biggest of all time.
2014 Awards: Group/Tag Team of the Year
This is going to be a shorter list of options but those options are close.
Again, I’m aware there are options like ReDRagon, the Kingdom, Bullet Club and the Young Bucks but I just haven’t seen enough of them to have an opinion.
We’ll start down in NXT with the Ascension. These guys just dominated the tag team scene down in developmental and there was no one that could stop them. You don’t go on as champions for 364 days without being a dominant pair. They’re back in the style of Demolition or the Legion of Doom, which isn’t something you see in today’s wrestling product. It worked back then though and it’s going to work today. With their main roster arrival next week, it’s going to be very interesting to see where they go from here.
Then we have the Wolves, who became one of the most polished tag teams in TNA history with a great series of matches against the Hardys and Team 3D. Unfortunately that’s about the extent of TNA’s tag team division and they ran out of competition in a hurry. That being said, they’ve had some great matches in their time and look like a team that could go on for awhile, either together or solit into singles.
Goldust/Stardust were good, but they’re still fairly boring. I’ll mention them here but there’s almost no way to suggest they’re the best.
The Usos were a step ahead of the Dusts but like I said in the Title Reign of the Year entry, there’s really nothing epic about their reign. The feud with the Wyatts was good, but it’s not really worthy of calling them the best team of the year. They’re good, but not the best.
As usual, that leaves us with two options: the Wyatts and the Shield. They had one of the best matches of the year at Elimination Chamber and another pair of matches which aren’t as remembered with the teams getting a win apiece. However, let’s look at the teams’ biggest feuds of the year for a tiebreaker.
The Wyatts’ biggest feuds were Bray against Cena and the Family against the Usos. Both of these were losses for the Wyatts, leaving them to be rebuilt later in the year. The Family bounced back a bit with their singles runs and Bray has rebounded with the Ambrose feud, but it’s not quite what it used to be.
On the other hand we have the Shield who turned face the night after Wrestlemania and immediately started a feud with Evolution. Shield won both of those matches before splitting, setting up all three on huge singles pushes. This was their year and it’s clear that they’re going to be the future of the company.
This came down to the Wyatts vs. Shield, but at the end of the day, the Shield actually won some stuff this year and are ready to take WWE over very soon. You just can’t say that about the Wyatts yet, but Bray is going to be a big deal in the near future.
2014 Awards: Match of the Year
Here’s another major award with some last minute entrants.
We’ll start with the frontrunner for most of the year, mainly due to its build up: the Wyatt Family vs. the Shield at Elimination Chamber. These two teams had looked dominant for months coming up to the match and they finally stared each other down. It’s one of those moments where you just knew it was going to be great and then they blew the doors off the place at Elimination Chamber.
Daniel Bryan vs. HHH from Wrestlemania is way up there and the ending was perfect with HHH getting to chuckle at all the fans (myself partially included) who thought he would put himself into the title match. This isn’t something that’s going to hold up though, as it’s good but the show’s booking hurts it a bit. At the end of the day, there was no way Bryan wasn’t winning here, which brings things down. It’s still great, but I can’t say it’s the best match of the year.
We even get a TNA entry with the ladder match in the Tag Team Title series. I know Full Metal Mayhem gets the attention because it was the final match, but the ladder match was just a hair better. This was back to the TLC formula of take six guys and let them break a lot of stuff, including their bodies. It’s a total stunt show and that makes for some very entertaining matches.
I know this one wasn’t universally popular, but I have to mention WeeLC from Extreme Rules. When WWE does comedy well, it can be some of the funniest stuff you get. They NAILED this one and made what could have been the worst idea in history into something hilarious that was a highlight of the night. This isn’t really a serious contender but man alive it was funny.
Back to the first major show of the year with Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt. Here we have two guys just beating the tar out of each other for over twenty minutes in an outstanding opener. Wyatt beat Bryan, but it’s a match where the winner really doesn’t matter. Bray has so much potential, and the fact that he can back it up in the ring is a very important point.
I can’t go with Team Authority vs. Team Cena as a nominee but I’ll throw it in as an honorable mention. The last ten minutes actually had my heart beating fast and not being sure of what should have been a sure thing. Throw in Cena going out halfway through the match and it gets even better. Great match, including STING, but I’m not sure if it’s one of the best of the year.
What I am sure of though is how amazing Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro from NXT: Arrival was. These guys just know how to make things work with Sami as the ultimate underdog and Cesaro being able to do insane power moves that just blow your mind. It’s a hair beneath the 2/3 falls classic, but they got in most of the same spots and Cesaro going into Beast Mode at the end. He doesn’t go there often, but when he goes to that place, I see the superhero that people say is inside him.
It’s been too long since we’ve had a Shield match and HHH might bury me if I don’t mention him, so I’ll throw in Shield vs. Evolution in the elimination tag at Payback. They let the match go for a long time until we finally got to an elimination so the pin was a surprise. This was the old standard of let six guys beat the tar out of each other for half an hour with the young guys hitting one high spot after another and making the big comeback because the fans actually want to see them do it. In other words, they built up the drama and paid it off at the end. Wrestling 101 still works if you can believe that.
Now we’ll go to the other end of the spectrum with Bully Ray/Rockstar Spud vs. Austin Aries/Bobby Roode from One Night Only: Jokers Wild II. In short, this is the funniest match I’ve ever seen and you should watch it yourself. The key here: you can tell the guys in the match came up with the comedy themselves. Instead of inserting them into “funny” situations, the comedy flows naturally because it’s stuff that these people would logically do that is still funny. Over in WWE you see people doing things that are only being done because a script tells them to do it.
That brings us to the winner, which was the only match all year that I had to see. The build was perfect, the go home promo was perfect, the match was perfect, the execution was perfect, the aftermath was perfect, yet for some reason I only gave it an A. The match is of course Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville for the NXT Title at Takeover: R-Evolution. It’s a strong contender for Show of the Year and it was capped off by the Match of the Year.
2014 Awards: Moment of the Year
This is a big one.
2014 had some VERY big moments with things that I never thought I’d see in wrestling. This might be the toughest of these all year so let’s start with some nominees in no order.
We’ll start with the most recent: the ending of Takeover: R-Evolution. Sami Zayn FINALLY wins the NXT Title and has a ten minute celebration to end the show. Adrian Neville thankfully did not turn heel and the locker room came out to celebrate with the new champion. Even Kevin Owens, Sami’s longtime friend who followed him to NXT was there to celebrate. Owens put his arm around Sami to end the show…..and then leveled him with a clothesline and powerbombed him onto the apron. The moment when Sami comes back for revenge is going to be amazing.
The Ultimate Warrior’s farewell speech. I was lucky enough to be in the arena for this and it was one of the eeriest feelings I’ve ever experienced when I found out he died about 15 hours later. It was as perfect of a farewell speech as I’ve ever heard and got the reaction that the Warrior deserved. Yeah the guy was nuts but he’s a legend of wrestling and deserves to be honored as such.
From the same night, we have the Shield turning face. This was similar to the night Ric Flair returned to Nitro back in September of 1998. Everyone knew it was coming but they let it build and build with the fans chanting HOUNDS OF JUSTICE. The music finally hit and you could feel it. The trio hit the ring and stared down the Authority with HHH trying to calm things down. He turned around for a spear from Reigns and the war was on. Shield knocked them to the floor and Ambrose and Rollins nailed perfect suicide dives to take down Orton and Batista. Bryan kneed HHH to end the show as he finally had some muscle to back him up.
We’ll jump forward to Summerslam with Brock Lesnar just mauling John Cena. I know most people were expecting Lesnar to take the title but dear goodness this was glorious. It was total destruction with Cena only getting in some token offense. I don’t impress easily, but that first F5 had me losing my mind and shouting NO WAY at the screen. If they had Lesnar beat him in 30 seconds it might have been the most amazing moment ever. As it was it’s just up for moment of the year.
Back to the beginning of the year for the Royal Rumble crowd. Just…..my goodness. If there has ever been a crowd like this, I’ve yet to see it. They absolutely rebelled against the show and were not interested in what was being presented to them. What people tend to forget is that the show really wasn’t that bad.
Actually it’s a very solid show from top to bottom with a match of the year candidate for Bryan vs. Wyatt, Brock just beating the tar out of Big Show and barely selling the KO Punch, Cena and Orton having a totally watchable match (try watching it with the sound off and see how much better you find it) that calmed the fans down after about five minutes, and a very good Rumble…..until the last buzzer sounded.
I’ve been watching wrestling for a very long time. I’ve seen a lot of matches and shows and I’ve heard a lot of interesting reactions. However, I have never, in my entire time watching wrestling, seen a crowd completely turn on a show like they did when Rey Mysterio’s music hit at #30. Keep that in mind: this was REY MYSTERIO at #30. It’s not like the music hit and “We’re a 3 Man BAND!!!” came on. Rey Mysterio is one of the most popular and successful wrestlers in the history of WWE and should walk into the Hall of Fame with ease.
However, he just was not who the people wanted that night. The fans wanted to see Daniel Bryan come out and…..that’s it. See, that’s the interesting part to this show: I don’t think the fans needed to see Bryan win the Rumble as long as he was in the match in some fashion. It’s a fascinating show and really worth a watch if you can somehow ignore the crowd. That’s very hard to do though, as the crowd rose up and said “This is not what we want.” in as loud and clear of a voice as I’ve ever heard in wrestling.
That brings us to our next moment: Daniel Bryan making Batista tap out to win the WWE World Heavyweight Title in the main event of Wrestlemania XXX. That whole night was a roller coaster with Bryan beating HHH in a great match to open the show, having his arm banged up again, still coming out for the triple threat, and fighting off both guys plus the Authority and getting off a stretcher to come back and win. If there has ever been a bigger one night push for someone, I’ve never seen it.
We’ll jump forward towards the end of the year now with one of the few things that I kept saying I wouldn’t believe until I saw it: Sting debuted in the WWE. I mean…..IT’S STING IN WWE! The Authority had Team Cena dead to rites and we heard the crow. Everyone knew who it was but actually seeing him walk down that aisle and laying out HHH to give Ziggler the pin (over Rollins, who had been out cold for about eight minutes after a single Zig Zag) didn’t feel real. It was an amazing debut and worth the nearly fifteen year wait.
Back to Wrestlemania for the final two options. First up is the opening of the show, with Steve Austin, the Rock and Hulk Hogan in the same ring at the same time. I really don’t think you need any further explanation than that.
And then Brock Lesnar hit his third F5 and conquered the Streak. I mean….Brock Lesnar just conquered the Streak. I have to go with this as the winner because of something I saw for myself in the Superdome that night. The three count went down (with a 21-1 graphic flashing on the screen at the two count) and the place went silent before everyone started screaming. I sat there in my chair and couldn’t stand up or speak. I looked around and saw grown men crying their eyes out and running out of the building, not even coming back later in the show. There was so much emotion from that loss that adult men were leaving Wrestlemania and not coming back. Think about that one for a second and let it sink in.
I didn’t realize how many major moments there were in 2014 but at the end of the day, the Streak coming to an end just is not going to be topped.
2014 Awards: Feud Of The Year
These were supposed to start on Sunday but as anyone who frequents my site knows, I can’t keep track of anything to save my life. I’ll be catching up with four awards today and then do one a day every day until the end of the year. We’ll start with one of the more popular ones with Feud of the Year.This year isn’t one of the stronger set of choices as there were some good feuds but nothing that felt really epic. One of the first options that comes to mind is Ambrose vs. Rollins, who had some AMAZING promos and good but not great brawls. The ending here hurts it as it was more about Wyatt being introduced for no apparent reason than the feud itself. This can be done perfectly (see 1997 with Undertaker vs. Kane), but Wyatt came out of nowhere and the match was nowhere near HBK vs. Undertaker in the Cell. This is probably the clubhouse leader but not by much.
Shield vs. Evolution was good and the matches were excellent but I’m not sure I’d call it the best of the year. It felt more like a way to turn Rollins heel and end the Shield than to have a big moment, which is fine but a bit anti-climactic. That’s kind of a running problem this year and something we’ll see again.
The same is true for the Wyatts vs. Shield. THey had what might be the Match of the Year at Elimination Chamber but the feud just kind of stopped instead of having a big conclusion. I’d put Shield vs. Evolution ahead of this as it actually had a conclusion, albeit not a great one.
AJ Lee vs. Paige deserves some appreciation due to making the Divas Title actually matter, but it went on so long that it really stopped meaning anything to me after awhile.
TNA actually makes the list with the Wolves vs. Hardys vs. Team 3D and their outstanding series, but I’m not sure it was so much a feud as much as a rivalry. There was never a personal issue between the teams and that hurts it to me. That being said, there’s a case that they had the best series of matches all year, including Shield.
That really leaves us with one option, which while short met every issue that I listed here. Of course it’s Bryan vs. the Authority, which was a rollercoaster of emotion with the fans screaming for what they wanted until it FINALLY delivered in one of the best one night performances you’ll ever see at Wrestlemania XXX. They set the stage and gave us the payoff with some great matches. What else can you really ask for in a feud? Yeah it was short in this year, but it ran about eight months from beginning to end. The moment Bryan made Batista tap was worth everything and the energy in the Super Dome that night was amazing.
Wrestler of the Day – December 10: Darren Young
Today we’ll look at what you could call a pioneer in wrestling: Darren Young.We’ll start things off in FCW on July 26, 2009 with Young wrestling under his real name.
Donny Marlow vs. Fred Rosser
Marlow is better known as Camacho and this is Fred’s TV debut. Feeling out process to start with Donny driving him into the corner to start but getting caught in a headlock. Fred gets two off a clothesline but Donny pulls him off the middle rope for a crash. Commentator Dusty Rhodes freaks out because he accidentally whistles. We hit the nerve hold on Rosser for a bit before Marlow ends him with a Samoan drop.
Rating: D. Dusty kept calling this a rookie’s rookie match but it doesn’t make up for the match being pretty dull. Marlow is nothing special in the ring and that’s the same major problem for Fred: he has a good physique but there’s nothing about him that makes him stand out from the crowd.
Rosser would be in the first season of NXT and had a match on the first show, February 23, 2010.
Darren Young vs. David Otunga
Young and Punk were the comedy team of this season and it worked ok at best I thought. Punk, still with hair, says he doesn’t know why he’s here and doesn’t know who Young is. No profile on Young but Otunga talks about being better than everyone else as he’s from Hollywood. He mentions being engaged to Jennifer Hudson.
He definitely had the talking ability and the charisma but just never could do it in the ring. The tear away pants are still a cool thing for Otunga. This is perhaps the fastest match in the history of the show as Otunga hits his weird spinebuster like slam to end it in less than forty seconds.
We’ll jump past NXT to look at Young’s last match as a member of the Nexus on Raw, August 16, 2010.
Darren Young vs. John Cena
No intro for Young. That’s likely a bad sign. There’s a good amount of time left though so this might not be so bad. We hear that WWE’s Facebook has over 1 millions fans as of right now. That’s kind of cool I guess. Nexus stands on the stage for this. Young actually dominates here for the most part with some basic stuff. He dropkicks the steps into Cena’s head and they tease another count out. Cena is of course in 9.8 but it was a nice false finish.
Cena initiates the ending sequence but the FU is countered. STFU goes on and Young is out of Nexus. Nexus surrounds Cena after the match but cena gets away. Yep Young is about to get a beatdown. Lawler calls him Daniel Bryan for some reason as he gets destroyed.
Rating: C. This was fine. There were people actually freaking out about Cena beating Young. Are you kidding me? He beat up a guy that is most famous for looking like John Cena. Why is this supposed to be a shock or a surprise? This did what it was supposed to do and it came off fine as Nexus gets rid of its weakest guy. Fine. Back to another season of NXT on June 28, 2011.
DarrenYoungvs. ConorO’Brian
They fight over a tieup to start and head to the floor. Hot crowd tonight too. Back inside and Conor takes over with a clothesline. A shoulder by O’Brian gets two. Young hits a neckbreaker on the apron and both guys are down as we take a break. Back with O’Brian escaping a cravate but getting thrown down for two. Off to a neck crank by Young which doesn’t last long.
The season just would not die so here’s another NXT match on January 4, 2012.
Darren Young vs. Derrick Bateman
They have just over 4 minutes left in the video so this isn’t going to last long. They start fast and Bateman gets a quick two count. They go to the floor and Young hits an atomic drop kind of move onto the apron, taking the advantage. Back in Bateman sends him into the post shoulder first and we’re running out of time very fast. A running missile dropkick takes Young down. Maxine pops up and says in two weeks, she and Curtis are getting married in Vegas. Young hits his gutbuster for the pin at 3:30.
Rating: D. This was nothing other than a way to make the announcement about the wedding in a few weeks. I couldn’t be happier it was short either as these two are just not interesting at all, especially Young. He’s just boring and offers nothing at all of note. He never has and I can’t imagine him ever doing so.
Young would make the main roster as a member of the Prime Time Players with old rival Titus O’Neil. Here they are at No Way Out 2012.
Usos vs. Titus O’Neal/Darren Young vs. Epico/Primo vs. Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd
#1 contenders match, even though Epico and Primo already were #1 contenders. The crack production staff cuts away from Rosa dancing to show us AW giving Epico and Primo a pep talk on the pre show. Young and O’Neal are officially the Prime Time Players. That used to be my fantasy football team name so I’m liking them more and more. Booker: “They’re a little bit fruit bootyish if you know what I mean.” I think this is one fall to a finish with tags.
Titus and Jey starts things off but it’s quickly off to Young. You don’t have to tag your partner here either. Jimmy comes in quickly with a double chop for two on Darren. The Usos tag again and Epico tags himself in off a staggered Young. Jimmy hits a Bubba Bomb on Epico who tags in Justin for some reason. Justin and Jimmy hit a stalemate, followed by a Gabriel headlock.
Jey comes in and it’s the double Samoan Drop for two. Rosa yells a lot as Titus tags himself in for two on Justin. Off to Darren as Gabriel is in trouble. Justin gets in a kick but Primo tags himself in to prevent the hot tag. Epico hits a dropkick for two and it’s off to a chinlock. Apparently automatic rematch clauses expire after 30 days. Ok then. Epico hits rolling belly to back suplexes for two and it’s back to Primo.
He misses an elbow and there’s the tag to Kidd. Tyson fires off kicks and hits a suplex on Primo. Things break down a bit and the springboard elbow drop hits knees. Things break down even more and the Usos dive onto Titus and I think Epico. Young tags himself in but Tyson knocks him off the apron. In a SWEET spot, Kidd ranas Primo onto the other pile of people on the floor. Young and Primo are legal and the fireman’s carry into the gutbuster give Young and O’Neal the pin at 9:33.
Rating: C. For a bonus match, this was fine. Titus and Young are as good as a set of challengers as you can ask for right now and since there are more face teams on the roster than heels, it would make sense to give them the belts so we can have some more challengers. Decent stuff here and it’s good to see something resembling a division existing.
Back to singles on Smackdown, August 3, 2012.
Darren Young vs. R-Truth
Truth goes right after Young to start and pounds him into the corner and then against the ropes. AW is at ringside and has the mic again. Truth is sent to the floor and Titus gets in some shots, so here’s Kofi for the save. AW throws his jacket at Kofi’s head so Kofi chases him off. Truth tries to suplex Young back in but Titus trips him up for two. Kofi is back now but gets his head taken off by Titus. The distraction lets Young hit the double knee gutbuster for the pin at 1:55.
The team would be in action at Summerslam 2012.
Tag Titles: Prime Time Players vs. Kofi Kingston/R-Truth
I don’t remember Kofi and Truth being champions AT ALL. Truth and Young get us going as the fans chant Kobe Bryant, referencing the joke that got AW fires. Young is taken down by an armdrag and a legdrop gets two for Truth. Truth has to fight out of the corner but gets caught in the face by a big boot for two. Back up and Truth hits a great side kick to take Titus’ head off and get himself a breather. Off to Kofi to speed things up as the crowd still isn’t all that interested.
Kofi chops O’Neil down but a Young distraction lets the challengers take over. Titus clotheslines Kofi down for two before suplexing Young onto Kofi’s back for two. A snap powerslam gets the same for Darren and it’s back to Titus for an abdominal stretch. That goes nowhere so Titus loads up a spinout Rock Bottom, only to be pulled dowin into a DDT. Hot tag brings in Truth to clean house and everything breaks down. Titus is sent to the floor and caught by a Kofi dive, allowing Truth to hit Little Jimmy on Darren to retain the titles.
Rating: D+. This could have been on any given Raw. The Players are a decent team but Titus is clearly the star with Young just being there. Kofi and Truth are just transitional champions before HELL NO would take the championships a few weeks later. Nothing to see here other than a filler before we get to the main events.
Time to get back in the title hunt on Smackdown, September 7, 2012.
Prime Time Players vs. Primo/Epico vs. Usos
Winners get the title shot at Night of Champions. The only team to get an intro here is the Kofi/Truth who are on commentary. This is WCW rules with three people in the ring at once. Epico and Primo stomp on I think Jey in the corner while Young is down in the other corner. This is moving around too fast to keep up with. Titus gets the tag and cleans house before trying a release suplex to his partner onto Jey, but Jey gets his knees up.
Epico dropkicks Jey to the floor but walks into a northern lights suplex from Darren for two. Epico comes out of the corner with a tornado DDT to Young but walks into a double clothesline with Jey. Jimmy gets the hot tag and cleans house as everything breaks down. A Samoan Drop puts Young down and Jimmy dives on Titus and Primo. Jey hits the top rope splash on Epico but Young steals the pin and the title shot at 4:20.
Rating: C-. This was a mess all over the place but it certainly wasn’t boring. All signs would point to Titus and Young winning the titles now, as they’ve been beaten by the champions twice I believe, so the logical conclusion would be to have them win the third match and forget the first two. The match was too short to become a disaster and it was fast enough to be fun, but it was like the old WCW Cruiserweight matches: mostly flash and no substance, but that’s ok.
That would be another failed title shot, so let’s jump ahead to Hell in a Cell 2012.
Prime Time Players vs. Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara
Sin Cara and Darren start things off with Young slapping him around on the mat. Cara headscissors him down and there’s the tag to Rey. Cara has what looks like a Mysterio mask on the back of his own mask. The main event for Main Event this coming week is these four teaming with Del Rio and Orton respectively. Yep the card is already falling down. Off to Titus for some power to take over on Mysterio. A double elbow by the Players take Rey down and Young comes in for some near falls.
Off to a quick reverse chinlock by Young but Titus charges into a boot in the corner to let the masked guys make a tag. Back to Cara who speeds things up and hits a top rope cross body on Titus. Cara’s spinning armdrag out of the corner is caught by Titus and he rams Cara into the corner. Back to Darren to pounds away a bit more before hitting the belly to back suplex onto the apron for two.
Back to Titus who suplexes Young onto Sin for two. JR says the Players are trying to get a big payday for a win on a major PPV. What exactly would be a minor PPV? Titus yells at Cara in the corner and tells him to speak English, which will probably be a fine for O’Neal. Titus puts on a kind of abdominal stretch before slamming him down for two. Back to Young for a backbreaker which gets two. Titus gets in a three point stance but charges into the post.
Cara hits a kind of standing Sliced Bread #2 and makes the hot tag to Rey. Mysterio speeds things up and hits a tilt-a-whirl DDT on Darren for two. JR: “Keeping up with Rey is like trying to pour smoke through a keyhole.” JBL: “Who would want to do that?” Cara dives on Titus on the floor as Rey counters the gutbuster from Young into the 619 and top rope splash for the pin at 12:50.
Rating: C-. This http://onhealthy.net/product-category/asthma/ wasn’t a bad match at all but it ran too long and overstayed its welcome. These guys are a good undercard feud for the tag division (imagine THAT say six months ago) and putting them on here was as decent enough of an idea as you were going to get. Either one of these teams could get a title shot, and that’s kind of cool to think about.
And a bonus match to open Survivor Series 2012.
Team Clay vs. Team Tensai
Brodus Clay, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Sin Cara, Rey Mysterio
Tensai, Primo, Epico, Prime Time Players
This is a bonus match to fill out the card. Nothing wrong with that at all. Apparently this is the debut of the three man booth so we’re getting a bit of history here. Why anyone would care about that is beyond me but I need something to talk about during these long entrances. This was also back when Tensai was all evil but was a total joke by this point, just as he had been all along. If nothing else we get to see Rosa Mendes with black hair and those hips of hers.
Kidd works on Epico’s arm to start before taking him down into a headlock. Epico is sent to the floor but manages to send Kidd face first into the apron to take over but it’s quickly off to Gabriel. A sunset flip gets two for Justin and he cranks on Epico’s arm as well. Back to Kidd for a headscissors before putting on another armbar. That doesn’t last long as Mysterio comes in with a low dropkick for two.
Young gets the tag and is almost immediately sent face first into the middle buckle, allowing for a tag off to Sin Cara. The masked men hit a combination wheelbarrow slam/X-Factor for two on Young, sending him over to the corner for a tag off to Primo. Cara hits a quick cross body for two and a sunset flip gets the same as this is a very fast paced match. Tensai gets the tag and runs over Cara with a few slams as JBL lists off Tensai’s Japanese accomplishments.
Off to Titus as Sin Cara is in a lot of trouble. Another slam puts Sin down and it’s off to Primo for a camel clutch. Tensai comes back in to work over the downed Cara but goes after the rest of the team instead of covering. Sin Cara gets up for an enziguri, allowing the hot tag to Clay. Brodus cleans house and the Players, Epico and Primo are sent to the floor. Kidd and Gabriel hit stereo dives to take out the cousins followed by Asai moonsaults from Cara and Mysterio to take out the Players. Awesome sequence.
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.
Titus comes in to stomp on the spent Gabriel before it’s back to Epico for a chinlock. Epico misses some elbow drops, allowing Gabriel to make the tag off to Tyson. Kidd heads to the apron but gets sent to the floor where Primo gets in a cheap shot. Back inside with Primo now legal but getting forearmed in the face. Cole says Primo has been a general out there. I’d go more like a lieutenant at best from what I’ve seen.
Back to Titus who crotches himself off a missed big boot, allowing Tyson to kick him in the side of the head, setting up a rolling cradle for the pin and an elimination. Young comes in to keep the pressure on Kidd before it’s back to Epico for some rolling belly to back suplexes. Not that they matter though as Kidd sweeps the legs and puts on the Sharpshooter to get rid of Epico. Cole of course talks about Montreal.
Primo comes in now but gets elbowed in the ribs for his efforts. He comes back with a quick belly to back suplex, only to go up top and dive into a dropkick to the ribs. The hot tag brings in Mysterio who rolls through a sunset flip and kicks Primo in the face for two. A seated senton looks to set up the 619 but Primo moves to the side, only to get caught in La Majistral for the pin. Darren Young is left all alone and it’s finishers a go-go until Rey finishes him with a top rope splash for the win.
Rating: C. The winners were never really in doubt but this was the right way to get a show going. The fast paced stuff worked very well here with all of the smaller guys hitting their dives to wake the crowd up and give them a fun match. It’s no masterpiece or anything but it did exactly what it was supposed to do. A little trivia for you: that loss makes Tensai 0-5 at Survivor Series, which I’m pretty sure is the worst record ever.
Maybe things will be better in 2013. From Smackdown on March 1.
HELL NO vs. Prime Time Players
Non-title, Kane is blindfolded and Bryan has an arm tied behind his back. After a break, Kane puts a hood on over his mask but it has a goat face on it. Funny stuff. Bryan has Kane start with Young so Darren has some fun. He tries to trip Kane up in a school boy but the masked man catches on. Darren: “IT DIDN’T WORK TITUS!” Kane catches up to Darren and slams him down before Bryan tags himself in. After some kicks to the chest, a one arm crucifix gets two on Young. It’s off to Titus and we take a break.
Back with Daniel escaping from Titus and bringing in Kane. The fans help Kane find Titus in the corner and there’s a hip toss by Kane, but he can’t find Titus again. Young comes in off a tag and walks into a chokeslam but Young rolls away from the cover. Bryan tags himself in but Kane grabs the referee by the throat. Bryan tries to call him off so Kane grabs Bryan with the other hand. Kane eventually feels the beard and lets Bryan go, but the distraction lets Titus roll Daniel up for the pin at 3:55 shown of 7:25.
Rating: D. I have no idea what the point of this was. Is it that Bryan and Kane fight a lot? That’s fine I guess, but they did this same idea on Raw on Monday. It certainly wasn’t to push the Players as the division has already died off again. It wasn’t for comedy because other than the goat face hood, nothing on here was funny.
Back to the red show on May 13, 2013.
Tons of Funk vs. Prime Time Players
Tensai crushes Darren to start but gets kicked in the face by Titus. Cole talks about all the countries watching the show tonight so he doesn’t have to talk about the match. Titus misses a running charge into the corner and it’s off to Brodus to clean house. As Clay knocks Darren down, Titus rolls up Brodus for the pin at 1:38. Replays show that Darren hit Brodus in the throat with his hair pick to allow the pin.
Then a match against a power team on Raw, August 19, 2013.
Prime Time Players vs. Real Americans
Before the match, Colter goes into a rant about how evil foreigners at Disney Land are. Young starts with Cesaro and takes over with relative ease. Off to Titus who runs over Swagger before getting caught in Cesaro’s gutwrench suplex. Back to Swagger who has less luck but Titus gets caught by some double teaming. The Americans take turns on Titus but Swagger charges into a spinebuster. Hot tag brings in Young vs. Cesaro with Darren taking over. Everything breaks down and the fireman’s carry gutbuster (Gut Check) is good for the pin on Antonio at 4:50.
Rating: D. The match was nothing of note but if it’s Young’s push for coming out of the closet I can’t complain all that much. The Players have been hanging around the tag team scene for months now so it’s not like this is a huge jump up the card for them. They would likely work better as faces anyway.
The Players had another title shot at Night of Champions 2013.
Tag Titles: Prime Time Players vs. Shield
It’s Rollins/Reigns defending as the Players won tag team turmoil on the pre-show. Rollins and Titus start in a nice power vs. speed matchup. Seth can’t throw Titus around and has his cross body caught, only for O’Neil to throw him down like it’s nothing. Off to Young with a headlock on the mat followed by some shoulder blocks and a clothesline for two. Roman gets the tag and blocks an O’Connor Roll before being sent to the outside.
A big elbow gets two for Young and it’s back to Titus to pound on Rollins some more. All Players so far as Titus blows the whistle, allowing Rollins to bail to the floor. Darren follows Seth to the floor, allowing Shield to take over as they come back inside. It’s Reigns working over Darren before throwing him back to the outside.
Back in and Seth hooks a chinlock on Young before slapping him around a bit. Young comes back with a quick belly to belly but Reigns blocks the hot tag. Darren sends him into the corner and backdrops Seth down, allowing for the hot tag to Titus. O’Neil starts cleaning house and hits the release fall away slam on Rollins. Clash of the Titus gets two as Reigns makes the trademark Shield save. Young and Roman go to the floor but Reigns jumps back in for the spear on Titus, giving Seth the retaining pin at 7:30.
Rating: C. This was fine all things considered. The Players weren’t going to get the belts and everyone knew it, but it’s nice to see a fresh team in the title scene. It’s not like those two getting a title shot is a stretch or anything so I can’t imagine a ton of complaints about Young being pushed. Nothing special here but it was fine.
Another one off match from Smackdown, December 27, 2013.
Prime Time Players vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel
I refuse to refer to them as “Rybaxel.” Ryback pounds on Young to start but Darren scores with a right hand to the jaw and a dropkick to the knee. Off to Titus for the front suplex to Darren onto Ryback for no cover. A hard shoulder puts Ryback down but Axel gets in a knee to O’Neil’s back to take him down. Curtis chokes him in the corner (“BARK LIKE A DOG!”) before it’s quickly back to Ryback for a front facelock.
The heels take turns on O’Neil in the corner with Axel slapping him in the back of the head, only to run into a big boot. Darren gets the tag and scores with an overhead belly to belly on Axel before getting two off a northern lights suplex. Everything breaks down and Ryback is clotheslined to the floor, allowing Young to pin Axel at 4:51.
Rating: D+. The underlying problems with the tag division continues: it doesn’t matter if you build up teams if the teams are boring and keep trading meaningless wins with no advancement in sight. This match doesn’t change anything for either team and doesn’t move the Players up towards a title program, at least not anytime soon.
Young had another singles match on Valentine’s Day’s Smackdown in 2014.
Darren Young vs. Damien Sandow
Titus O’Neil is on commentary. Young catches Sandow in a quick atomic drop and clotheslines him out to the floor. Back in and Damien gets a knee to Darren’s ribs but You’re Welcome is countered into a rollup for the pin by Young at 1:07. So much for rebuilding Sandow.
The Players had split by this time so here’s their showdown at Elimination Chamber 2014.
Darren Young vs. Titus O’Neil
Basic story here of a team losing and splitting due to a heel turn by Titus. Darren gets in Titus’ face to start but is knocked down by a hard forearm. The fans want Lesnar as Titus works on a headlock. Titus bails to the floor and Darren is right on his heels as the fans chant Fruity Pebbles. Darren charges into the corner but gets backdropped out to the floor followed by having his back rammed into the post.
Back in and it’s time for a bearhug, backbreakers and an abdominal stretch. Titus slaps Darren in the ribs before charging into a boot as the announcers talk about JBL being cheap. Darren comes back with some basic offense for two as the fans boo the kickout. Thankfully they get the hint and a quick Clash of the Titus ends Darren at 6:17.
Rating: D. This was about what I was expecting and it showed the problem with Young. He’s basically the modern day Scotty Riggs, meaning a guy who was in a tag team with a much more charismatic guy and then had nothing interesting once he was on his own. Titus looked good here though and won clean in the right ending. Thankfully they went home quickly like they did.
Like I said earlier, there’s just nothing interesting about Young’s in ring abilities. He’s adequate enough in the ring but that doesn’t mean he’s someone I want to see. His charisma is just ok, his look is just ok, and his abilities are just ok. To put it simply, he’s totally average and that’s not really a good thing.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Survivor Series Count-Up – 2013 (2014 Redo): They Just Don’t Care
Survivor Series 2013 Date: November 24, 2013
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield
It’s the final show before the 2014 edition and for the most part I have no idea what happens here. If I remember right it’s something about Orton and then Reigns destroying a bunch of people. It kind of amazes me how easy the last year is to forget while I could snap off the main event of almost every PPV 2005 or so. Let’s get to it.
Pre-Show: Miz vs. Kofi Kingston
Kofi won’t shake hands to start but eventually gives in after a few seconds. Kingston tries to speed things up with his leapfrogs before a crucifix gets two. A backslide gets two more but Kofi charges into an atomic drop. Both guys miss finishers but Kofi kicks him in the face and clotheslines him out to the floor. There’s a suicide dive for good measure and we take a break. Back with Kofi holding a chinlock for a change but Miz fights up with a big boot to take over.
Another boot to the face gets two and Miz puts on a chinlock. Back up and Kofi hits a quick standing double stomp before speeding things up with his dropkicks. There’s the Boom Drop but Trouble in Paradise misses. SOS connects for two and a high cross body gets the same as Miz is reeling. Kofi kicks him in the chest a few times before countering a Skull Crushing Finale attempt into a rollup, only to have Miz counter into a rollup of his own for the pin.
Rating: C. Nice match here as Kofi kept things moving until Miz finally caught him going for one too many big moves. Kingston is a guy that can move around as fast as anyone else and put on an entertaining match with almost anyone. Miz was looking sharp here too, even though I’d like him to drop that Figure Four nonsense. It didn’t work for him then and it still doesn’t today.
The show itself opens with HHH and Stephanie rather than an opening video. They guarantee no physical interference in any match tonight. Not a single one. Assuming Boston is ready, here’s the opening match.
After an opening video about the flame of survival in us all that is. As usual this transitions into a video about the main events.
Rey Mysterio/Goldust/Cody Rhodes/Usos vs. Shield/Real Americans
Elimination match of course. This is Mysterio’s return from yet another injury. Ambrose is US Champion and Cody and Goldust are Tag Team Champions, having taken the belts from Reigns and Rollins recently. Before the match, Colter rips on Americans for Twerking and even gives us a demonstration. David Ortiz gets insulted a bit as well until Cody Rhodes cuts him off and Twerks a bit as well.
Rhodes and Ambrose get things going with Rhodes nailing him with a right hand. Dean comes back with a clothesline but argues with the referee, allowing Cody to roll him up for a quick elimination. Everything breaks down for a bit with the Usos nailing all four remaining opponents. Each Uso dives on a team and the good guys are in full control.
We settle down to Cody suplexing Seth for two. Off to Goldust to a huge reaction but Swagger comes in off a blind tag and runs Goldust over. Cesaro snaps Goldust’s arm over the top rope before coming in to work on the ribs. Swagger gets two off a powerslam as Cole screws up Survivor Series history, saying that Andre won the first Survivor Series match (it was the first main event). Cesaro jumps over Swagger’s shoulders for a double stomp and slaps on a chinlock.
Back up and Goldust grabs a DDT to put both guys down. Goldust has to elbow all of his opponents before hitting a sunset bomb on Cesaro, only to have Swagger come in first. The Vader Bomb hits raised boots though and the hot tag brings in Mysterio. A quick 619 sets up a superkick from Jimmy and the Superfly Splash from Jey to make it 5-3.
Cesaro comes in immediately with Swiss Death for two on Jey. Both Usos get Swung and Cesaro is the most over person in the match. His reward: a sunset from Cody for another elimination. It’s Reigns in now to run over Jey and stomp away in the corner. Rollins comes in with an elbow for two before it’s back to Reigns to work on the arm. Cole mistakenly says the Shield has developed rivalries over the years but JBL points out that they’ve only been around a year. Cole: “Well you know what I mean.” JBL: “No not really.”
Jey finally gets over for the hot tag to Jimmy who takes Reigns down with a Samoan drop. The running Umaga attack gets two but Roman blocks the splash with his knees and nails the spear to make it 4-2. Cody comes in with a missile dropkick to Rollins as things speed up. The moonsault press gets two but the Disaster Kick is caught in midair. Rollins gets countered into Cross Rhodes but makes a blind tag, allowing Reigns to spear Cody for the elimination.
Jey sends Reigns into the barricade but misses a high cross body back inside. Rollins makes another quick tag to come in for a Curb Stomp and it’s down to Mysterio/Goldust vs. Reigns/Rollins. Rey is quickly taken down by Rollins but he comes back with a kick to the head for two. The advantage is short lived though as Rey gets tied in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick to the ribs. Reigns throws him out to the floor with ease but the spear hits the post by mistake.
It’s quickly back to Rollins who dropkicks Goldust off the apron, only to get caught in a rollup for a fast pin. It’s Reigns vs. Goldust/Mysterio but Seth gets in some cheap shots on Mysterio before he leaves. Rey sends a charging Reigns into the buckle and tags in Goldust to clean house. A spinebuster plants Reigns and Goldust hammers away in the corner. Goldust nails a powerslam and spinning cross body for two each but a bulldog is countered into a spear for another pin. So it’s Mysterio vs. Reigns and the 619 is broken up with a huge spear to give Reigns the pin.
Rating: C. The match was boring to start but picked up a lot when Reigns was unleashed. This was the star making performance that started Reigns’ push to the moon which would be driven even higher when he broke the elimination record in the Royal Rumble. The match itself wasn’t much to see but those spears looked great.
HHH, Kane and Stephanie are in the back when Orton comes in. He wants to make sure everyone is on the same page after he demanded respect from the Authority on Monday. HHH wants to know if that’s just making sure everything is ok or if Orton is asking them to save him tonight. We get the usual Face of the WWE speech but Stephanie tells him to go prove it.
Intercontinental Title: Big E. Langston vs. Curtis Axel
Langston took the title from Axel on Monday and this is the rematch. Axel puts on a headlock but gets taken down with pure power. With that not working, Curtis starts going after the arm for almost the same result. Big E. busts out a leapfrog before just running Axel over. A running splash in the corner crushes Axel again and a clothesline gets two.
They head outside for a few seconds with Axel knocking Langston off the apron to get his first advantage. Back in and Curtis puts on a chinlock before Langston fights up with a big belly to belly. The Warrior Splash connects but Axel grabs a quick PerfectPlex for two. Back up and the Big Ending retain the title with ease.
Rating: D+. This was far less of a match and more of a formality. Langston was getting a solid push around this time until they suddenly pulled the plug on him. Axel has the same result, though at least he got to be in a tag team. Hopefully Langston can get somewhere with the New Day stuff but I won’t get my hopes up.
Post match Big E. talks about being in Boston but doesn’t want to look like he’s pandering to the people here in Boston. However, this feels like when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series.
AJ gives the True Divas a big pep talk but they don’t buy into it. Rosa Mendes: “Do you think you’re better than all of us.” AJ: “Yes?” Kaitlyn goes on a rant about all the horrible things AJ has done but AJ says this is about Total Divas not wanting any of them. The champ’s (AJ) advice for the night: start your own show by stealing this one.
Total Divas vs. True Divas
Total Divas: Bella Twins, Natalya, Funkadactyls, Jojo, Eva Marie
True Divas: AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Summer Rae, Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, Aksana, Kaitlyn
Elimination tag and let’s get this over with. Fox works over Naomi in the corner to start and slams her down for one. She puts Naomi on top but gets elbowed down, setting up a split legged moonsault to get rid of Fox. Rosa comes in and avoids the Rear View before it’s off to Cameron. This can’t go well. A double split legdrop from the Funkadactyls gets two on Mendes as we hear about the Total Divas having personalities.
Rosa sends a charging Cameron into the middle buckle for a pin. Mendes dances but turns into a Bella Buster from Nikki for another elimination. Summer comes in wearing orange and blue for a dance off with Nikki. Summer does the splits and gets dropkicked to make it 6-4 for the Total Divas. Eva Marie comes in and is booed out of the building. Kaitlyn doesn’t like her either and ends her with a quick gutbuster to make it 5-4. Naomi comes in but takes a gutbuster of her own for the pin. Tied at four now with Brie throwing Kaitlyn down for two.
Kaitlyn misses a spear and gets caught by a bad looking missile dropkick for another pin. I’m not leaving out anything on play by play here. These falls are just going that fast. AJ kicks Brie from behind, allowing Aksana to hit a bad spinebuster to eliminate Brie. A Rack Attack ends Aksana about 10 seconds later and we’re down to AJ/Tamina vs. Nikki/Natalya/Jojo. Tamina comes in to lay Nikki out with headbutts and Nikki is nice enough to smile through half of the beating.
Nikki gets thrown into Natalya and it’s off to Jojo, who has almost no in ring experience. Jojo nails a quick cross body and a rollup gets two before Tamina just kicks her head off. A Samoan drop plants Jojo and AJ comes in for the pin. The announcers say it’s 2-1 because Nikki Bella is that forgettable. Tamina charges into Natalya in the corner but misses the Superfly Splash, allowing Natalya to hook the Sharpshooter for the elimination. AJ comes in and gets nailed by Nikki because she wasn’t eliminated, setting up another Sharpshooter so the Total Divas can win.
Rating: F. This won Worst Match of the Year and it’s really easy to see why. It was clear that they had no idea how to do more than a few spots and had to fly through this match as fast as they could. I can’t stand these messes but the fans hating Eva Marie made up for it a bit. In case this wasn’t enough for you, there was a REMATCH the next night!
Orton asks referee Charles Robinson to help him out tonight but Robinson says he’ll do what the Authority told him to do.
Expert panel time but Ryback’s music cuts them off. Ryback says his favorite Survivor Series memory is shutting up all those old timers. He can intimidate anyone here but that doesn’t make him a bully. It’s open challenge time so let’s have a Wrestlemania rematch.
Ryback vs. Mark Henry
This is another return for Henry. They fight over a lockup to start and Ryback talks even more trash. Henry casually shoves him across the ring so Ryback goes after the knee for two. Ryback slams him down but misses a charge into the post. Maybe the GOLDBERG chants messed with his head. Mark gets down on all fours for some JYD headbutts before a powerslam gets two. The World’s Strongest Slam is countered into a spinebuster and Ryback takes down the straps. Ryback’s Meat Hook is countered with a cross body and now the World’s Strongest Slam is enough for the pin.
Rating: D. I can’t remember the last time I saw such a worthless set of back to back matches. Henry looked fatter than ever and Ryback’s collapse continues. At the end of the day the guy has come back so many times that it’s really hard to care. The fact that he’s anything but the Hall of Pain era Henry makes things even worse.
We recap Cena vs. Del Rio. Cena had to leave due to a bad arm but came back to take the World Heavyweight Championship from Del Rio like the main event jobber that he was. This is the rematch and Del Rio is going after the arm. Of course.
World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio
Cena is the defending hometown boy so the split chants begin. They fight over a headlock to start until Del hiptosses him down for a headlock and some of the most obvious spot calls I’ve ever seen. Back up and Del Rio steps on Cena’s head before a snap suplex gets two. Cena powers out of an armbar but Del Rio sends him outside and into the steps. They head back inside and the arm work continues along with the slow pace.
Cena fights up again but misses a charge into the buckle to keep Del Rio in control. Alberto avoids a shoulder block and Cena falls outside again so Del Rio can stay on the arm. A clothesline gets two on the champ and we hit another armbar. Del Rio talks about doing two things to Cena because he’s really bad at spot calling. Cena powers up again and hits a clothesline, only to walk into a Backstabber for two.
Alberto goes up but dives into a dropkick to put both guys down again. Back up and the ProtoBomb looks to set up the Shuffle but Cena takes too long, allowing Del Rio to score with a DDT. Alberto misses a charge of his own though and both guys are down again. The champ’s finishing sequence is countered yet again into a German suplex so he opts for a tornado DDT for two. The enziguri knocks Cena off the top and the dueling chants begin again.
Del Rio puts him in the Tree of Woe but his charge hits the post by mistake. There’s the top rope Fameasser for two and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets the same for Del Rio. Alberto calls for the cross armbreaker and gets a huge SI chant. Cena rolls through into the STF though, sending Del Rio rolling over to the ropes. The low superkick gets two on John and his belly to back neckbreaker gets the same for the champ. Cena’s cross body is countered into the armbreaker but he counters up into a powerbomb. Back up and the AA retains Cena’s title.
Rating: B. Del Rio is basically the new Chris Jericho: he’ll win the title every now and then, but he’s little more than cannon fodder for Cena. I have no reason to believe that Cena is going to tap out to the armbreaker and every time Del Rio went for the hold it felt like a waste of time. Alberto’s style makes perfect sense for him, but it’s a waste of time against Cena. The match was good, but the ending was never once in doubt.
Santino and Truth play with toys, only to be joined by Los Matadores, El Torito, Fandango and Johnny Ace.
We recap the Wyatts vs. Bryan/Punk. Bray saw both of them as heroes that needed to be destroyed so he crushed Bryan’s head and went after Punk in general. Bryan came out for the save and we’ve got a tag match. The tag line makes it a bit better: the Wyatts vs. the Beard/the Best.
CM Punk/Daniel Bryan vs. Wyatt Family
Bray holds up the lantern and says Abigail told him Punk and Bryan would be tough as nails. She was right. Bryan kicks at Rowan’s leg to start and is quickly shoved down. More kicks to the leg send Rowan into the good corner for a tag from Punk. The fans are very pleased with the tattooed hero but Erick drives him into the other corner to take over. Off to Harper as the Family starts taking turns working over Punk’s ribs.
Rowan slaps on a bearhug but Punk slips out of a suplex and tags in Bryan. Their combined forces can’t suplex Rowan though so he sends both guys flying at the same time. Things settle down until Punk and Bryan start kicking away in the corner and now they can suplex Rowan down. Naturally the announcers are debating if Rowan is like Michael Myers or not.
Back to Harper but Punk easily drives him back into the corner as well. A double dropkick sets up Bryan’s YES Kicks and we go old school with a Hart Attack for two. Punk gets distracted by Erick though, allowing Harper to kick Punk’s head off and tag in the other freak. A backbreaker gets two for Rowan and it’s back to Luke for the Gator Roll. Rowan starts talking to the mask on the post as Luke gets two off the Michinoku Driver.
Rowan comes back in and charges into a boot in the corner, followed by a tornado DDT (way too common a move anymore). There’s the hot tag to Bryan who comes in with all of his usual stuff. Luke gets kicked to the floor for the FLYING GOAT. Back in and the missile dropkick gets two but the big YES Kick is caught in a powerbomb. Bryan counters into a hurricanrana but Luke counters it’s top rope cousin into a super sitout powerbomb for a very close two.
Everything breaks down and Rowan throws Punk out to the floor. A splash gets two on Bryan as things settle back down. Harper runs Bryan over and chokes with the boot before catapulting him throat first into the rope. Daniel fights back until Erick catches him in a half nelson suplex. The monster gets too confident though and goes after Punk, only to get kicked in the head. The hot tag brings in Punk to clean house again but he dives on Rowan and Wyatt instead of Harper. Back in and the top rope elbow gets two on Luke but Rowan breaks up the GTS. That earns him a running knee and the GTS ends Harper.
Rating: B-. The fans thought it was awesome but it never got past solid for me. Bryan and Punk are the kind of super team that you put in there to fight monsters like these, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter until they fight the master himself. At least Harper and Rowan are still good enough to have a good match and look like real threats.
Bray teases getting in but backs down as you would expect.
Cena is getting his arm looked at with the Authority next to him. Orton comes in and isn’t pleased so Cena leaves them to their chat.
We recap Big Show vs. Randy Orton. Big Show was basically blackmailed into being the Authority’s monster until lawsuits were threatened and Big Show was given anything he wanted. Rather than money, job security, or a piece of the WWE, he wanted a single WWE Title shot. This went on for months and felt like it would never end, setting up a match that no one wanted to see.
WWE Title: Big Show vs. Randy Orton
Champion Orton immediately bails to the floor before going back in and getting shoved out again. Randy heads back in again and takes one of the loudest chops I’ve ever heard. Show tries to claw Orton up from the floor but gets his throat snapped across the top rope. A big shoulder gives Show two but Orton finally scores with a dropkick.
We hit the front facelock as the crowd goes silent again. Instead Orton shifts to a horrible sleeper until Show suplexes him down. Orton rolls outside to avoid a chokeslam so Show sends him into the steps. Back in and Show tries to go up for some reason, allowing the champ to crotch him down and nail the Elevated DDT. He takes too long setting up the RKO though and eats a chokeslam for two.
Show loads up the KO but Orton bails outside, bumping into the referee’s knee in the process. They head into the crowd to keep up the beating, including a KO Punch to knock Orton silly on the floor. We’re about to have a new champion and of course here’s the Authority. The distraction lets Orton nail an RKO, setting up a Punt to retain the title.
Rating: D. This is basically poor man’s version of Del Rio vs. Cena. The ending was never in doubt as there was no way they were putting the belt on Show, but the match was really dull and boring throughout. This was the culmination of a terribly dull story and thankfully they moved on to anything better, like Cena vs. Orton. That’s a fresh idea right?
Orton celebrates but Cena comes out and holds up his own belt to end the show.
Overall Rating: C-. This show was a rollercoaster. The first part was just kind of there, then it went straight down, then up for Cena/Bryan/Punk, then down through a hole for the finish. October/November is just a horrible time for the company every year and this is probably the low point for the Survivor Series. There are far worse shows, but man alive this show felt worthless. It’s just not an interesting show and felt like it could have been any given B show rather than the second longest PPV ever. That’s a bad sign for a show this important.
Ratings Comparison
The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston
Original:B-
Redo: C
Real Americans/Shield vs. Cody Rhodes/Goldust/Rey Mysterio/Usos
That’s it for Survivor Series and you can tell WWE has thought the same for years. The show hasn’t felt important in a long time with almost no major matches, save for maybe the Rock’s in ring return, even though that was just a warmup for the real match. I still love the idea and tradition of the show, but it’s been too long since we’ve had an elimination tag that matters.
Now that’s going to be remedied in 2014 so maybe there’s some hope, but the last few years haven’t been kind to the show. That doesn’t change the fact that the older shows rock and are definitely worth checking out if you want to see a lot of the roster on the same show and about five matches rolled into one. It’s a good series, but anymore it’s really just one of the Big Four because it came so early.
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Wrestler of the Day – November 8: Brothers of Destruction
They have a DVD now so why not? Today we have the Brothers of Destruction.
Since the team didn’t join forces all that often, expect some big gaps.
We’ll start on Raw on September 21, 1998, when the brothers were still uneasy allies.
Undertaker/Kane vs. Steve Austin/???
Before Austin gets in the ring, Billy Gunn comes out to be his partner. Ok then. Brawl to start with Kane hammering Billy to the floor. Austin and Taker start things off with Austin hitting the middle finger elbow. Off to Billy who has to stick and move. Taker misses a big boot and gets caught by a Fameasser for two. Back to Austin who sends Taker into the corner but gets clotheslined down.
Off to Kane but Austin fights back and tags in Billy. Chokeslam is broken up but Undertaker’s distraction allows Kane to knock him over the top. Billy is sent into the steps and we head back in. Taker comes in and beats on Billy but lowers his head so Billy can get in a boot. Taker looks at him and takes Billy’s head off again. Back to Kane who hits a big boot for two.
A regular clothesline sets up the top rope clothesline for two. Austin makes the save and flips off Kane. Well at least he’s multitasking. Billy and Kane hit a double clothesline and Gunn makes the tag to Austin. Stunner doesn’t work but the second attempt gets two on Kane due to a Taker save. Everything breaks down and the referee goes down. Chokeslam to Billy by Undertaker is good for the pin despite them both being legal.
Rating: C-. Standard main event style tag match here but I’m really not sure why they picked Billy Gunn of all people to be his partner. I know they lost all of the other main event players but still, Billy Gunn? Not HHH? Anyway, the match was fine but I really don’t know what it does for Sunday.
Again on Raw, October 12, 1998 for a pretty big showdown.
Kane/The Undertaker vs. Steve Austin/The Rock
Ok so apparently Rock IS #1 contender. I think what messed me up last week was that he was #1 contender to a title that had no owner, so I thought Kane and Undertaker would be considered the contenders. Say it with me: it’s a brawl to start. Kane and Austin go to the floor while Rock beats up Undertaker. Austin and Rock double team Taker down but he sits up. We start with Austin and Undertaker while Kane is on the floor.
Here comes Paul Bearer, which is good as I had forgotten he was here. Taker hits a clothesline for two before working over the arm. Austin comes back and wraps Taker’s leg around the post before tagging in Rock. He loads up the People’s Elbow but Taker sits up. Rock kicks him right back down before hitting the elbow in a move that I’m sure has been on highlight reels before.
Kane distracts Rock so Taker can hit a HUGE chokeslam. Off to Kane now as Brown and Henry come out too. Back to Taker for some choking and then to Kane again. Rock finally comes back with a DDT as the referee tells them seven minutes left. Kane blocks the tag and drapes Rock over the top before tagging in Taker again. Kane hammers on Rock on the floor but comes back in for a Samoan Drop.
A double tag brings in Austin to face Undertaker again and things pick up. Austin can’t quite drop him as Henry and Brown beat down Rock on the floor. Austin gets caught in the ropes and Taker pounds away. That doesn’t last long as Austin escapes and hits a clothesline for two. Thesz Press is broken up by Kane and the security guard from earlier with the dogs run in and hits Austin with a stick before unmasking to reveal Big Bossman. The match is thrown out.
Rating: D+. This is one of those matches that sounds better on paper than in reality. This was more about Austin getting beaten down by Vince’s guy which is ok, especially when the main event on Sunday is about Austin vs. Vince with the title and the Brothers being thrown in. Not a bad match but the important thing here again is to have Rock rubbing elbows with these top guys.
We’ll jump ahead to Smackdown: EXTREME on February 1, 2001.
Undertaker/Kane vs. Haku/Rikishi
First blood here. Total brawl to start with Undertaker throwing Haku into the steps. The Brothers ping pong Rikishi with punches until Haku is back up. Rikishi and Undertaker head into the ring and Taker hits Old School. The pairings switch off and the Samoans get chairs to take over. Rikishi pounds on Kane in the corner and sets for a Stinkface but Taker cracks Haku with a chair and Kane breaks it up with a low blow. A chokeslam puts Rikishi down and Haku is bleeding but it isn’t seen. Steps to the head of Rikishi and the referee sees Haku bleeding to end it.
Rating: D+. Just a brawl that had a way to declare a winner. This feud wasn’t really interesting anyone and it only ended because of an injury to Rikishi. Not much to see as far as a match but power matches are always kind of fun to see. Kane and Undertaker would move on to bigger things very soon.
Rating: D+. Not much of a match as the styles clashed pretty badly here. I think this set up a triple threat later which wasn’t that good. This was just ok and the only answer for Edge and Christian was that they didn’t want to face the Brothers. The ending sucks either way and it wasn’t a great match prior to that anyway.
Time for PPV at No Way Out 2001.
Tag Titles: Undertaker/Kane vs. Edge/Christian vs. Dudley Boyz
This is a tables match but not elimination style. Uh sure. The Brothers go after Edge and Christian in the aisle but stop when the Dudleys come out and corner them. Dudleys are champions here. The Canadians hide and it’s on early. It’s a massive brawl of course. Tazz is still on commentary here. The table HHH went through is still just in pieces on the floor which is funny for some reason as it always is.
The Dudleys are down and the Brothers beat up the Canadians. The champs make the save from a double powerbomb but Bubba slips on a chair and falls on his back. For the first time we get in the ring and Bubba gets his crotch stepped on. What’s up to Edge makes up for that though. This is just a big mess of course but it’s fun. Taker and Kane stop the getting of tables and Christian hits Unprettier on Bubba in the ring.
Stereo powerslams by the big men and then they both go up. Taker goes airborne which isn’t something you see that often really. We get some near endings but a bunch of saves are made including a low blow to Taker. A pair of chokeslams hit but there aren’t any tables. The Dudleys get chokeslammed too and the Brothers stand very tall.
They set for stereo powerbombs but Rikishi and Haku waddle down to stop it and brawl with the monsters. Have we ever had a generation without an evil Samoan team? For some reason Vince thought these Samoans would be a good choice for a team, even though Haku wasn’t Samoan. The monsters all go up the ramp to tick off the crowd. 3D on Christian ends it.
Rating: C+. Just a fun match here but somehow this was supposed to set up monsters vs. monsters, even though the ethnic monsters were gone very soon. This wasn’t much but it definitely wasn’t bad. The constant double teaming got pretty stupid after awhile but it wasn’t horrible. Passable match for what it was, but with TLC 2 next month, it’s hard to stay underwhelmed.
Rating: D. Match was flat out horrible as I’d almost think Kane was hurt here as he did almost nothing at all. Taker in 2001 isn’t someone you want to have fight this long on his own, especially against Haku. Rikishi would be gone very soon due to an injury so this was one of the last moments for the Samoans. Yeah Rikishi would work Smackdown the next night and then was gone for two months.
And again on March 26, 2001, the go home show for Wrestlemania X7.
Undertaker/Kane vs. The Rock/Steve Austin
Kane vs. Rock starts us off. All four guys are faces here which is a rather weird thing. Taker comes in as we’re just waiting for the hot tag to Austin at this point. Austin gets the tag as we’re totally going through the motions here. Thesz Press to Taker as it’s pretty clear they’re in a slow gear here.
Taker shoves Austin into the Rock and grabs him by the throat. JR thinks it could be for the chokeslam. Gee you think? HHH pops up out of nowhere and drills Taker with a chair, allowing Austin to get the pin. Austin drinks beer after the match but walks into a Stunner to end it.
Rating: N/A. No one cared here and everyone knew it. They did manage to get the Game on the show though, so that’s always a plus.
The Brothers would be the main opposition to the Two Man Power Trip at Backlash 2001 with all the titles on the line at once.
Rating: D+. This was about half an hour long and the whole thing didn’t work for the most part. It was just a big mess with everything going all over the place and nothing of note going on other than the arm work. It was more about everyone doing random moves instead of a coherent match, which is rarely a good thing at all. Not a good main event.
Back to Raw in the InVasion era, starting on July 16, 2001.
Diamond Dallas Page/Rhyno vs. Undertaker/Kane
The Brothers clear the ring early on. Kane and Rhyno officially get us going and the horny one takes a powerslam. This is one of those matches where everyone hits high power and high impact stuff from the bell. Taker comes in to knock Rhyno around a lot. Old School sends Rhyno to the floor and it breaks down even more. The Brothers beat on them even more and here are the Dudleys. I’m not going to bother rating it because it was far more of a brawl than a match.
From two weeks later on Raw, July 30, 2001.
Dudley Boys vs. Kane/Undertaker
Tables match. The brawl starts on the floor until we get down to Kane beating on D-Von in the ring while the other two fight outside. Top rope clothesline puts D-Von down. I’m not sure if you need one or both to go through a table to win here. Taker and Bubba are in the ring now. The Dudleys double teak the Dead Man and the reverse 3D puts him down.
A table is brought in but so is Kane. D-Von is left alone with Taker who loads up a chokeslam, but Nick Patrick shoves the table away. Page runs in with a low blow and they load up a superbomb for Sara through the table. She holds Bubba off until Kane and Taker get bac up and Ray is chokeslamed through the table for the victory for the tall brothers.
Rating: D. The match sucked but it was there to fill in some time and I guess kid of almost advancing the Taker vs. DDP feud. Can you really even call it a feud when DDP hasn’t won a single round of it? Not a horrible match but again it was more filler for the ending of the show with Rock.
Here’s one of their more famous matches as a team at Summerslam 2001.
WCW Tag Titles/WWF Tag Titles: Undertaker/Kane vs. Diamond Dallas Page/Kanyon
Inside a cage to make sure the jobbers have no chance at all. The WWF guys have the WCW titles and the WCW guys have the WWF titles because CRAZY! Undertaker’s wife Sara drops the key to the cage down her shirt for safekeeping. The monsters dominate to start, shocking no one at all. Taker pounds on Page and Kane destroys Kanyon until DDP actually gets in a low blow and sends Taker into the cage.
The guys trade off opponents and Kane kicks Page’s head off as Taker destroys Kanyon. Kane powerbombs Kanyon into the corner as Taker rams Page into the cage. A big boot sends DDP’s head into the steel but Kanyon comes out of the corner to take Taker down. He hits a kind of Fameasser out of the corner to take Kane down but the Brothers sit up at the same time. Page and Kanyon go up top but Taker kicks Page down and tells Kane to let Kanyon go. Now it’s the Brothers against Page, two on one.
They take turns with running clotheslines in the corner and Taker hits a sidewalk slam for two. Kane yells at the referee in the corner as Taker pounds Page down. There’s a chain in the ring from somewhere and Taker whips Page in the back for fun. Kane is just chilling in the corner watching this. Taker tells Page he can leave and live, but if he ever looks at Sara again he’s dead. DDP tries to leave but gets chokeslammed off the top a few seconds later. The Last Ride ends the slaughter and gives the Brothers both sets of titles.
Rating: D+. So you the dominant team of former world champions beat a guy who is nothing like the successful character he portrayed a few years ago and his midcard comedic lackey. Thankfully this was only ten minutes long and Sara didn’t look bad. This finally ended Page’s destruction by Taker and Kane once and for all I believe.
And a more infamous one at Unforgiven 2001.
WCW Tag Titles: Kronik vs. Undertaker/Kane
Richards is with Kronik here. The brawl starts on the floor and it’s Adams vs. Taker to officially get us going. Off to Kane who still has a bad arm. Off to Clark with Kronik in control now. Big boot gets two. There are a lot of kicks and punches in this. Kane kind of falls down on a neckbreaker….and then a shoulderbreaker. Taker comes in and works on the arm, hitting Old School.
An armbar goes on but Adams breaks it up. Clark sells the arm so he’s up a few steps already. More punches and kicks from Kronik and they’re not clicking at all. Kronik takes over with double teaming and upgrades their offense with a double shoulder block for two. Off to the chinlock with Adams keeping Taker down. Back to Clark but Taker hits a running DDT and there’s the tag to Kane.
He cleans house and a big boot puts both guys down. A side slam to Clark does the same and Kane loads up a chokeslam. Adams makes the save and we get the rare triple clothesline to put everyone down. Taker comes back in and it all breaks down. He sets for a chokeslam on Clark but Richards comes in for the save. Double chokeslam to Taker is broken up and Kane hits his clothesline and a chokeslam ends Clark to keep the titles on the Brothers.
Rating: D-. This match was voted worst match of the year….and I’m really not sure why. Sure it’s bad but I’ve seen FAR worse matches than this before. Kronik looked as limited as you can be and they would be fired soon after this for the match. They needed more seasoning and the offer was to send them to the minors but they refused and were fired because of it. I don’t get why this was blasted so much because it’s not the worst match I’ve ever seen or really even close to it. I’m sure I could find some worse WCW matches.
One more match before a big jump. From Raw on October 22, 2001.
Undertaker/Kane vs. Booker T/Test
Taker and Test start us off and Taker will have none of these punches in the corner. A big boot and a clothesline put Taker down and it’s off to Booker. Side slam and knee drop combine for no cover by Booker. Taker comes back with a clothesline and it’s off to Kane. Booker kicks him down and it’s off to Test. This is your usual power brawl so far. Taker comes in and does his arm lift to Booker but walks into a big boot from the Canadian.
Out to the floor and Booker rams him into the steps. Back in and the beating continues. Yes, Undertaker is actually selling some of this stuff. The ax kick misses and the side kick is caught in a slam move. Double tag brings in Test and Kane with the masked one cleaning house. Kane hits a big boot to both guys but Booker breaks up the chokeslam to Test. Booker and Taker go to the floor as the other two hit big boots at the same time. Chokeslam to Booker and after Taker saves Kane from the pumphandle slam, the Tombstone by Kane pins Test.
Rating: D. The ending was decent but man was the rest of this dull. The match wasn’t bad I guess, but this is the same thing we’ve seen time after time which doesn’t make it interesting. All it does is make it repetitive and clear that they have no idea what to do with these four guys or anyone else they’ve had out there in this position.
The team wouldn’t hook up many more times, so we’ll jump ahead over eleven years to Raw on April 22, 2013.
Undertaker/HELL NO vs. Shield
Surprisingly enough Undertaker comes out first. Shield surrounds him and the fight is on, only to have HELL NO come out for the save. The brawl is on and we take a break before the bell. Bryan and Ambrose start with Dean getting his arm cranked on over and over. Kane comes in and does the same before it’s off to Undertaker to a big pop. Taker works on the arm as well with some driving shoulders before having Old School broken up. Ambrose charges into a boot in the corner and now Old School connects for two more.
Back to Bryan who gets to fight Reigns. After a hard kick in the corner by Daniel it’s off to Kane for an elbow drop for two. Shield finally uses the numbers game to get Kane down in the corner and pound away on him with everyone getting in a shot. Rollins comes in and goes up top, only to jump into an uppercut from Kane. Hot tag brings in Bryan who immediately speeds things up and moonsaults out of the corner.
A clothesline puts Rollins on his knees and there are the NO kicks to the chest and a big one to the head. Rollins is sent to the floor and there’s the suicide dive to take him down. Back in and the missile dropkick puts Rollins into the corner but a running dropkick from Bryan misses. Back with Bryan being hit in the throat by Reigns for two. Off to Rollins as Bryan is in big trouble.
Rollins talks trash so Taker does the throat slit and has a bit of a fit on the apron. Bryan finally gets in a shot on Ambrose and it’s hot tag to Taker. Ambrose gets the Snake Eyes into the big boot and legdrop (brother!) for two. Taker loads up the double chokeslam on Ambrose and Rollins but Reigns spears Taker down for two. Off to Kane for a chokeslam to Ambrose and there’s another hot tag to Bryan. Daniel goes up but gets crotched by Reigns. Bryan still manages to launch the Swan Dive but only hits mat, allowing Ambrose to pin him at 18:58.
Rating: B. Again this was good but it didn’t reach the level that they were shooting for. This was a great moment for Shield though as they get a win over Undertaker which is a big name to add to their list. Odds are they take the tag belts off HELL NO at Extreme Rules, which puts the company in a bind unless they do a triple threat to get the belts off Shield. Anyway, good match here.
The Brothers of Destruction are something like a modern day Hansen/Brody: two unstoppable monsters who destroy everyone they come across, at least in theory. Well ok so Hansen and Brody didn’t light each other on fire but you know they would be up for it if they had the chance. The interesting thing is how infrequently they teamed, especially when they have a DVD about their partnership. They’re fun for a beatdown but I don’t care for them most of the time
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at: