WWE Best Of The Year

[DreamBroken]

After not doing one for 2012, WWE.com brings back their MOTY List with the Top 25 Matches of 2013:

 

Honorable Mentions:

-John Cena vs Mark Henry (Money in the Bank, 7/14/13)

-Jack Swagger vs Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho vs Daniel Bryan vs Kane vs Mark Henry (Elimination Chamber Match) (Elimination Chamber, 2/17/13)

-Dolph Ziggler vs Damien Sandow (Broadway Brawl) (RAW 11/18/13)

 

25. Wade Barrett vs The Miz (RAW, 4/8/13)

24. Kofi Kingston vs Antonio Cesaro (Main Event, 5/1/13)

23. The Shield vs The Usos (Money in the Bank Preshow, 7/14/13)

22. John Cena vs Damien Sandow (RAW, 10/28/13)

21. CM Punk vs Dean Ambrose (RAW, 12/9/13)

20. CM Punk vs Chris Jericho (RAW, 2/4/13)

19. Rob Van Dam vs Chris Jericho (RAW, 7/15/13)

18. Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton (Street Fight) (RAW, 6/24/13)

17. Randy Orton vs John Cena (TLC Match) (TLC, 12/15/13)

16. Triple H vs Brock Lesnar (No Holds Barred Match) (WrestleMania 29, 4/7/13)

15. Alberto Del Rio vs Christian (SummerSlam, 8/18/13)

14. The Undertaker vs Dean Ambrose (Smackdown, 4/26/13)

13. AJ Lee vs Kaitlyn (Payback, 6/16/13)

12. Randy Orton vs Goldust (RAW, 9/9/13)

11. Damien Sandow vs Cody Rhodes vs Jack Swagger vs Antonio Cesaro vs Dean Ambrose vs Fandango vs Wade Barrett (Money in the Bank Match) (Money in the Bank, 7/14/13)

10. Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs The Shield vs The Usos (Hell in a Cell, 10/27/13)

9. Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, & Kane vs The Shield (Smackdown, 6/14/13)

8. Alberto Del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler (Payback, 6/16/13)

7. The Undertaker, Kane, & Daniel Bryan vs The Shield (RAW, 4/22/13)

6. John Cena vs CM Punk (RAW, 2/25/13)

5. Daniel Bryan vs Antonio Cesaro (RAW, 7/22/13)

4. Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs The Shield (Battleground, 10/6/13)

3. The Undertaker vs CM Punk (WrestleMania, 4/7/13)

2. Daniel Bryan vs John Cena (SummerSlam, 8/18/13)

1. Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk (No DQ Match) (SummerSlam, 8/18/13)

 

 

[Brian Fowler]

Going with the Mania HHH/Brock match over the ER one is absurd.

 

But that top ten is a really good collection of matches, even if it's not exactly the same order I would have them in or anything.

[NintendoLogic]

Finally watched Rhodes/Shield from Battleground. From a strictly in-ring standpoint, I didn't think it was any better than the Shield matches we get on Raw every week. But the fact that it provided a truly satisfying payoff to the Rhodes storyline is enough to push it over the top. Here's a question: where does it rank among all tag matches in WWE history? In a way, it's damning with faint praise since WWE has never been known for strong tag team wrestling. But off the top of my head, the only WWE tag I'd definitely place above it is the Kliq tag from Action Zone.

[Sky Blue Sam]

Finally watched Rhodes/Shield from Battleground. From a strictly in-ring standpoint, I didn't think it was any better than the Shield matches we get on Raw every week. But the fact that it provided a truly satisfying payoff to the Rhodes storyline is enough to push it over the top.

This is precisely why I loved the match. It's a massive feelgood moment after weeks of the Rhodes' getting beaten down and belittled. If I was putting it on a comp, I'd need to add a video package and the Rhodes' prematch promo for the context to complete.

[The Natural]

The Natural - Did you just forget about the John Cena Vs. C.M. Punk RAW match from February, or do you not think it's in the top 10? Just curious.

 

I could do with watching it again. The only Cena/Punk match I'd have above it is the Money in the Bank 2011 PPV match.

 

I’ve done a top five WWE Match of the Year list since 2008. With the year the WWE’s had and it isn’t over yet, I’ve expanded it to ten and here it is:

 

1. Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena. WWE SummerSlam, 18th August.

2. Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk. WWE SummerSlam, 18th August.

3. Daniel Bryan vs. Antonio Cesaro. WWE RAW, 22nd July.

4. The Undertaker vs. CM Punk. WWE WrestleMania XXIX, 7th April.

5. The Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio. WWE Smackdown, 11th January.

6. Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio. WWE Payback, 16th June.

7. CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho. WWE Payback, 16th June.

8. Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian. WWE SummerSlam, 18th August.

9. Goldust/Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns. WWE Battleground, 6th October.

10. Kofi Kingston vs. Antonio Cesaro. WWE Main Event, 1st May.

 

With the year the WWE's had, I'm going to add another five matches to the above:

 

11. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker/Kane/Daniel Bryan. WWE RAW, 22nd April.

12. Daniel Bryan, The Usos, Prime Time Players, Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder and Justin Gabriel vs. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns. WWE RAW, 23rd September.

13. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton. WWE RAW, 16th December.

14. Goldust/Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns. WWE RAW, 14th October.

15. Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan. WWE Night of Champions, 15th September.

 

At this point, we need to seriously consider if this was the best in-ring year in WWWF/WWF/WWE history.

 

It's certainly a contender. Which other years are there? 1997 is certainly one, I'm nostalgic towards 1998. Other years: 2000-2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011 without giving it much thought.

 

After not doing one for 2012, WWE.com brings back their MOTY List with the Top 25 Matches of 2013:

 

Honorable Mentions:

-John Cena vs Mark Henry (Money in the Bank, 7/14/13)

-Jack Swagger vs Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho vs Daniel Bryan vs Kane vs Mark Henry (Elimination Chamber Match) (Elimination Chamber, 2/17/13)

-Dolph Ziggler vs Damien Sandow (Broadway Brawl) (RAW 11/18/13)

 

25. Wade Barrett vs The Miz (RAW, 4/8/13)

24. Kofi Kingston vs Antonio Cesaro (Main Event, 5/1/13)

23. The Shield vs The Usos (Money in the Bank Preshow, 7/14/13)

22. John Cena vs Damien Sandow (RAW, 10/28/13)

21. CM Punk vs Dean Ambrose (RAW, 12/9/13)

20. CM Punk vs Chris Jericho (RAW, 2/4/13)

19. Rob Van Dam vs Chris Jericho (RAW, 7/15/13)

18. Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton (Street Fight) (RAW, 6/24/13)

17. Randy Orton vs John Cena (TLC Match) (TLC, 12/15/13)

16. Triple H vs Brock Lesnar (No Holds Barred Match) (WrestleMania 29, 4/7/13)

15. Alberto Del Rio vs Christian (SummerSlam, 8/18/13)

14. The Undertaker vs Dean Ambrose (Smackdown, 4/26/13)

13. AJ Lee vs Kaitlyn (Payback, 6/16/13)

12. Randy Orton vs Goldust (RAW, 9/9/13)

11. Damien Sandow vs Cody Rhodes vs Jack Swagger vs Antonio Cesaro vs Dean Ambrose vs Fandango vs Wade Barrett (Money in the Bank Match) (Money in the Bank, 7/14/13)

10. Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs The Shield vs The Usos (Hell in a Cell, 10/27/13)

9. Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, & Kane vs The Shield (Smackdown, 6/14/13)

8. Alberto Del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler (Payback, 6/16/13)

7. The Undertaker, Kane, & Daniel Bryan vs The Shield (RAW, 4/22/13)

6. John Cena vs CM Punk (RAW, 2/25/13)

5. Daniel Bryan vs Antonio Cesaro (RAW, 7/22/13)

4. Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs The Shield (Battleground, 10/6/13)

3. The Undertaker vs CM Punk (WrestleMania, 4/7/13)

2. Daniel Bryan vs John Cena (SummerSlam, 8/18/13)

1. Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk (No DQ Match) (SummerSlam, 8/18/13)

 

I find it funny wwe.com rightly excludes the 2013 Slammy Award Match of the Year, John Cena vs. The Rock at WrestleMania XXIX. I'd certainly wouldn't have Triple H/Brock Lesnar from WrestleMania XXIX, easily Lesnar's worst match since his WWE return in 2012. I think it's a very good list though I disagree with the order of some matches.

[Niners Fan in CT]

It's not a terrible list..  I do remember one of the AJ vs. Kaitlyn matches being pretty good but I don't remember if it's Payback. There's one where Kaitlyn took some brutal bumps..

[Jrag]

They got the top 2 right!  I love that DB won and all, but I'm honestly surprised so many people here ranked Cena/DB over Punk/Lesnar.  In a truly great in ring year, it's pretty clearly the MOTY to me.

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

Ugh this is gonna sound like trolling but Punk/Lesnar was ruined by the finishing stretch. Brock being beaten down and battered and being saved by Heyman was absolutely ridiculous and took me right out of the match.

[GOTNW]

Going with the Mania HHH/Brock match over the ER one is absurd.

Why? The Mania match was at least an entertaining spotfest, their ER bout was full of "HHH melodramatic epic storytelling" BS, didn't make any sense whatsover and accomplished nothing except further killing Lesnar's heat.

[Greggulator]

That list was actually really good. There was a Bryan/Wade cage match this year on Smackdown, right? That match is the only one I can think of not on there that should be.

[Niners Fan in CT]

 

Going with the Mania HHH/Brock match over the ER one is absurd.

Why? The Mania match was at least an entertaining spotfest, their ER bout was full of "HHH melodramatic epic storytelling" BS, didn't make any sense whatsover and accomplished nothing except further killing Lesnar's heat.

 

 

Didn't Lesnar basically shake off everything and squash Triple H at the end?

[RandomAct]

Fuck if I thought any of the HHH/Lesnar matches were any good at all.  All of them just made Brock look like shit.  Punk and Cena were the only two good matches he's had since the comeback.

[NintendoLogic]

They got the top 2 right!  I love that DB won and all, but I'm honestly surprised so many people here ranked Cena/DB over Punk/Lesnar.  In a truly great in ring year, it's pretty clearly the MOTY to me.

 

I suspect that a lot of it has to do with Bryan beating John Cena clean and winning the big one. If Cena had put on the exact same match move for move with Randy Orton, I doublt it'd be as highly regarded.

[GOTNW]

 

 

Going with the Mania HHH/Brock match over the ER one is absurd.

Why? The Mania match was at least an entertaining spotfest, their ER bout was full of "HHH melodramatic epic storytelling" BS, didn't make any sense whatsover and accomplished nothing except further killing Lesnar's heat.

 

 

Didn't Lesnar basically shake off everything and squash Triple H at the end?

 

If only. Triple H had the match won, then went for the Sledgehammer, then..........something happened, my memory is blank, and Lesnar pulled out the win after hitting the second F5. The visual of Lesnar selling for HHH like he was some sort of War God almost made me blind.

[The Unholy Dragon]

 

They got the top 2 right!  I love that DB won and all, but I'm honestly surprised so many people here ranked Cena/DB over Punk/Lesnar.  In a truly great in ring year, it's pretty clearly the MOTY to me.

 

I suspect that a lot of it has to do with Bryan beating John Cena clean and winning the big one. If Cena had put on the exact same match move for move with Randy Orton, I doublt it'd be as highly regarded.

 

 

Yeah, but character and context matter and Randy Orton has never, will never, and could never have the type of character Bryan had going into Summerslam. 

[Niners Fan in CT]

I don't understand how someone could be pissed at Lesnar selling for Triple H but then watch the match with Punk and not have a similar reaction..

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

I don't understand how someone could be pissed at Lesnar selling for Triple H but then watch the match with Punk and not have a similar reaction..

EXACTLY

[Matt D]

I'd have to rewatch them but I thought the idea was that the narrative of HHH vs Brock was HHH having the advantage for most of the match in a Bill Watts Standing Tall sort of way while Punk got beaten down a lot and basically threw everything he had at Brock. 

 

Very different narratives for the matches.

[SirSmUgly]

I don't know how I would order everything after it, but my favorite WWE match of the year is the Cena/Henry title match. I'm going to do a little writeup to explore why I feel that way just off the top of my head. To be honest, I also need to watch it again because when I first saw it, I was far too busy rooting for Mark Henry and reacting like it was an actual fight: "Watch out for the trip into the STF! WATCH THE TRIP!" I have problems, I guess is what I'm admitting. 

 

John Cena © vs. Mark Henry, WWE Championship Match, Money in the Bank 2013

 

First of all, it feels weird that a former whipping boy like Mark Henry got such a pop coming out first. I know that it is in large part because Henry has improved into being one of the best superheavyweight workers ever and in large part because of the anti-Cena part of the crowd, but it's still weird. Anyway, Henry comes down looking utterly pissed off and focused, which is only second to Henry coming down smiling because he is going to ruin someone's life in a few seconds. Cena coming out with his arms spread and sarcastically remarking "The City of Brotherly Love!" to the camera was genuinely funny too. Then, Cena gets in the ring and Mark Henry talks shit before being backed off by the ref while Cena stares with what could be described as moderate uncertainty, high motivation. So, I already love this match before the bell because everyone looks like they're ready to kill to be champion. 

 

Cena wants to keep the pace up, stick and move, and Henry wants to slow it down, something emphasized by Cena trying to start the match running and getting planted with a knee and a headbutt. Cole helpfully points out this idea on commentary. Cena is bumping and selling like a pro as Henry does basic, cool superheavyweight offense with big headbutts and a running splash in the corner. They go outside kinda early, but Henry front suplexes Cena across the stairs, which was a great spot, so it's okay. Cole trying to sell Henry wanting to destroy Cena early and put this thing away helped put the move outside in context. It also helps that Henry is going for pins off of the more hard-hitting spots. 

 

Anyway, I could watch Henry in control against a good bumper and seller all day. Running splash against the ropes got another audible gasp from the crowd, and Henry again goes for a pin off of it. Cole again emphasizes that Henry knows that Cena will come back on you if you let him in response to Henry cursing once Cena kicks out. I guess they are moving through some of this stuff pretty quickly, but it all fits together on commentary and in what Henry is doing during his control period here to start the match. 

 

Henry fends off the first Cena flurry of the night and hits a giant swing, and the crowd stops with the "Cena Sucks!" chant to chant for Mark Henry because Mark Henry is basically awesomeness personified. Giant swing against the barricade is a sweet spot, though Cesaro has done it better. Cena tries another flurry but gets reversed on a slam where Henry just falls on him. Cena finally gets through by using his speed and agility rather than just relying on strength, and he nicely gets rewarded for doing so by knocking Henry off his feet, but when he goes back to trying pure strength, Henry reverses the AA. I like that the story of this match is "Cena always overpowers other people, but he cannot play the strength game he normally does here, or he will lose." Cena tries brute strength and gets clubbed down. Cena uses speed to counter and then attack (such as off the shoulderblock after ducking a clothesline and turning Henry around or off a tornado DDT counter) and gets rewarded.

 

Cena finally gets Henry down long enough for an AA which is rightfully treated as amazing, but pure strength is not beating Henry, as has been established, and Henry kicks out at two. Cena overacts a smidge as he looks confused, then hopeful that maybe the ref fucked up and it was actually a three count, but it's awesome because here is where Cena really gets it, story-wise, that strength won't get him through this match and he has to use speed, agility, and brains to tie Henry up somehow. Right after this, he goes up top for a crossbody and gets countered into a WSS, but he's still John Cena, dammit! and he has the resiliency to kick out at two. Even if his strength game isn't working tonight, Cena still has heart; you can't club that out of him. 

 

Henry, meanwhile, is losing composure here. With each two count earlier in the match, he got visibly and audibly frustrated, and after only getting two on a WSS, he loses it and rips the cover off of a turnbuckle. Then he decides that this won't be enough and he needs a couple of chairs as well. This distracts the ref, who tosses the chairs out. Meanwhile, Henry rips off another cover in the corner, but Cena drives his head into the corner, having had time to regroup since Henry lost focus, and follows up with a quick STF attempt. Again, this is an awesome sequence to me precisely because Henry's inability to put Cena away takes Henry off his game. He was focused before, stalking Cena and stuffing Cena's attempts to get any offense going for the most part by staying on top of him. At this point, however, his patience has eroded, giving Cena an opening. Cena, for his part, moves with speed and purpose whenever he gets an opening, really driving home that he needs to be purposeful and stay on top of Mark Henry to win this thing. Also, as a nice note, good guy Cena won't break and takes most of the five count to let go of the STF - even Cena isn't above bending the rules to beat a monster like this. 

 

The ending run, I remember not being as big on, but it makes more sense watching it again. At this point, Henry has abandoned his "kill him with power" gameplan and has decided that cheating is the best method.  A low blow doesn't work, but it gives Henry a chance to try for another WSS, and Cena uses speed and agility, not power, to counter and get the winning STF. 

 

Cena came into this match and wrestled it like a dude that had to find something to rely on other than his typical power game, eventually figuring out what he needed to do over the course of the match to survive. Henry came into this match as a guy with a plan to use his awesome power to win, but he simply did not account for Cena's heart, and that caused him to deviate from a gameplan that was working and give Cena enough openings to finally beat him. Awesome story here where you could see the strategy for both guys and how it evolved over the match just like a real fight.

 

Plus this match was mostly Henry in control on offense, which meant a) Henry with his awesome strong man offense, shit talking, and stalking of Cena like a lion stalking an antelope and B) Cena selling and bumping quite awesomely. 

 

I would not call it perfect, and I'm sure people might pick nits about Cena not fully hitting the DDT counter or his STF or what-have-you, but as a story and a match with a bunch of awesome spots, this thing works so well. Definitely, I would say it is the best WWE match this year in my view. It also makes me want to see a Cesaro/Henry feud where they do crazy strongman spots to one another all the time. 

 

EDIT: This was ridiculously long. Sorry about that. I need an editor. 

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

I'd have to rewatch them but I thought the idea was that the narrative of HHH vs Brock was HHH having the advantage for most of the match in a Bill Watts Standing Tall sort of way while Punk got beaten down a lot and basically threw everything he had at Brock. 

 

Very different narratives for the matches.

It was, until the end. But Punk just went full Superman and sold nothing and Heyman had to save Brock like four times. It would have been shat on from a great height if it was Cena. Nuts.

[Jrag]

Can we just kill the "if it was Cena" talking point dead already. Most of us are big fans of Cena's work.

[Matt D]

Yeah, but Punk was sort of allowed to do that at the end since he wasn't going over.

 

Also, admittedly, it drew me in. It's hard to find a structural fault on something which was built in a way that it worked for me. I'm not some kind of massive Punk fan or anything but I bought the underdog story and I bought the beating and I bought the comeback.

[NintendoLogic]

I like how we're all ignoring the fact that Punk needed a weapon to gain the upper hand on Lesnar.

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

A comeback is he tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it didn't really matter.

Not "he whooped on him for ten minutes and Paul Heyman screwed him"

[RandomAct]

Also, heel managers are supposed to cheat.