Best Of The Year 2014

[Greggulator]

BO DALLAS vs. ADRIAN NEVILLE from this week's NXT was great. It wasn't as good as Zayn/Cesaro from Arrival and probably not as good as Emma vs. Paige but this was fantastic. This had such a cool story, with both guys knowing each other so well, with a lot of good counters and fake-outs. Bo is terrific as a conniving jerk who knows where he is at all times and how to use that to his advantage. He holds ropes for a two-count, makes the ref back off on a count-out in order to hit a nasty lariat, etc. Neville's an absolute athletic freak in this and knows how Bo operates.

Neville wins the match by hitting a move he never did before -- an inward 450 from the top that I think he ganked from Aerostar.

Really good, fun match. Bo's outstanding in his character and really knows how to work it. Neville doesn't have those chops but is so overwhelmingly athletic and graceful.

[Greggulator]

REAL AMERICANS vs. BROTHERHOOD, Main Event, 3/18 - Oh man is this fun. This is just nothing fancy tag team wrestling. I love the Brotherhood's aerial doubleteam where Goldy does the apron flip while Cody does his dive to the floor. Cesaro has a nutty strength spot catching Dustin into a slam of sorts. Cesaro eats the frankesteiner from the ropes like a champ. Swagger has a hilarious evil laugh when Goldy starts working for the hot tag. Cody has some AWESOME apron work before Cesaro crushes him with a boot. The end sequence is fantastic. Swagger reverses a Disaster Kick into an insane looking Patriot Lock. Cody is working for the ropes and Cesaro MOVES THE ROPES BACK until Dustin catches him from the side, resulting in a Cross Rhodes onto Swagger.

This was a really great hidden Main Event gem.

[KidKash202]

So are we counting NXT matches or no?

[EricR]

NXT should definitely count.

 

And I second the love for that 3/18 tag. This is the greatest year for WWE tag wrestling since I can't remember when. There's been twice as many great tags as great singles matches. 

[The Natural]

So are we counting NXT matches or no?

 

Though no NXT matches are on my list, I count them. Did last year as well.

[KidKash202]

Been trying to get a female friend into <Lex Luger> our great sport! </Lex Luger>

 

That 6 man Waytt/Shield match should do the trick right? From the last PPV

[Greggulator]

SAMI ZAYN VS. COREY GRAVES, NXT -- This is a secret gem of a match. It's a great coming out party for Corey Graves, who has followed the Bo Dallas career arc of going from unlikable babyface to great heel. But unlike Bo Dallas, Corey's a HEEL. He gives the fans absolutely nothing to like at all and is just a contemptible human being in all aspects.

This was set up a few weeks ago when Corey Graves lured Sami Zayn into a trap and smashed his head into the corner. Sami had concussion-like symptoms from it and barely cleared the doctor's tests to have this match. It starts off great, with Graves doing some Zbysco stalls in order to lure Sami to the floor, like he did against Yoshi Tatsu a few weeks back. But Sami's ready for it, gets control and hits his great dive to the floor. Sami's a house on fire but Graves hits a cheapshot knee when on the apron to Sami's skull.

The rest of the match is built around Graves hitting strikes to Sami's skull and doing head-based submission stuff, mostly a reverse chinlock. Graves adds some street punch cheap b.s. in this with face rakes and the like. Sami has great comeback spots but Graves can cut him off with his strikes. Sami has to go for some big bombs to win the match and Graves sells these like a champ but escapes every time. Sami's going to the top for a big move but can't make it because he's probably concussed. Graves ends the match by hitting his Lucky 13 finisher with Sami knocked out cold.

 

The ref was fantastic in this. So much of the match was him checking on Sami's condition. But he never distracted from the match itself. It's great usage of the ref heightening the story of a match.

This reminds me a lot of that Masters vs. Drew Cassidy match from a few years ago. It's just great face vs. heel stuff. It's nowhere near the top of the MOTY list but just a very good, simple match that follows a time-honored wrestling storyline. Sami sells better than anyone in the WWE, Graves is a total jerk prick heel and it's gold.

[The Natural]

I'm thinking if Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H and Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan from WrestleMania XXX will place in my top ten and if so...where.

[Greggulator]

Bryan vs. HHH is my third match of the year so far. The only two ahead are the EC match and Bryan vs. Bray at the Rumble. I could see me correcting that, though, and placing Bryan vs. HHH at my number two. Just awesome dickery from HHH who wrestled so completely different from he ever has before. A supremely impressive performance. I think, though, Bryan vs. Bray was a bit more hate-filled.

The WM Triple Threat match was also really good. It was really great but, obviously, it plodded at times when Bryan was sitting out. But Bryan eliminating The Authority from interfering and then coming back from the stretcher job were both really incredible moments.

[The Natural]

Bryan vs. HHH is my third match of the year so far. The only two ahead are the EC match and Bryan vs. Bray at the Rumble. I could see me correcting that, though, and placing Bryan vs. HHH at my number two. Just awesome dickery from HHH who wrestled so completely different from he ever has before. A supremely impressive performance. I think, though, Bryan vs. Bray was a bit more hate-filled.

The WM Triple Threat match was also really good. It was really great but, obviously, it plodded at times when Bryan was sitting out. But Bryan eliminating The Authority from interfering and then coming back from the stretcher job were both really incredible moments.

 

Interesting reading your thoughts. Bryan vs. Triple H wouldn't crack my top three, it's looking down from that. The advantage the WM Triple Threat match has with me is that it was better than I expected it to be, the interference/stretcher jobs/false finishes helped the match and I had an emotional stake in it because of Daniel Bryan.

[Big Fresh]

 

Bryan vs. HHH is my third match of the year so far. The only two ahead are the EC match and Bryan vs. Bray at the Rumble. I could see me correcting that, though, and placing Bryan vs. HHH at my number two. Just awesome dickery from HHH who wrestled so completely different from he ever has before. A supremely impressive performance. I think, though, Bryan vs. Bray was a bit more hate-filled.

The WM Triple Threat match was also really good. It was really great but, obviously, it plodded at times when Bryan was sitting out. But Bryan eliminating The Authority from interfering and then coming back from the stretcher job were both really incredible moments.

 

Interesting reading your thoughts. Bryan vs. Triple H wouldn't crack my top three, it's looking down from that. The advantage the WM Triple Threat match has with me is that it was better than I expected it to be, the interference/stretcher jobs/false finishes helped the match and I had an emotional stake in it because of Daniel Bryan.

 

 

But no Tiger Suplexes.

[Greggulator]

 

Bryan vs. HHH is my third match of the year so far. The only two ahead are the EC match and Bryan vs. Bray at the Rumble. I could see me correcting that, though, and placing Bryan vs. HHH at my number two. Just awesome dickery from HHH who wrestled so completely different from he ever has before. A supremely impressive performance. I think, though, Bryan vs. Bray was a bit more hate-filled.

The WM Triple Threat match was also really good. It was really great but, obviously, it plodded at times when Bryan was sitting out. But Bryan eliminating The Authority from interfering and then coming back from the stretcher job were both really incredible moments.

 

Interesting reading your thoughts. Bryan vs. Triple H wouldn't crack my top three, it's looking down from that. The advantage the WM Triple Threat match has with me is that it was better than I expected it to be, the interference/stretcher jobs/false finishes helped the match and I had an emotional stake in it because of Daniel Bryan.

 

 

I am a total mark for when past stories tie into current matches. My favorite match from 2013 was when The Rhodes Boys beat The Shield to win the belts on that Raw. That was because The Big Show got comeuppance against The Authority after months of tormenting him -- and helping Dusty's kids, who he was forced to puch, at once, all while surrounded by the YES! chants since Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority enveloped all of that. That's months of storytelling tied into one match, which was fantastic.

We got a measure of that with Scott Armstrong's reappearance as a really fun plot point in the match. But it didn't decide the match.

HHH gets some major points for me for doing Tiger Suplexes and stuff like that. He really broke out some strategy to destroy Bryan's shoulder. Anytime anyone reinvents himself like that for a match is awesome. It also never felt like it was a slow-paced HHH affair. I really like HHH and don't hate him like everyone else who has ever used their fingers to type about wrestling. But my thing about him is that he can be sooooooo plodding. He also wrestled this without sledgehammers and the bells-and-whistles.

I still think Bray vs. Bryan. The Sister Abigail into the ring railing is so friggin' awesome. That's an all-time great end to a match.

[JRGoldman]

The HHH/Bryan match was like watching Harley Race wrestle Johnny Saint after you gave them a bunch of red bulls and some All Japan DVDs. There are probably matches at the end of the year I'll end up liking better, but I'm sure this one will still stand out. It's rare that an opening match can make such a clear 'we aren't fucking around' statement and have that statement set the tone for the rest of the evening.

[Go2Sleep]

Added:

 

Bryan vs. HHH (Wrestlemania) and Shield vs. Wyatts (Main Event)

[The Natural]

Update:

 

1. Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper/Erick Rowan vs. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns. WWE Elimination Chamber, 23rd February.

2. Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan. WWE Royal Rumble, 26th January.

3. Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper/Erick Rowan vs. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns. WWE RAW, 3rd March.

4. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper/Erick Rowan. WWE Main Event, 8th April.

5. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista. WWE WrestleMania XXX, 6th April.

6. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H. WWE WrestleMania XXX, 6th April.

7. John Cena vs. Cesaro. WWE RAW, 17th February.

8. John Cena vs. Luke Harper. WWE RAW, 24th March.

9. Cesaro vs. Randy Orton. WWE Smackdown, 14th February.

10. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton. WWE RAW, 3rd February.

 

Added:

 

Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper/Erick Rowan. WWE Main Event, 8th April.

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista. WWE WrestleMania XXX, 6th April.

Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H. WWE WrestleMania XXX, 6th April.

[Hokuto in Winter]

SAMI ZAYN VS. COREY GRAVES, NXT -- This is a secret gem of a match. It's a great coming out party for Corey Graves, who has followed the Bo Dallas career arc of going from unlikable babyface to great heel. But unlike Bo Dallas, Corey's a HEEL. He gives the fans absolutely nothing to like at all and is just a contemptible human being in all aspects.

 

I like this more than Cesaro Vs. Sami Zayn. Great psychology. Unique feel. Very underrated.

[AND THE BEAT GOES ON!]

The thing with Bryan-HHH is the All Japan-ness of it runs deeper than the incidental use of the Tiger Suplex and Bryan falling to his knees in Pedigree/Tiger Driver position. It's impossible to know who and want went into the preparation for the match but it's hard to envisage that they weren't intentionally trying to build an ace vs ace pass the torch match in the style of Misawa-Kobashi in 2003 in some way.

I'm not going to make any comparison of the historical worth of this compared to King's Road classics but I would say that I've soured a lot on the constant head dropping of that style over time and that this match told the story within much less brutal, life shortening confines.

The way it hybridised with American style so that H was simultaneously working over as the heel and the bigger of the two, and under in the sense that Bryan's offence counted for more and he needed less to mount comebacks, created a dynamic I can't really see in quite the same way in any other match. H was simultaneously the to-be-overthrown ace and the gaijin monster. It was truly innovative and I would love to see this become a Big Match template for WWE.

A criticism that came up in March Madness was that Bryan gets too much offense for his size and I don't think that was a problem here - it was pretty expertly balanced between him being dominated but getting his shots in and always believably having a shot at winning

That pretty much went out of the window in the main event and I did lose suspension of disbelief a bit there, but that was a different match telling a different story.

[Greggulator]

ADDING:

Jason Jordan/Ty Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin and Sawyer Fulton, NXT. 

Man, this is such a sleeper of a match. In the hands of well-established teams, it's a solid affair -- an enjoyable stretch of wrestling, but nothing that would really make you think "Oh, this is a friggin' classic." But some context really adds to the match -- this is the first time these teams have tagged together and also the first time any of these guys was allowed to really put on an actually competitive match. I'm a big NXT fan and I can't remember anything these guys have done. But this is just textbook Southern tag team wrestling done competently well between four guys without a ton of experience. Jason Jordan has some really fun babyface fire and a terrific dropkick. Baron Corbin's lariat to Dillinger was nasty. Ty Dillinger sold his ass off in the Ricky Morton role, leading to a very well-done hot tag. Sawyer Fulton was a good tough guy. Both teams also had some good double-team moves and sequences.

Man, the WWE Developmental system is incredible. I'm guessing these guys have worked this match a bunch off-camera in front of agents and whoever. But this didn't feel rehearsed at all. Kudos to everyone.

ADRIAN NEVILLE VS. BRODUS CLAY -- Another sleeper and a very good match. This is a poor man's Sting vs. Vader. I mean, it's a very poor man's Sting vs. Vader but definitely worth watching. Brodus looked like an absolute beast in this, with some nasty offense -- he busted out a HEART PUNCH for a near fall -- and taunting and the like. Neville started off on fire but struggled to get Brodus off the floor so he could fly. Brodus whiffed on two powerbomb attempts that could have won him the title. Neville FINALLY got the big man down and went for The Red Arrow but Clay rolled out. The end came on the floor, where Brodus bodyslammed Neville and went on the apron for a splash. He gave up trying to win this match and more wanted to destroy the champ and pick the bones at a later date. But Neville dodged Clay and survived by rolling in to beat the count. He looked really strong in doing so and this was the best Clay ever looked.

[JRGoldman]

As I said in the nxt thread, I really loved the tag match Gregg just nominated, because it does such a great job playing against type. A new team comes out in matching gear and the announce team is spitting hot fire about this team. We are clearly supposed to love this new tag team. Their opponents are already in the ring and already I'm zoning out in preparation for a face squash to build up a credible challenge to The Ascension. Really it is pretty paint by numbers until Corbin hits that lariat, which was so good I followed him on twitter. I legitimately cannot remember a match that did such a good job playing on viewer expectations. The fact that Jordan/Dillinger won just cements them as a team coming in to their own that can already over come the odds. The sky is the limit for them. The bigger story was Corbin and Sawyer, who really got over as more of a threat than anyone would've originally thought. One ten minute match got four guys over as teams and individual personalities. Just fantastic tv and storytelling.

If this were a voting thing, I would vote no on the Clay/Neville match. It wasn't even the best big/little match on a show that featured a Khali match! Everything Clay did in that match looked as though he was afraid to hurt a smaller man. He pulls every punch like he's play fighting with a child. This is a problem when the whole match is built upon Clay wanting to not just win a title and work his way back, but also to hurt his opponent in such a way as to prove he is a killer and not a dancing fat man. Also, I shouldn't count this against the match itself, but when Neville wears the belt around his waist he looks like a child wearing his daddy's shoes.

[Big Rob]

They ran that tag team match at the one Axxess session that I went to and it was pretty damn good there too, quite a bit longer too. In particular, Dillinger and Jordan looked fantastic and are blatently going to get the belts at some point. The heels looked fine, but were working an "arguing partners" gimmick. They were no doubt trying out a bunch of different characters and gimmicks that weekend though to show their range. Big Cass worked heel and face in different matches but during the same Axxess session.

[Cristobal]

Also, I shouldn't count this against the match itself, but when Neville wears the belt around his waist he looks like a child wearing his daddy's shoes.

Either fix the strap in the back so it's not hanging loose or just carry the damn thing on your shoulder.

[Greggulator]

SHEAMUS VS. WADE BARRETT -- This match was so, so, so good. Both dudes pulled out all the stops (Sheamus diving to the floor!) and beat the absolute piss out of each other. Wade's about to get the Bullhammer over as one of the great finishers in the league. The end spot was awesome, when he went out to the floor and duped Sheamus to go through the ropes and crushed him with an elbow to the dome to get the somewhat shocking win. When Wade debuted with the Nexus, he was absolutely awesome on the stick but still obviously trying to figure it out in the ring (which they incorporated into the story -- he forced Cena and his minions to do his bidding because he knew he likely couldn't get the job done on his own). He's had fits-and-starts in his pushes since then (getting injured before a big WM for him). But now it's all coming together. He has a really fun character and has figured out his in-ring style and now has a great "out of nowhere" finisher that doesn't require a lot of set-up and is easy to dodge/counter for some great sequences. Sheamus is also a terrific hand -- he can get a great 20-minute match pretty much anytime he wants, although his character friggin' blows. But this will likely be the Match of the Week and any Match of the Week in the WWE right now is a keeper.

[Sky Blue Sam]

Really liked the NXT tag match, loved that massive lariat from Corbin that nearly took Dillinger's head off. I was always quite impressed with Dillinger in his OVW and WWECW days, glad to see him getting another shot. That little sequence with Corbin when Corbin caught the boot when jumping from the top rope was pretty nice.

[Greggulator]

THE USOS AND SAMI ZAYN VS. THE ASCENSION AND COREY GRAVES, NXT -- This was a super fun six-man and right out of the template that has made the WWE's past two years absolutely fantastic. The Usos and Sami are an awesome babyface pairing. The beginning of the match is textbook tag wrestling -- babyfaces win early exchanges, heels gain advantage and bust out cheapshots and nasty moves, etc. The hot tag sequence is absolutely great, with some fun rolls and cagey dodges from the best tag team in the world. The end spot/dive sequence is so much fun, too. This is a keeper of a match and one of my favorite NXT matches of the year.

[Web Conn]

Both of Daniel Bryans Wrestlemania matches were full of so much emotion and the fans were at the ege of there seats the whole time waiting for Daniel Bryan to win. Intodyas smart crowd world its refreshing that both matches had a certain sense of uncertainty that is missing from todays current scene. I nominate both for those reasons alone and for both Trips and Batista putting Bryan over.