[MM15] WWE NOMINATIONS

[RIPPA]

This thread is for WWE guys - so main roster AND NXT

 

Please don't waste people's times with things like "I think Darren Young should be in it because he is really swell!"

 

Time Period - March 1, 2014 - February 28, 2015

[Dolfan in NYC]

NXT -- Neville & Zayn should both get into the tournament. Having their feud and the amazing matches they've had this last year, yeah, they both deserve it.  I'm thinking that should be it for the minor leagues. 

 

Balor, Owens, and Itami just don't have enough of a sample size yet, though all 3 are incredible.

[Matt D]

Does Owens have enough worthwhile Indy footage? All I've seen from him is the Lawler match.

 

I'm thinking who the hidden C-Show gem might be this year. Would it be Titus? 

[Cristobal]

Balor, Owens, and Itami just don't have enough of a sample size yet, though all 3 are incredible.

Devitt's last feud with Taguchi was mostly in the time period, and KENTA had about a month or two in Noah before he left.

[Jrag]

Quality over quantity.  Owens should be in and Lesnar should win the whole thing.

[The Z]

Does Owens have enough worthwhile Indy footage? All I've seen from him is the Lawler match.

 

He had singles matches against Masato Tanaka, Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles in the time period. Might be worth looking into.

[The Man Known as Dan]

I'll throw in a pretty big list and you guys can come in and say "no, they shouldn't be in" Basically to bring the names up for discussion

Seth Rollins- An obvious call, probably been WWE's MVP week to week over the last 12 months.

Brock- No point going further

Luke Harper- Pretty great year as a tag team guy and a singles guy when given the chance.

Dolph Ziggler- A resurgent year, he's been outstanding in the last 4 months.

Rusev- I'd nominate him for his matches with Big E and Swagger, let alone everything else. The Cena match might be he lynchpin to his chance of going really deep.

Dean Ambrose- Remember when he was one of the hottest acts in the company? Good times.

John Cena- Cena always gets a ton of "he could win the entire thing" hype then gets voted out because he might be good but were tired of seeing him. And this year, there wasn't much I have interest in rewatch from him other then the Brock stuff.

Randy Orton- I actually think Orton had a very solid year between the Evolution/SHIELD feud and some decent follow up stuff.

Batista- I thought Batista was pretty awesome in his stretch from Mania till he left. Feel free to shout me down here.

Roman Reigns- It would feel off if he wasn't in, though I'm not sure how far he can get.

Triple H- As an in ring performer, his hit rate was about as high as Brock's this year.

Daniel Bryan- Not much to base this on, but I feel like he gets included.

J. Uso- Following last years tradition. I think it's easy to forget that the Uso matches in the summer were usually the best thing on the blah PPVs they were running

Paige- If any WWE main show woman should get in, it's her pretty easily

Guys who could be in if others want to get them there

Cesaro, Goldust (I love them both but can't think of any matches from them I loved in the time period), Big E, Swagger, Barrett, Big E, Big Show, Bray Wyatt, Rowan, Ryback, Sheamus.

NXT version

Sami Zayn- What a freaking year he has had.

Adrian Neville- Would it be fair he graduated from entertaining Flippy do to all world overall wrestler? I think he has.

Sasha Banks- Great matches the last two Takeovers. Might be my favorite wrestler in the world right now.

Tyson Kidd- Amazing career reinvention. Went from talented wrestler with no character to a fantastic overall package.

Tyler Breeze- Easy to forget how much he brought early in the year when given the opportunity.

Charlotte- I'm not overly high on her as I am Sasha, but it's really hard to argue with her 4 Takeover match resume from this year.

Kevin Owens- Can't say on his Indy run, but look at his 2 months and change. It's enough to get him in IMO.

Guys I think could be in but I'm not going to go out of my way to argue

Bayley, Barin Corbin, Finn Balor, Hideo Itami, Aiden English/Simon Gotch.

[Matt D]

Cesaro needs to be in for the Sin Cara match from Main Event, the Sheamus fan cam which is one of the best WWE matches of 2014, and some of the tag work with Kidd. I'd have to look at the July match vs Cena. How does that hold up?

 

Goldust has the Usos tags, at least. It wasn't the most spectacular year but he's still so damn good.

[RIPPA]

I am going to say this right now and then you can all yell and then I will have to put him against KENTA again to lose

 

Randy Orton is one of the guys I am considering not putting on under the injured/retired/inactive rule

 

Working house shows ain't gonna get it done and he hasn't had a TV match since the Nov 3 RAW

 

Heck - Brock has only 4 matches during the time period. Might be off too.

 

I AM IN CHARGE~!

[Matt D]

We have been for-jae-ken. 

 

I really wish that the Cena vs Bad News Barrett match from Abu Dhabi had gotten fancammed. I wanted to watch that. I'm not sure Barrett has any case as is. 

[The Man Known as Dan]

In that case, rule out Orton, Batista, Brock, Trips (maybe? Does Sting match change that?) from my list, and also take out Paige, Sasha, and Charlotte on the separate women tournament thing.

That leaves me down to 14 nominations which... Damn.

[Jrag]

If Brock is out this tournament is broken.  I wont be participating.

[The Man Known as Dan]

Just saving you the heartache of Brock being eliminated by a Rollins or somebody I guess. I love Brock to death, but were talking about 2 matches of his that were really great (out of 4, a high percentage make no mistake). I have a hard time seeing Brock over Zayn for instance.

[Jrag]

The best part of this tournament has always been the open-ended criteria.  Do you value mic work over in ring work?  Characters and booking?  The guy who has busted his ass all year or the guy who shows up on the big stage?

 

For me, Brock showing up is about 10 times more exciting than the rest of the roster.  That is a combination of incredible in-ring work, a believable character, great mouthpiece and impressive booking.  This is an all-time great pro wrestling run.  From beating the streak to killing Cena at Summerslam, everything has aligned just about perfectly.  They have created a monster champion that defies WWE logic.

Leaving obvious contenders off the list because they don't fit YOUR criteria is pretty much the exact opposite of how March Madness has always worked.  Run it however you want, but it won't be the same if we go down this road.

[RIPPA]

If I was picking now - Lesnar would be on because he has "intangibles" that others don't.

And I'm not sure how you can argue "open ended criteria" when up until last year it was only guys who worked in the US.

But if I'm infuriating people then I need to add more rules. ONLY ONE PER FED!!!*

* - I'm not actually doing this but consider folks are touchy already, I probably should clarify

[Matt D]

I would actually pick Mizdow for entertainment value over a lot of guys.

 

if Stardust doesn't make the cut, I have to reevaluate my avatars moving forward.

 

Speaking of entertainment value, it's a weird metric because the two most entertaining things WWE has produced all year are:

 

1. Hornswoggle as Tyrion: 

2. Vaudevillians vignette: 

[Cristobal]

So, who are the NXT people that should be on? (To anyone about to say Sasha Banks: Rippa's specifically said that women get their own tourney afterward)

Zayn and Neville are the obvious choices. Breeze seems like he belongs as well. Itami and Bálor have quantity issues, but between the wrap-ups in Japan, and the general good quality of their NXT matches, I think they should be in.

Owens I'm not familiar enough with his recent indy work to say.

I don't think Corbin or Dempsey have either the quantity or the quality to get in.

Anyone else want to take up the cause for Kalisto or Aiden English?

[SirSmUgly]

Just saw Cristobal's post. Nevermind about the women. 

[The Man Known as Dan]

So, who are the NXT people that should be on? (To anyone about to say Sasha Banks: Rippa's specifically said that women get their own tourney afterward)Zayn and Neville are the obvious choices. Breeze seems like he belongs as well. Itami and Bálor have quantity issues, but between the wrap-ups in Japan, and the general good quality of their NXT matches, I think they should be in.Owens I'm not familiar enough with his recent indy work to say.I don't think Corbin or Dempsey have either the quantity or the quality to get in.Anyone else want to take up the cause for Kalisto or Aiden English?

I think the NXT people that have to be there are Zayn, Neville, Breeze, Owens, and Kidd (if you count him) other then that, it's literally just Itami and Balor as potential candidates to me.

[Jrag]

And I'm not sure how you can argue "open ended criteria" when up until last year it was only guys who worked in the US.

 

The voting period should be the only real rule is what I'm saying.  It's completely up to you to make judgement calls on who gets in, but keep in mind that we are all voting for different reasons.  Matt D can think Sheamus deserved to go further because he had 45 *** matches during the voting period last year.  I can think he made it too far because his character was awful and he yelled FELLA before highspots.

 

Time injured/number of matches/currently active are all valid reasons to vote against someone, but I would argue that they are not valid reasons to exclude them from the tournament entirely.  At least as far as potential contenders/favorites are concerned, if they were active in the voting period and have a chance to win, they should be in.

 

 

If I was picking now - Lesnar would be on because he has "intangibles" that others don't.

 

 

I'm back in!

[Cristobal]

So, who are the NXT people that should be on? (To anyone about to say Sasha Banks: Rippa's specifically said that women get their own tourney afterward)Zayn and Neville are the obvious choices. Breeze seems like he belongs as well. Itami and Bálor have quantity issues, but between the wrap-ups in Japan, and the general good quality of their NXT matches, I think they should be in.Owens I'm not familiar enough with his recent indy work to say.I don't think Corbin or Dempsey have either the quantity or the quality to get in.Anyone else want to take up the cause for Kalisto or Aiden English?

I think the NXT people that have to be there are Zayn, Neville, Breeze, Owens, and Kidd (if you count him) other then that, it's literally just Itami and Balor as potential candidates to me.

I wasn't thinking of Kidd as an NXT person right now, (that sounds better than "I totally forgot about Tyson Kidd",) but yeah, I agree he should be in, and his NXT work is probably the biggest part of that.

[Goodear]

Presenting Goodear's WWE/NXT Scouting Report!

 

Bump bump bump!  My suggestion is in bold, my guess as far as possible tournament results is in Italics.

 

Adam Rose - No I think the heel turn has made for some better matches for Rose but he's a mid level talent in the best of cases.  The interactions with the Rosebuds are just needlessly pointless at this juncture and drug his best-of-37 matches with Fandango down.  I don't think I can even make a case for him to be on the bubble.  Highly unlikely to make the field, would most likely lose a play-in game.

 

Ascension - No I figured putting them together would save time.  They have a pretty good match with Itami and Balor and nothing else really to point to other than jobber squashes.  I think Viktor is slightly underrated in that he's not dreadful, but he isn't good either and he's kind of miscast as a monster at his size.  Konnor has never been impressive to me.  Can't see either of them making it.  

 

Bad News Barrett - No Aside from the IC match with Ziggler, Bad News has been on the back burner on a major way.  This is not to say that he isn't talented, but I don't think he's had the year to make a reasonable case for inclusion especially considering the long lay off due to injury.  The gavel banging jerk face was much more entertaining to me than BNZ which is doesn't have the same sense of fun.  Likely to make the tournament, could make the second round if draws well.

 

Big E - No Being saddled in the New Day with the other two hasn't done him any favors.  Like a lot of the roster, he is not performing to his potential likely due to booking issues.  Good suplexes and the spear to the outside of the ring is a great spot, but I don't know that he can tell a story well.  Best argument for him might be a match against Heath Slater on the B Shows where he went heel due to crowd reaction.  I don't see him making it due to a complete lack of momentum.

 

Big Show - No Another sub par year for Big Show after a really good 2012-2013, I think he's been okay performance wise but the constant flip flopping from heel to face has finally killed his heat completely.  I don't think the crowd considers him anything but a journeyman at this point and he's stuck being the Authority's heavy and heading to a feud with Kane no one wants to see.  Could make it based on past years, but I think he would get bounced quickly.

 

Bo Dallas - No This one hurts because I love me some Bo but his character doesn't lend itself well to good matches which would cripple him in this setting.  I think his stuff is really, really fun in both the WWE and NXT setting with him knocking El Torrito down during his victory lap being one of the best GIFs of the year.  Missing the time just when he was going into a feud with Swagger doesn't help him either.  Seems unlikely to make the field.

 

Bray Wyatt - No I don't think Bray is great in ring and the bloom is kind of off the character without Harper and Rowan being around.  I don't know that he has any matches during this period that will make anyone remember his Royal Rumble performance with Bryan or the Elimination Chamber six man.  He's just not the same guy anymore as much as I want him to be.  He totally needs a Family just like Raven needed the Flock, otherwise the character loses its gravitas. Think will make the field, won't go deep this year.   

 

Brock Lesnar - No He worked 4 matches.  Sorry, I don't think four matches is enough. He will make the field and may go to the sweet 16 but as soon as he runs up against someone with consistent excellence, he's going to lose the same case he's lost the last two years.  Simply put, he doesn't perform enough to be the elite of the elite.

 

Cesaro - Yes Way under-performed this period in comparison to last but I don't think we can discount the physical tools that go into the toolbox.  I don't even really have a strong case for his inclusion, I just think cutting him off the tournament despite being healthy all year after winning seems ... unseemly?  Like we are blaming him for booking that didn't capitalize on his momentum.  By the same token, he didn't stand out like he did last year despite similar card position.  He'll go deep due to board buy-in but I think he might get knocked out 'early' in the Elite 8 to someone like Nakamura, Styles or Zayn.

 

Curtis Axel - Yes I have a much higher opinion of Axel than most and would find a spot for him in the last ten slots in the tournament.  I realize his deficits in charisma and believe that he would be best served in a tag team.  That being said, he spent a good deal of time in Rybaxel this past year and did well in that midcard role.  He's offense is a little lacking in oomph but I particularly like his couple of forearm spots.  Not likely to be included, wouldn't get past the first round if he got the chance.

 

Damien Mizdow - No Just a comedy bit player that hides the fact he isn't that great to begin with.  Matt D nailed down that he's really just a distraction to the actual action taking place in the ring while he mugs for the crowd.  He's not really impressive in any other way.  On the bubble for inclusion, not likely to get past the first round.

 

Daniel Bryan - Yes Seems like a no brainer considering the Wrestlemania performance but what else does he really have during this period to hang his hat on other than being over?  That being said, I can't see cutting him off the roster for March Madness.  Likely into the final four at a minimum but the long injury recovery period is going to hurt him against top four competition, he may actually go out earlier if he runs into the wrong guy.  This was not a good year for the Goat.

 

Darren Young - No Lost time due to injury, doesn't really light the world on fire when he was around.  Showed some decent fire against Titus after the turn but that seems like an isolated incident.  Not going to be included.

 

Dean Ambrose - Yes Pretty good year with the series against Rollins in his pocket and the Barrett feud is a good step forward for him.  The series with Bray did him no favors and came at the exact wrong time but the character work is so good you guys.  If only he could dial it back maybe 5% so he wasn't making so many funny faces.  I could see him getting to the sweet sixteen or the elite eight but I can't see him getting any farther.

 

Dolph Ziggler - Yes Sadly didn't take the second step after the big first one at Survivor Series.  The guy just can't catch the big break.  Regardless I think his TV matches were solid with Rollins being the stand out and the PPV ladder match with Harper being his best example for good solo work.   Second round bow out for Ziggy, the guy never slows down enough to make things matter.  He's just never going to get the head for the game.

 

Erick Rowan - No I really think he's exposed as a singles guy and isn't suited to being a face with his current experience level.  He could really benefit from being back in the Wyatt fold but I'm not telling you anything Sean O'Haire wouldn't know.  He's just not ready to be working underneath yet.  Unlikely for inclusion.

 

Fandango - No The 'new improved' Fandango is not an improvement since the parts of the act that worked (the music and Summer Rae) have been changed for less effective pieces.  Fandango is also best served as a creep weirdo but you have to admit the guy puts everything he has into this dead end gimmick.  Don't see him getting added unless there is some mystery great Main Event or Superstars series that I haven't seen.

 

Goldust - Yes Not as good as last year with the heel turn doing nothing for him or his brother.  It hurts him not to be able to work underneath or be the hot tag.  That being said he's such a good worker that he can't not make the field, that would just be silly.  Elite eight might be the cap to his run this year since it was a down year for him. The board has enough positive feelings toward Dustin to push him beyond where he might have earned this year.

 

Heath Slater - Maybe? Heath seems to me to be a 63-64 slot contender with good matches and no push whatsoever especially on the B-shows.  I don't know that he has a champion on the board to push him that hard who also can make the case against the other contenders for that spot in other promotions.  I kind of doubt he will get in, wouldn't make it past the first round unless facing Davey Richards.

 

Special Out of Alphabetical Order Because I Don't want to forget to make this joooooooke....

 

Stardust - No Missile Dropkick facial expressions are lacking.  

 

I will give the rest of my thoughts in a bit.  Because ... sleepy.

[Raziel]

Yeah, no way in hell should Daniel Bryan be in the tourny.  Not enough work.

[Matt D]

More matches than Brock including Triple H's career best match and one of the best Mania main events of all time? I don't know. Let's see how Sunday goes. The Tag Team Turmoil match was pretty boss.

[Raziel]

He was also out 8 months of the voting period.  I'm not behind Brock either, but there are guys who weren't out the whole year who should be in.  Let's look at work and not at the current darling.

 

Orton's under the injury clause, and he's not been out near as long.