[MM15] WWE NOMINATIONS

[Greggulator]

PEOPLE I LOVE:

TYLER BREEZE: He has one of the most fun gimmicks in the WWE. He plays it really well out-of-the-ring AND in the ring. He's a great cheap shot artist/coward ("Watch the face!") and I eat that stuff up with a spoon. He had a classic with Sami that he won with a nut shot. He was great in the four-man. He's had so many fun moments. The match against Itami was also really good -- It was an opening match, and they couldn't go as much as they could because there's a whole card of more built-up matches after that. Dude rules. I took crap in the Royal Rumble thread because of this, but whatever. I'll say it again. If he was one of the Japan/indie guys and came in with this gimmick, he'd be way more hyped.

TYSON KIDD: I'm not going to disagree with anyone who thinks he should win this. I'm not kidding, either. He had one of the best stories of the year. I thought he was an absolute snore in previous incarnations. Now he's one of my favorite heels. His stuff about checking on his cats, being a jerk to Nattie, using Nattie for a big win over Sami, Beatz headphones, thanking God, "ASK HIM IN FRENCH!" and a lot more. His tag team with Cesaro feels like it could be the next great tag team. I love, love, love Tyson Kidd. He's one of the best all-around performers in wrestling.

BO DALLAS: I think Bo is my favorite wrestler. He has sneaky good matches. He's not a flashy guy in the ring but he performs his role wonderfully. In NXT, he was the king of using all parts of the ring to his advantage -- a lot of trips off the apron and other things leading to fluke wins. His NXT out-of-the-ring stuff is EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED IN MY LIFE. His attempt to elude Full Sail University campus security is the high-water mark for wrestling comedy of the century. Occupy NXT is also up there. His emotional breakdown during it was such great, great heel work. He fought Mark Henry so he could be crowned "America's Sweetheart." He had one minute of silence to commemorate injured wrestlers. He also does these great subtle things -- I loved how he sold his inner pain and trying to take the high road despite some major self-loathing when Daniel Bryan humiliated him at whatever PPV. Yes. Bo Dallas is my favorite wrestler. If you don't like Bo, than we will forever disagree on why wrestling it the best.

BRAY WYATT: Stop hating. The guy is the best promo in the WWE and has been for a few years now. The Children's Choir is one of the best segments in Raw history and was in April. The Last Man Standing match against Cena was one of the best matches in 2014 and you're all forgetting that Bray ate the ring steps being launched in his face from the ring. Say what you want about Cena winning, but that doesn't take away from an insane brawl to end the feud.There was the final Shield vs. Wyatts classic in May on Raw (that ended via Evolution interference). He had an awesome match against Ambrose on Smackdown in a MITB qualifying match. The MITB match was fun and Bray did a lot of good stuff in it. The Ambrose feud was really great (with some great dueling promos) that had good matches sans exploding television, which isn't Bray's fault. He was the probably the only good part in an otherwise lame Rumble. He's had a really friggin' great year and I have no idea what people who don't like him are thinking.

 

THE VAUDEVILLAINS: One of the most entertaining acts going. They haven't had any WTF THIS IS CLASSIC!!! matches but they've never had a bad match. They've just been consistently good. They're better than any other NXT tag team. I know the NXT tag team division sorta blows, but they're the a really entertaining act (Enzo/Kass are more entertaining) but are better than everyone else in the ring, including the Lucha Dragons.  I like Aiden English more but Gotch is a lot of fun, too.

RUSEV: He might be the most consistent guy on the roster. He just has good matches against everyone. He's kind of like Luke Harper in that aspect -- they're just very good at all aspects of what we love about wrestling. He also has great foreign mad man promos and the best manager going. He and Lana have taken a "Russian invader!" gimmick that could not be more stale on paper but have turned it into something incredibly special. Some of that might be due to foreign affairs and Russia's incursion into Sevestapol but most WWE rubes can't name their governor, so it's more on them.

 

[JRGoldman]

 

THE VAUDEVILLAINS: One of the most entertaining acts going. They haven't had any WTF THIS IS CLASSIC!!! matches but they've never had a bad match. They've just been consistently good. They're better than any other NXT tag team. I know the NXT tag team division sorta blows, but they're the a really entertaining act (Enzo/Kass are more entertaining) but are better than everyone else in the ring, including the Lucha Dragons.  I like Aiden English more but Gotch is a lot of fun, too.

 

 

Not that this is a popularity contest or "who's the most over", but I think it's a major strike against the vaudevillains that they are literally the only act in NXT that isn't over. Like, at all. You can hear a pin drop when they come out. This is a crowd that pops hard for people like Tye Dillinger. The full sail crowd desperately wants to cheer and boo for people, and they don't for these two. I think they have done some entertaining vignettes, but no memorable matches and not being an over act at all is really telling.  

[SirSmUgly]

The Vaudevillains were over, but they changed their entrance theme. I honestly think the change in entrance theme hurt them. The crowd wants to cheer their silly gimmick and they're supposed to be heels, so I get the logic behind the change, but it really hurt them significantly, I think. 

[Goodear]

Maybe I will get everyone's names right this time!

 

Stardust - No Cody is an okay worker in a gimmick that I think he's putting a lot into but its still not connecting on some level.  As a guy who changes gimmicks A LOT and still hasn't found one that really stuck, Cody lacks some of the intangibles that makes a wrestler great.  Nothing in this year makes me think otherwise.  Might make it in based off previous tournaments, don't see getting past the first round.  Also missile dropkick, missile dropkick, missile dropkick.

 

Titus O'Niel - No I can see improvement in Titus and think he shows flashes of good stuff almost every outing.  The issue is he has flashes of no knowing which foot is which every outing as well.  He just seems a step off week in and week out.  The dude has charisma though and is great in backstage segments especially.  Might make it on based on recommendations but I don't see him getting past an upper tier first round opponent.

 

Tyson Kid - Yes Right now if you put Tyson up against Cesaro, I would take Kidd.  FACT.  Seriously though, what a great year for Tyson, who took all that great wrestling stuff people seem to like and adding a significant character.  And boy does he drip with character now.  Only thing really missing for me is an effective finish beyond the Sharpshooter.  Might be a dark horse pick right now for the Elite Eight.

 

Xavier Woods - No Least of the New Day guys and that is saying something.  It's saying, "Don't put me in March Madness."  Not bloody likely for inclusion.

 

NXT reports to come!

[Goodear]

NXT!  NXT!  NXT!

 

Adrian Neville - Yes Great all around package who does so much more than flipping and flopping that it isn't even a valid critique anymore. Just everything he does has so much meaning behind it.  Even the 'pointless' tumble out of the corner feels as though it has some purpose beyond being pretty.  And hell everything he does in the air is so damn pretty.  But add the power and the striking and the drooling starts.  Elite Eight seems about right.

 

Aiden English - No English seems okay enough but his singing bit started to bore after a couple of months and the tag team has lost a lot of momentum.  I don't think there is an English match out there that really stands out even in the tags with Gotch.  I don't know that you can make an argument besides, "I love the gimmick because its keen"  Don't think will make the cut.

 

Baron Corbin - No Guy has potential but not the portfolio to make the field.  Sure as sure, won't be included.

 

Blake & Murphy - No I mean they seem competent enough but there isn't anything there right now to really judge outside of getting squashed and a few uneven as hell matches with the Villains and Dragons.  Unlikely to make the cut.

 

Bull Dempsey - No I find Bull to be competent but not exciting.  One of the guys on Place to Be Nation - Pro Wrestling Only Podcast said he either needs to gain or lose 50 pounds and I can get behind that.  He's not thick enough (like Rusev) to pull off having meat on the bone.  Don't think so. 

 

CJ Parker - No This one actually kind of hurts because I love it when people beat up CJ Parker.  Love it.  Really think in another era, he could be a heck of a manager for a tag team as a mouthy jerk face who scurries and hides a bunch.  But we aren't in that era.  Probably not.

 

Enzo & Big Cass - No Entertaining as hell but I don't think they have the matches to make a case.  Cass is actually better than people think but isn't a super worker by any case.  Enzo is basically a better Rockstar Spud and it would be silly to put that in the tournament.  Ha Ha, I hate Spud.  </trolling Rippa> Don't think there is space for a comedy act at this point.

 

Finn Balor - Yes If we are letting people in with 4 matches, we might as well let people in with 12 (or whatever).  Just imagine I put this same note in front of Itami and Owens.  Seems on the cusp of breaking out to me like Jeff Hardy with better skills and less drug use.  I mean, can Jeff be DOING any more drugs?  What is the deal?  Anyway... Balor to me needs to dial back on the entrance like Ambrose has to dial back the facial expressions, maybe 5% or so.  Other than that, I think the guy is going to break out and I wanna be ahead of the curve.  Sure will get in, might get to round two depending on match ups.  

 

Hideo Itami - Yes Less stand out than Balor who he is going to be tied to for a while due to the back-to-back nature of their entry to NXT.  Lack of a finish is hurting him but when the G2S hits, its going to be electric.  But it actually needs to hit damn it.  Anyway he is going to go in and do okay but won't light the world on fire.  I think he's on the bubble to be honest and might not make the field.  

 

Jason Jordan - No Good tools but no output.  Buddy and Murphy without the push.  Nope.

 

Kalisto - Yes Really carrying the Lucha Dragons because Sin Cara hates his life.  Kalisto at least is interested in what he is doing and has good explosion.  Botches are going to happen with the degree of difficulty he's attempting, but he does a decent job of covering his mistakes.  Good charisma.  Might make it?  I don't sense the same level of hype for the guy as other NXT talent so might not make the cut.

 

Kevin Owens - Yes Great promo, great matches, great presentation.  Maybe not enough output to make a deep run but I don't know that you can keep him out based on that and keep Lesnar in.  Compares favorably to Lesnar in fact on a smaller scale.  Output is an issue and doesn't have the same intangibles to the same levels as Brock so might not make the cut.

 

Marcus Louis - No Great facial expressions as a French snob.  Don't know where we are going with the Hunchback of Notre Dame stuff.  Not going to make the cut.

 

Mojo Rawley - No Underrated because he can breathe and walk at the same time despite his reputation.  Not set up for success in a rare situation for NXT.  Nope.

 

Sami Zayn - Yes Come on now.  Winner, winner chicken dinner.

 

Simon Gotch - No Needed a quick singles run to establish the character before teaming with English.  Now he doesn't have any signature stuff and he should have tons of fun strongman stuff.  But he doesn't have that stuff because he alters what he does too often.  Not going to make it.

 

Sylvester Lefort - No Great scumbag jobber but not featured enough for inclusion.  Not going to make the field.

 

Tye Dillinger - No Nice WCW Worldwide JTTS but doesn't have intangibles to make that connection.  He needs a gimmick to sink into.  NOt going to make the field.

 

Tyler Breeze - Yes  Great character wrestler.  I actually love his squashes because his out-of-nowhere finish will actually come out of nowhere structurally at weird points in the match.  The finish itself is soft but its almost part of the appeal.  I think he might be a dark horse to go deeper than one might expect.

[Cristobal]

Bryan's case for inclusion.

<snip>

February 9 Raw, w/Roman Reigns vs Rollins/Kane/Big Show/Noble/Mercury

 

You are not presenting a very solid case.

Don't like that match? Fine

February 22 Fastlane, vs Roman Reigns. Roman's best singles match ever, and the first time since the Shield breakup that he looked credible as a main eventer.

Anyone else want to argue DB shouldn't be in the tournament?

[MORELOCK]

Anyone else want to argue DB shouldn't be in the tournament?

I wasn't making that argument, but I will now, since you seem so upset: RIPPA has already said Orton will likely be excluded due to excessive time out for injury - Bryan spent quite a bit more time out than Orton.

It's fortunate for your argument that he's a super worker and the Fastlane match was as good as it was (though best singles match of Roman's career means fuck all), but you were still trying to argue that the quality of his year outweighs the time he spent out using that shit handicap match from Raw. It doesn't. He had a bad year and he was injured for a large majority of it.

I'm for excluding him because he's going to make it to the final four based on two WrestleMania matches, and he doesn't deserve it. He should have won last year. He shouldn't be in this year.

[RIPPA]

I feel the need to clarify

When I'm talking my injured/retired/off clause I mean RIGHT NOW

Daniel Bryan (since he is the one coming up the most) has been back 6 weeks at the close of the time period.

Otherwise it would be THE UNDERTAKER WRESTLED ONCE!!! FINALS OR BUST!!!

[Matt D]

How does Hunter fit into that. He probably had the best output of his career with the two six man matches and the WM match. If you said that those were the three best matches of his career, well, there's an argument. 

[RIPPA]

No Trips

No Batista

No Randy Orton

[Matt D]

 

No Trips

No Batista

No Randy Orton

 

 

[Cristobal]

Anyone else want to argue DB shouldn't be in the tournament?

It's fortunate for your argument that he's a super worker and the Fastlane match was as good as it was (though best singles match of Roman's career means fuck all), but you were still trying to argue that the quality of his year outweighs the time he spent out using that shit handicap match from Raw.

And nine other appearances, most matches, all of which you ignored. Yet more proof that there's basically no argument to be made, other than a complete head-in-the-sand assertion that missing X amount of time makes it impossible for someone to have had year worthy of consideration.

[MORELOCK]

No, there's an actual argument for the other matches - but if that handicap match is in his top ten of the voting period, he doesn't even deserve to make it to the first round.

[JCM]

I thought Batista was the best heel of the voting period in WWE. He wasn't half bad once he got in better shape.  Plus dat fashion sense, and flipping fans the bird. 

 

Brock, Owens, and Bryan should all be in. Regardless of if they worked a bunch of paint by numbers tv matches interrupted by 3 commercial or not they are fucking top 10 in WWE guys when they're in the ring. Sasha is too good to be in the women's tourney. Let's make it fair to the other girls, and put her in this one.

[Brian Fowler]

How does Hunter fit into that. He probably had the best output of his career with the two six man matches and the WM match. If you said that those were the three best matches of his career, well, there's an argument. 

 

There is only an argument if all copies of Wrestlemania 27 and Royal Rumble 2000 magically cease to exist.

 

Three of his top five?  I'll listen.

[SirSmUgly]

I like Cactus/Hunter, but HHH/'Taker at WM 27 and 28 were both dreadful and overlong. I guess if you like that WWE Epic style, though, I can dig why you'd like it.

 

Personally, the more I think about it, the more I think that the two Shield 6-mans and versus Bryan at WM are probably HHH's three best matches ever.

 

Actually, thinking about it, HHH, Bray Wyatt (though just out of the voting period), and Roman Reigns have all recently had their best matches of their career with Bryan. Bryan to the Elite Eight! 

[Niners Fan in CT]

Triple H vs. The Rock  Iron Man Match.  By far the best one WWE has ever done.

[Brian Fowler]

I like Cactus/Hunter, but HHH/'Taker at WM 27 and 28 were both dreadful and overlong. I guess if you like that WWE Epic style, though, I can dig why you'd like it.

 

Personally, the more I think about it, the more I think that the two Shield 6-mans and versus Bryan at WM are probably HHH's three best matches ever.

 

Actually, thinking about it, HHH, Bray Wyatt (though just out of the voting period), and Roman Reigns have all recently had their best matches of their career with Bryan. Bryan to the Elite Eight! 

 

I'm not big on the 28 HIAC re-match, outside the last few minutes.  But 27 is, imho, the best WrestleMania match ever.

[SirSmUgly]

I get where you're coming from, Fowler. I like spectacle in my WM matches too. I personally think that Savage/Warrior retirement is the best WM match ever and it also runs on story-driven spectacle in a number of ways. 

[JRGoldman]

I really like the Taker match at 27, but thinking about it I would say it's behind both the Cactus match and the 3 stages of hell match against Austin for stuff he did prior to 2014.

[Raziel]

 

How does Hunter fit into that. He probably had the best output of his career with the two six man matches and the WM match. If you said that those were the three best matches of his career, well, there's an argument. 

 

There is only an argument if all copies of Wrestlemania 27 and Royal Rumble 2000 magically cease to exist.

 

Three of his top five?  I'll listen.

 

Because I just watched it..

 

Fowler, man..

 

The Mania 27 match was hot garbage.