Jump to content
DVDVR Message Board

Best WWE Matches 2015


Go2Sleep

Recommended Posts

The Cenacanrana had already been done a half dozen times by then. He's been sprinkling that stuff in big matches for years. Back then it was more of a "Digging deep against a tough opponent." deal though.

Night of Champions 2012 was great but they nerfed way too many finishers and had a finishing sequence that ran too long. MITB 2011 had a pretty perfectly paced endrun and built to the finish better. I can see the argument for NoC being better but I don't agree with it. That said, I'd put it at second best for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now I need to go back through the Punk/Cena stuff. For me, the MITB match wins out based on the crowd. Unbelievable heat that night. Seriously one of the most rabid houses in the modern era of wrestling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

4) RAW 2013 - #1 Contender for Mania 29 (I was not a fan of this one at all. People got too hung up on OMG PILEDRIVER)

I'm not gonna argue the merits of the match, (other than to say you're wrong and probably a terrible person,) but I think it's interesting how historically significant the match ended up being.

Last match between the two, of course, but it was the last whiff Punk ever had of the main event. (I know he main evented some Raws and SmackDowns after, but CM Punk: top guy was done.)

I'd argue that more significant than the piledriver was Cena's (terrible) hurricanrana. In hindsight, it was a precursor to Cena's "bust out a bunch of new moves" trend.

 

 

I admittedly should probably watch the match again. I think that RAW is still on the Network, but I thought the first 10 minutes or so of the match was kind of clunky and they stumbled through parts of it, and the finishing sequence was hot because they pushed close to the 25 - 30 minute range, which is rare for RAW and as you said is kind of a precursor to the MOVES era we are in now with Cena/Owens and Cena/Rollins. You're right that the match is significant in that way, but Punk was already also admittedly bitter and burned out by the company at that point. If you think about it, he really only has two other stand out performances that year (1, getting a great performance out of a broken down Taker and 2, his match of the year with Lesnar). 

 

Without having seen the Summerslam match in a very long time, I would still argue that the RAW match is the weakest of their major matches (unless you count RAW 1000 and Punk's heel turn as a major match).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MITB launched Punk into the stratosphere. The Pipe Bomb and that match (with an all-time crowd) actually made some outside wrestling press and had a huge buzz. Punk had a huge title runs and a Lesnar feud. And a Taker WrestleMania match.

That match made Punk 1A behind Cena. I get if "technically better" matches mean more to you. But historic importance and a bigger picture means more to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not saying that this is my list (it probably isn't), but I do think it's crazy that I could make an argument for Sasha to be my top 3 matches of 2015 in WWE.

 

1. Sasha vs. Bayley - Brooklyn

2. Sasha vs. Becky 

3. Sasha vs. Bayley - Ironwoman

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Naturally (no pun intended!), Bayley vs. Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Respect will make my Overall and TV Match of the Year lists. I'm just trying to decide whether I preferred the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn match or this one at NXT TakeOver: Respect. How about all of you?

 

Personally I thought the Brooklyn match was much better. I thought it flowed better, had more at stake, and a better atmosphere. They had some good ideas in the Ironman match but their execution was a few notches below the heights they reached in Brooklyn.

 

 

Thank you.

 

All:

 

1. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins. WWE WrestleMania XXXI, 29th March.

2. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins. WWE Royal Rumble, 25th January.

3. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. NXT TakeOver: Respect, 7th October.

4. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, 22nd August.

5. The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar. WWE SummerSlam, 23rd August.

 

TV:

 

1. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. NXT TakeOver: Respect, 7th October.

2. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, 22nd August.

3. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch. NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, 20th May.

4. Seth Rollins vs. Neville. WWE RAW, 3rd August.

5. Rusev vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens. WWE RAW, 13th July.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

OK, did some more watching and re-watching before the NXT London PPV, which I assume will be the last WWE-affiliated show this year to land any matches on my list, and I have a few changes. I'm also extending it to top ten. Not that anyone cares. 

 

I still need to get back to that Shield project I wanted to do, but which was slowed by life happening, but man, do I want to spend part of my vacation this month writing reviews of each match that hits my list. 

 

1. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn)

2. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks (NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable)

3. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (NXT Takeover: Respect)

4. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (Royal Rumble)

5. The New Day vs. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro, Best Two-out-of-Three Falls (Payback)

6. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte (NXT TakeOver: Rival),

7. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable vs. Rhyno and Baron Corbin (NXT Takeover: Respect)

8. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: Rival)

9. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte (NXT, 7/15/15)

10. Prime Time Players vs. The New Day (Battleground)

 

Honorable mentions include:

Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan (FastLane)

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (vs. Seth Rollins) (WrestleMania)

Rusev vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens (RAW, 7/13/15)

Kevin Owens vs. John Cena (Elimination Chamber) 

The Vaudevillains vs. Blake and Murphy (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn)

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tyler Breeze (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn)

Kevin Owens vs. Adrian Neville (NXT, 2/18/15)

Cesaro vs. Sin Cara (Main Event, 2/14/15)

Kevin Owens vs. Finn Bálor (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn)

 

The only stuff that has really moved down for me in retrospect is the Owens/Cena stuff, but I'm probably just overloaded on Cena working every match like it's on a BOLA show. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That probably is true, but I've probably also underrated some WWE stuff, especially stuff that I gave short shrift to on the B-shows. I find that I am especially susceptible to being harder on the work from a cold promotion and being easier on the work from a hot promotion. It's odd, because if I'm looking back in time at a cold promotion, I can find the good in it fairly easily, but in the present time, it's hard for me to do that with main-roster WWE shows.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Barring any surprise matches in the last two weeks of the year, my (probably) finalized list:

 

 

1. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn)

2. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks (NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable)

3. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (NXT Takeover: Respect)

4. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (Royal Rumble)

5. The New Day vs. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro, Best Two-out-of-Three Falls (Payback)

6. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte (NXT TakeOver: Rival),

7. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable vs. Rhyno and Baron Corbin (NXT Takeover: Respect)

8. The New Day vs. The Lucha Dragons vs. The Usos (TLC)

9. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: Rival)

10. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte (NXT, 7/15/15)

 

Honorable mentions include:

Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan (FastLane)

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (vs. Seth Rollins) (WrestleMania)

Rusev vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens (RAW, 7/13/15)

Kevin Owens vs. John Cena (Elimination Chamber) 

Prime Time Players vs. The New Day (Battleground)

The Vaudevillains vs. Blake and Murphy (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn)

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tyler Breeze (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn)

Kevin Owens vs. Adrian Neville (NXT, 2/18/15)

Cesaro vs. Sin Cara (Main Event, 2/14/15)

Kevin Owens vs. Finn Bálor (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn)

Emma vs. Asuka (NXT Takeover: London)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania)

2. Bayley vs Sasha Banks (TakeOver: Brooklyn) 

3. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins (Royal Rumble)

4. Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch (TakeOver: Unstoppable) 

 

My top four was easy and is pretty much set in stone. From there, I've got no shortage of stuff to rewatch.

 

New Day will likely be on my top ten the list at some point. Their bouts with Cesaro/Kidd and the four way at SummerSlam will get another look.

 

I remember Reigns having scorchers at Fastlane, Extreme Rules, and Battleground. One of those is likely to make the cut.

 

Sasha's had other excellent work this year which necessitates a rewatch. Bayley's redemption story is also calling to me.

 

Rusev vs Cesaro vs Owens and Owens vs Ziggler vs Roman vs ADR were both better than they had any right to be.

 

I'm lukewarm on Workrate God John Cena, but his bouts with Cesaro and Owens will get another look from me.

 

Speaking of Owens, his match with Zayn at Rival is pretty much a lock to make my top ten the list. It's just a matter of how high. The matches with Balor were also quite good.

 

Might just be the fact that they're the hot new team, but I'm definitely feeling McUgly's pick of Jordan/Gable vs Rhyno/Corbin.

 

Pretty good year one you wade through the shit. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My top is Bayley/Sasha Iron Man, then Brooklyn right behind it. The Rumble three-way and then... Fuck, Sasha/Becky? Cena/Owens II? Bayley/Jax? Brock/Reigns/Rollins? Bryan/Reigns?

I have no clue what order to put those in, but those are the ones that stand out right now today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Smelly McUgly, good list until the TLC mention. I guess this really comes down to how a person likes his/her ladder matches, because I the majority of it didn't make sense and at times it was more important for the guys to get the stunts in vs. actually trying to win the match. I feel there is a balance to be had (and that can be obtained), but seeing stuff like Jey (Jimmy?) Uso diving off the top rope into a ladder and other more contrived spots just gave me the feeling that these guys were more focused on putting on a good show (and possibly having fun) instead of winning the match. It was is Dolph Ziggler was the agent of the match.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My current top five:

1. Sasha vs. Bayley - Iron Man

2. Sasha vs. Bayley - Takerover Brooklyn

3. Reigns/Lesnar/Rollins - Wrestlemania

4. Reigns/Bryan - Fastlane

5. Banks/Lynch - Unstoppable

5. Lesnar/Cena/Rollins - Royal Rumble

 

Those last two are about even for me. After that I'm not sure where I would place what. Not sure which I liked more between Cena/Owens I & II. Reigns/Show was a great match that would have been amazing in a different time frame & with a different audience. Bayley/Nia & Charlotte/Nikki I & II I rate about the same though I prefer Nia/Bayley if only for the differing style. I thought Finn & Owens last two titles matches were wonderful and are big reasons I consider Owens a top five guy for the year. Sheamus/Reigns for TLC is in the same vein for me as Reigns/Show. Not sure where I would place Brock/Taker but both matches are least top 20 for me. This has been a fantastic year wrestling wise. I only wish the actual booking had delivered half as much in return.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1) Sasha/Bayley, Ironwoman. First woman's match to headline a PPV-type thing. Epic heel work from Sasha. Built wonderfully off their first match. The end of an era for NXT.
2) Sasha/Bayley, Brooklyn.
3) Neville/Rollins, Raw -- Some all-time great false-finishes. The "Rollins on the ropes" ending was specatcularly done.
4) Sami/Cena, Raw -- My favorite in the John Cena Vs. The World series.

 

I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting. Just those ones really strike a never with me right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sasha/Bayley at Brooklyn was definitely a better match than the Iron Man match. Better emotion, better in ring story. The IM was a little tighter, but emotion will always trump technical accuracy for me. I don't think any match had the emotion as the Brooklyn match in NXT or mainline WWE this year. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Outside of Sasha making Izzy cry, I don't think the Iron Man match touched the emotion of the 13000 seat crowd being so behind Bayley and celebrating in her moment as THEIR moment. Imagine if Sami Zayn's title win had been the same type of reaction but in a legit arena of a few thousand. The Iron Man match, to me, while great, had the same problem all of those matches do: Demeaning pinfalls and losses. 

 

If one pin is a monumental event in one match, having both women drop multiple falls in 30 minutes makes a normal one fall match seem less important. It's something that always bothered me about Survivor Series type matches as well. Guys will drop falls in a few minutes with secondary moves in those kind of matches, whereas a normal match would be 15-25 minutes before they lost. It took 20 minutes for Bayley to beat Sasha in Brooklyn, yet they were dropping falls 8 minutes in in the Iron Man match.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's just another WWE convention that people have grown accustomed to. I definitely prefer the Brooklyn match, as it had far fewer spots that showed their lack of polish and physical limitations as well as the lack of emotion you mentioned. I haven't watched much Raw this year but just looking at the PPV matches from this year and comparing them to 2013 and '14, it's been a rough year. Though, I did see the majority of Cena's US title defenses on Raw. Some good stuff there, for sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Outside of Sasha making Izzy cry" reads to me "if you remove the single best WWE moment of the year, the match suddenly isn't as good"

Um... Yeah. But even beyond that, the brilliant storytelling of Sasha stealing all of her falls while Bayley got hers all clean, the story of Bayley having to step up to a new level of aggression but still never giving in and becoming Sasha, the way it built off everything from Brooklyn... It was the best storytelling in a WWE match in years, for my money. Toss in the emotion of everyone knowing Sasha was done with NXT.

I get the argument that Brooklyn was better in terms of execution (although some of the late sloppiness at Respect plays into the story of exhaustion) but emotion and storytelling, to my eye, is massively titled towards the Iron Man.

Don't get me wrong, I'm quibbling over what is number one and number two on my ballot.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sasha making Izzy cry was a great moment, but it had nothing to do with the story of the match. It's not like Bayley was fighting for Izzy from that point on. She didn't even see it happen. When a heel being a heel becomes the moment of the year for WWE, it shows how starved people are for fan interaction. That'd be a normal shit 20-25 years ago. Shit, I recently saw the Beverly Brothers take a kid's LOD shoulder pads and deface them. No one really cared.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. Sasha vs Bayley - Brooklyn

2. Brock vs Reigns (Rollins) - Mania

3. Sasha vs Becky - Unstoppable

4. Sasha vs Bayley - Respect

5. Brock vs Cena vs Rollins - Rumble

6. Rollins vs Neville - Raw Aug 3

7. New Day vs Lucha Dragons vs The Usos - TLC

8. Cena vs Cesaro - Raw June 29

9. Owens VS Sami Zayn - Rival

10. Sasha vs Becky vs Bayley vs Charlotte - Rival 

 

I haven't watched much main roster stuff since Summer Slam. Honorable mention to Joe vs Ciampa(NXT tv) Cena vs Owens 1,  and Jordan & Gable vs Corbin & Rhyno from Respect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...