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Best WWE Matches 2015


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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.

 

Izzy was prominently involved in the build-up to the match. Her reactions got a ton of TV time -- even before Sasha snatching her toy. It was a total part of the story and added to the part of Sasha's true character -- a mean girl who acts this way because of how insecure she is.

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It was a neat spot for heat but if you remove it, nothing about that match changes one bit. That's what I believe stro is getting at. It's not like Bayley went to hug Izzy and Sasha hit her from behind to gain an advantage.

Yes, that is what I'm getting at. The spot with Izzy was strictly for the audience. Bayley didn't even see it, so she couldn't react to it. It had no impact on the match itself.

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Isn't the whole match for the audience? I'm not sure I get that criticism.

 

I prefer Brooklyn slightly since it was a little tighter with no wasted moves. Without the time constraints, there was zero filler and the one botch actually helped the match (Bayley landing on her head off the rana counter). The action escalated perfectly, there were quality nearfalls without crossing into overkill territory, and the pre and post match stuff just felt special in a way that can't be manufactured. Not that the ironman match wasn't extremely good (and the last two minutes was the the best finishing run in ironman history), but it wasn't quite the "perfect storm" that Brooklyn was.

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The end…

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.

6. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker. WWE Hell in a Cell, 25th October.

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

8. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch. NXT TakeOver: Rival, 11th Feburary.

9. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn. NXT TakeOver: Rival, 11th Feburary.

10. Seth Rollins vs. Neville. WWE RAW, 3rd 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. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch. NXT TakeOver: Rival, 11th Feburary.

5. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn. NXT TakeOver: Rival, 11th Feburary.

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

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

8. Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns. WWE RAW, 14th December.

9. John Cena vs. Cesaro. WWE RAW, 7th July.

10. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins. WWE RAW, 27th July.

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I'm sad that Sasha's run from Feb. 11 - Oct. 7 has turned out the way it has. :(

 

Give it time. The "We Want Sasha" movement is building up steam. They're going to have a lot more actual TV time they can work with once Smackdown moves. Team BAD hasn't disappeared. They're on the periphery of everything. Sasha vs. Charlotte at WM is my prediction.

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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.

We have exactly the same top five. Sasha Banks is my wrestler of the year too. Unreal. What a shame that being promoted to the main roster means more money and less opportunity.

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I'm sad that Sasha's run from Feb. 11 - Oct. 7 has turned out the way it has. :(

 

Give it time. The "We Want Sasha" movement is building up steam. They're going to have a lot more actual TV time they can work with once Smackdown moves. Team BAD hasn't disappeared. They're on the periphery of everything. Sasha vs. Charlotte at WM is my prediction.

 

 

Unless Nikki retires, I can't see her not being in the prime Mania spot.

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It helped Sasha tremendously that the NXT crowd is like an old-school WCW crowd in that one can get over on work alone if need be. Becky Lynch is one key example who got over by wrestling a great match. No need for smoke-and-mirrors like you do on the main roster (every Brock match this year outside of the lion's share of the WM match).

That matters to me when assessing someone as a big match worker. Did you need a bunch of razmatazz to get a reaction or did you grab the crowd just by wrestling a great match? I don't discount the former, which can be entertaining and effective, but I do personally appreciate the latter more.

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Speaking of the crowd, I think the biggest compliment you can give the Sasha/Bayley (and Sasha/Becky) matches are that even though the crowd loves Sasha, during the course of the match the fans totally bought into her opponent and wanted them to win each time. Then, when the match is over, the crowd goes right back into completely loving Sasha for giving them that great of a match.

 

It's a weird kayfabe thing. NXT is booked to a smart crowd, and kayfabe is dead. But the Sasha 3 match series made the smarkiest of smark crowds become completely engrossed in a match to the point that they were on the edge of the their seat for who would win, and then after the match is over, it was just like excited energy that they got to see something so awesome each time. It's why the "4 Horsewomen" and Sasha rose giving thing didn't bother me. Because after those matches, it wasn't about who won at that second, it was about celebrating the match they just had. And unlike most WWE things were they are trying to tell you something was amazing, they didn't have to in those, because they flat were amazing, and they seemingly knew they were going to be that amazing. 

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WWE.com's annual Top 25 MOTYCs are in

 

 

25. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose - Ladder Match (Money in the Bank, 6/14/15)

24. The Wyatt Family vs. The Dudleyz, Tommy Dreamer, & Rhyno - Extreme Rules Match (RAW, 12/14/15)

23. The Vaudevillains vs. Blake & Murphy (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, 8/22/15)

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

21. Seth Rollins vs. Neville (RAW, 8/3/15)

20. AJ Lee, Naomi, & Paige vs. Natalya & The Bella Twins (RAW, 3/30/15)

19. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton (Payback, 5/17/15)

18. The New Day vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd (Extreme Rules, 4/26/15)

17. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: Rival, 2/11/15)

16. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler (RAW, 3/30/15)

15. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch (NXT Takeover: Unstoppable, 5/20/15)

14. John Cena vs. Sami Zayn (RAW, 5/4/15)

13. Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro (RAW, 11/16/15)

12. The New Day vs. The Usos vs. The Lucha Dragons - Ladder Match (TLC, 12/13/15)

11. John Cena vs. Cesaro (RAW, 7/6/15)

10. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks - Ironman Match (NXT Takeover: Respect, 10/7/15)

9. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker - Hell in a Cell Match (Hell in a Cell, 10/25/15)

8. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena (SummerSlam, 8/23/15)

7. Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens (Beast in the East, 7/4/15)

6. Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan (FastLane, 2/22/15)

5. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley (NXT Takeover: Rival, 2/11/15)

4. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WrestleMania 31, 3/29/15)

3. Kevin Owens vs. John Cena (Elimination Chamber, 5/31/15)

2. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, 8/22/15)

1. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (Royal Rumble, (1/25/15)

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WWE.com's annual Top 25 MOTYCs are in

25. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose - Ladder Match (Money in the Bank, 6/14/15)

24. The Wyatt Family vs. The Dudleyz, Tommy Dreamer, & Rhyno - Extreme Rules Match (RAW, 12/14/15)

23. The Vaudevillains vs. Blake & Murphy (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, 8/22/15)

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

21. Seth Rollins vs. Neville (RAW, 8/3/15)

20. AJ Lee, Naomi, & Paige vs. Natalya & The Bella Twins (RAW, 3/30/15)

19. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton (Payback, 5/17/15)

18. The New Day vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd (Extreme Rules, 4/26/15)

17. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: Rival, 2/11/15)

16. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler (RAW, 3/30/15)

15. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch (NXT Takeover: Unstoppable, 5/20/15)

14. John Cena vs. Sami Zayn (RAW, 5/4/15)

13. Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro (RAW, 11/16/15)

12. The New Day vs. The Usos vs. The Lucha Dragons - Ladder Match (TLC, 12/13/15)

11. John Cena vs. Cesaro (RAW, 7/6/15)

10. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks - Ironman Match (NXT Takeover: Respect, 10/7/15)

9. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker - Hell in a Cell Match (Hell in a Cell, 10/25/15)

8. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena (SummerSlam, 8/23/15)

7. Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens (Beast in the East, 7/4/15)

6. Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan (FastLane, 2/22/15)

5. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley (NXT Takeover: Rival, 2/11/15)

4. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WrestleMania 31, 3/29/15)

3. Kevin Owens vs. John Cena (Elimination Chamber, 5/31/15)

2. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, 8/22/15)

1. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (Royal Rumble, (1/25/15)

I agree with about half of that list which is much better than WWE usually does.

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Without rewatches, off the top of my head:

 

1. Cena / Rollins / Lesnar, Royal Rumble

 

2. Bayley / Sasha, NXT Brooklyn

 

3. Sami Zayn / Kevin Owens, NXT R-Rival

 

4. Bayley / Sasha Iron Man, NXT Respect

 

5. Cena / Rollins, Summerslam

 

Bonus: Best match I saw live was Enzo & Cass v. Jordan and Gable at the NXT Houston house show.  Favorite spot was whatever ridiculous brawl between Reigns and Bray Wyatt that ended with Wyatt getting speared through the announce table.  That was fun. 

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The only decent Rollins match on that list was the ladder match with Dean. That triple threat and the Summerslam match were the height of horseshit indie spot bullshit.

 

The Triple Threat was great when Cena and Rollins were taking on Brock 2-on-1 from a point of desperation and Brock was fighting them both off like a monster from a movie. 

 

Then Brock got taken out and it turned into Rollins and Cena having a shitty match with little selling and poor pacing, but lots of flips and high-end moves that the hardcore WWE crowd loves.

 

But that first six or seven minutes, man. Good stuff.

 

I thought the ladder match against Ambrose was mediocre and badly outclassed by something like Bálor/Owens ladder match at Takeover Brooklyn.

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The only decent Rollins match on that list was the ladder match with Dean. That triple threat and the Summerslam match were the height of horseshit indie spot bullshit.

 

The Triple Threat was great when Cena and Rollins were taking on Brock 2-on-1 from a point of desperation and Brock was fighting them both off like a monster from a movie. 

 

Then Brock got taken out and it turned into Rollins and Cena having a shitty match with little selling and poor pacing, but lots of flips and high-end moves that the hardcore WWE crowd loves.

 

But that first six or seven minutes, man. Good stuff.

 

I thought the ladder match against Ambrose was mediocre and badly outclassed by something like Bálor/Owens ladder match at Takeover Brooklyn.

 

Man...the Ambrose/Rollins ladder match had a story and psychology, which is bizarre considering how neither guy uses those in standard matches. Balor/Owens was your normal bump oriented ladder match just to have a ladder match, and it wasn't even good at doing that.

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Nah, Balor/Owens actually wasn't about crazy bumps just to do them. It was more about Owens wanting to beat the shit out of Finn using whatever he had at his disposal - mostly ladders - and Finn having to survive Owens's onslaught. Most of the big bumps actually meant something in the context of the match. It was arguably the most violent match the company had this year, non-Brock Lesnar division. 

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