The Year in PPV- 2012, Part III

With 2012 coming to an end, it's very apparent the WWE needed some direction in quality...


9. Night of Champions

As far as the championship matches go, a lot of them feel like filler because they aren't memorable and don't hold a spot in histories of the PPV or the championships that are being defended. The only championship match on the undercard with historical significance is the WWE Tag Team Championship match between Kofi Kingston and R-Truth against the newly formed Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane). There's also a singles match between Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler that is pretty solid and makes sense to be on the card since Ziggler is the Money in the Bank winner. Mercilessly, Sheamus ends his feud with Alberto Del Rio in a match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match originally had a stipulation where Sheamus couldn't use the Brogue Kick and had they actually kept the stipulation, the match would've been much more interesting (like Orton's match with Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 2007). But, like the feud, the match has a pretty "meh" feeling throughout.

On a night dedicated to champions, the match of the night (and one of the best matches in Night of Champions history) truly epitomizes what the night is about. A determined John Cena challenged the WWE Champion CM Punk for the company's top prize. This feud really heated up in the summer when The Rock announced at the 1000th episode of RAW that he would challenge for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. This didn't make Punk very happy and he responded by attacking the Great One later that evening. While a lot of fans initially cheered him for his actions, Punk's evolution as a heel was quickly becoming more apparent afterwards, as he was more prone to cheating, bullied as many people as possible, insulted the fans he used to be the voice of, and aligned himself with Paul Heyman. These two went on to prove that it's very difficult for them to have a bad match, as this was one of their best encounters to date with an ending that serves as a throwback to the classic championship matches of the '70s and '80s.

Recommended


10. Hell in a Cell

I'll go on to say that one of the biggest bonehead moves of the year was not having Sheamus vs. Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Hell in a Cell match. You wouldn't think these two would actually have the chemistry they do and actually be able to put on an intense and entertaining clash for the title, but they do. Had that been in a Hell in a Cell match, with no disqualifications and having weapons at their full disposal, the match could've easily gone down as one of the greatest modern Cell matches in history.

Another bone head move on this show was the booking of the actual Hell in a Cell main event. Let me paint the scenario for you: you have a WWE Champion in CM Punk, who is being built as a cowardly heel champion who must win until the Royal Rumble so he can defend his title against The Rock (the catalyst of his heel turn). Then you have a monster babyface on the rise in the undefeated Ryback. The crowd is fully behind him, John Cena "passes the torch" in giving him the main event spot, and in terms of his character evolution it is absolutely crucial for him to win. So, we have a match where both men have to win, neither can afford to lose, and they STILL find a way to screw it up. The match itself is brief and ranges on average in terms of spots. The ending is where that match suffers the most, pissing off every fan watching not because of who won, but how they won in terms of being inside Hell in a Cell. There were tons of other endings we could've had and because this was the ONLY Cell match on the card, it's where a lot of the show's focus in history will stay.

Skip It


11. Survivor Series

By this point, I'm used to Survivor Series lacking in quality except in the traditional Survivor Series elimination matches. That seems to be the case, yet again, but with one major exception in an exciting main event, which I'll get to later. The fans are first treated to a bonus elimination match with Team Brodus (Brodus Clay, Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel, Sin Cara, and Rey Mysterio) vs. Team Tensai (Tensai, the Prime Time Players, and Primo and Epico). The match is a fine opener and utilizes some of the many tag teams they had in the division at the time. Then things really pick up later that night in another traditional elimination match that saw Mick Foley lead a team (Randy Orton, Team Hell No, The Miz, and Kofi Kingston) against Dolph Ziggler's team (Ziggler, David Otunga, Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow, and Alberto Del Rio). The match has some great star power and utilizes many interchanging feuds and storylines (with the most engaging being Miz's recent face turn and whether his teammates could trust him).

In a true booking highlight, we are given a Triple Threat for the WWE Championship that has been building since the end of the summer. With continuity towards Night of Champions and Hell in a Cell, CM Punk is forced to defend his WWE Championship against John Cena AND Ryback. Even more important, Punk must win on this night in order to be WWE Champion for an entire year. The match itself isn't bad, but most will remember it for the ending where the trio of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose (later known as The Shield) made their presence felt in impressive fashion.

Mild Recommendation


12. TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs

TLC is usually a pretty filler-heavy PPV to close out the year, but this show makes good use of the TLC gimmick. Dispersed amongst the filler matches (including a strange Miz TV segment with 3MB that signaled the beginning of Alberto Del Rio's face turn) are fairly entertaining matches, such as Team Rhodes Scholars against Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara in a tables match, Big Show vs. Sheamus in a Chairs match for the World Heavyweight Championship (with a VERY creative finish), and Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena in a Ladder match for Ziggler's Money in the Bank contract.

The most important match of the night was the six-man TLC match between The Shield (in their first PPV match) and the team of Ryback and Team Hell No. This was the first ever TLC match that could end in pinfall or submission, and played a HUGE role in establishing The Shield as legitimate performers. What also should be noted is that Ryback was originally supposed to challenge CM Punk for the WWE Championship in a TLC match, before Punk was taken off the show due to a minor injury. But don't worry, he was still able to give a fantastic promo to receive cheap heat from the crowd in Buffalo and prove that even when injured, he's still the Best in the World.

Recommended


Final Thoughts:What in the world happened to the year 2012? Sure, stars like Ryback, Punk, Bryan, and Sheamus were able to stand out, but that was about it in terms of consistency. They started out somewhat strong during the Road to WrestleMania, then had a mediocre middle of the year, and closed the year with a mixed amount of PPVs. The year does end on a hopeful note with even more young superstars coming up the ranks. But if this year shows us anything, more part timers will show up to continuously take their spots when they need a WrestleMania pay check.


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