It's very interesting to start reviewing 2013 as 2014 is coming to an end. A lot of the previous year's events have fully developed and you can clearly point out the historical significance now. I remember with a lot of the matches I saw during this year, I was able to relax and not take everything so seriously. Basically, this year made wrestling entertaining as a whole, in both storytelling and match quality. And there is a LOT going on within the 12 PPVs and I'm surprised that a lot of it went as well as it did.
This was the year of the "YES!" movement vs. The Authority, as well as the return of dominating trios in the form of The Shield and the Wyatt Family. This was the year that Ryback's push came to an abrupt stop, as well as a forced push for Curtis Axel that was lacking one thing (CHARISMA), and concussions halting the booking of stars like Dolph Ziggler and Fandango. This was also the year that, unfortunately, began winding down how much time we had left with CM Punk before he walked away from the company in early 2014. Surprisingly, this was the year of Alberto Del Rio, who found himself in 10 World Heavyweight Championship matches within the year. And the year ended with the unification of the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships. And I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff I'm still missing, so let's not waste any time.
Let's start 2013 with the much anticipated return of The People's Champion...
1. Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble match actually took place before the main event but still had tons of excitement and surprises. Many superstars told great stories throughout the match, from Dolph Ziggler forced to enter at number one and scratching and clawing to survive, to Ryback destroying everyone in his path, to Bo Dallas from NXT holding his own against a number of WWE superstars. Even by the time there were SIX participants left (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Ryback, and a surprise return I won't dare spoil), each could have easily main evented WrestleMania, but EVERYONE knew who was winning it and that might make it difficult for some to get into it, but I really enjoyed the match for the most part. Not the best Rumble match in history, but certainly entertaining, and it marks the first time that myself, my best friend, and my future wife were able to do a Fantasy Wrestling Draft with the Rumble participants (I think I might have to explain that one in a different post).
Highly Recommended
2. Elimination Chamber
A lot of the show is filler, but what does work in its favor is the importance of the main events. Alberto Del Rio and Big Show open another PPV for the World Heavyweight Championship and their chemistry hasn't changed. It's really surprising to see how quickly the crowd took to Del Rio's face change considering how long he had "go away" or "X-Pac" heat with them for many years. Speaking of Royal Rumble rematches, CM Punk looked to face The Rock and win back the WWE Championship he lost at the Rumble. In an added stipulation, CM Punk could win the title if Rock got disqualified or counted out, which added a lot more story in how low Punk would stoop and how patient and level headed Rock could be. I actually liked this match more than their Rumble match simply on match quality. They might have wrestled the better match here, but they had the bigger moment in their previous encounter. But my favorite match of the evening was the six-man tag match between The Shield and the all-star team of John Cena, Ryback, and Sheamus. This match gave me a lot of perspective on the three members of The Shield that I never noticed before. Dean Ambrose is a brawler and mouthpiece of the group, Roman Reigns the muscle, and Seth Rollins the high flying workhorse. With a combination like that, it doesn't matter how young they were, they were going to make a HUGE statement at the expense of three of the company's top babyfaces.The Elimination Chamber match on the card actually takes place very early into the show. The match saw Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, Kane, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, and Randy Orton face each other inside the Chamber for a World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania. This match is fine enough and the ending has a surprise factor, but what was the point of placing it so low on the card when it's the match the PPV is named after? Was The Rock supposed to defend the WWE Championship in the Chamber too and chickened out (That would at least explain the poster that NONE of the actual Chamber participants are on)? With how good most of the card was and how little emphasis was on the Chamber, I would just change it back to the No Way Out PPV.
Recommended
3. WrestleMania 29
I remember when I saw WrestleMania 29 live on PPV. I was so excited for the show because I was a big fan of the roster involved and it was that time of the year where excitement for the fans are at their absolute highest. By the time Mania was over, all I could say was "That show really SUCKED!" After giving it a year and seeing what plans were in motion throughout the rest of 2013 and early 2014, I thought the show was a bit better. It's a hit and miss show, where every good or underrated match has an equal and opposite disappointing and lackluster match. For starters, the show is an absolute visual marvel and spectacle in terms of setting and pyrotechnics, but there's a solid amount of time dedicated to a mini concert from Diddy (who I had no idea was still relevant in 2013).
The show's opening match is an underrated gem on the show in the form of a six-man tag between The Shield and the team of Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show. Each performer plays their role well and it really did feel like the right match to open the show and get the crowd energized for the rest of the show. Unfortunately, it was followed by Ryback vs. Mark Henry in a very sloppy and underwhelming matchYou can have an excellent, fast paced Tag Team Championship match between Team Hell No and the team of Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston, and then have a rookie like Fandango have his debut match against a legend like Chris Jericho. This match actually isn't bad, but to have the match end the way it did, you would hope the WWE would follow up with a solid push for Fandango, but thanks to a minor injury he received (but I'll get to that soon), the company was scared to put faith in him to hold a championship.
Even the main events seem disjointed in comparison. The World Heavyweight Championship was a somewhat short match between Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger. It is heavily speculated (pretty much confirmed) that this was punishment for Swagger getting busted for Marijuana possession shortly after earning his title shot at Elimination Chamber (nice timing Jack). Then, CM Punk challenges The Undertaker's 20-0 undefeated streak in the obvious match of the night. To this day, I fully believe Punk should have been the "1" in 20-1 because he would've benefited so much from the victory. It would have tied into his Best in the World gimmick, being a despised heel, having Heyman as his manager, the uncomfortableness of using Paul Bearer's real life death in the storyline (sometimes it worked, but it was done in pretty poor taste throughout). To follow the match that left the crowd exhausted with excitement, Triple H and Brock Lesnar have a No Holds Barred match that nearly put the crowd to sleep. The match isn't really that bad, but the crowd was absolutely not into majority of it, nor did they actually believe Triple H's career could be over (he would be forced to retire if he lost to Lesnar). Finally, The Rock defends his WWE Championship against John Cena, who was looking to rewrite the ending to their "Once in a Lifetime" match from the previous Mania. I actually think their match at this WrestleMania features more cohesive ring-work and storytelling, but it lacks the epic moment of seeing them spar for the first time like it did at Mania XXVIII, so fans are pretty quick to dismiss it. But I think it's still worth a watch and is a good go-home match to a moderately ok Mania.Mild Recommendation
4. Extreme Rules
It's pretty standard to find Mania rematches all over the card, but this show only has 3 direct "sequels." Chris Jericho had an opportunity to redeem himself against Fandango, Triple and Brock Lesnar had an aggressive steel cage match (the best match in their feud), and Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger had an "I Quit" match to win a future World Heavyweight Championship match against the newly crowned champion Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler had cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Del Rio the night after WrestleMania, and these three superstars were to have a triple threat ladder match, but Ziggler suffered a concussion leading up to the PPV, so plans had to be altered. A feud that started from Mania was the feud between Randy Orton and Big Show and they had a very by the books type of Extreme Rules match. Mark Henry started a feud with Sheamus that ended in a mediocre strap match (which basically describes most strap matches), and the most engaging bit of booking was the handling of Ryback's heel turn as he challenged John Cena for the WWE Championship in a Last Man Standing match.In the context of history, this night belongs to The Shield. In a United States Championship match, Dean Ambrose won the title from Kofi Kingston. In a WWE Tag Team Championship match, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns won the belts from Team Hell No. The Hounds of Justice were already dominant, but it was on this night, when they each won a championship, that their status was cemented that they were gonna be a very crucial group to follow for the next year. Their fan following was constantly growing and I believe it was this night that the world could believe in The Shield.
Mild Recommendation
Initial Thoughts: A lot of what's going right for the early part of 2013 (apart from a lot of the match quality) is the focus on the younger talent. While part timers like The Rock, Lesnar, Triple H, and the Undertaker are present, the fans make sure to let their voices be heard and made talents like Ryback and The Shield stand out against them. Naturally, superstars like Punk, Ziggler, and Bryan are still getting the strong fan reactions they've earned and once you factor in a lot of the bitter resentment a lot of the internet fans have for the part timers it can lead to only one conclusion: that they are trying to build the future of the company. The fans will start building the future by starting a movement focused on one simple word.
Continued in Part II...
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