The Year in PPV- 2013, Part III

With 2013 being as good as it's been so far, surely the WWE will find a way to mess it up...


9. Battleground

Well here's a show that's considered an absolute disaster for the company. The brand new Battleground PPV was not well-received by many fans, with a lot of the undercard being underwhelming and some of the main events left fans begging for refunds. The biggest problems with the main events are that they failed to keep the audience engaged. Even if there was a lot of buildup for Ryback vs. CM Punk and the WWE Championship match (Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton....again), they both failed to deliver in one particularly important aspect: an ending that audiences actually care about.

There are only two matches on the show worth checking out. Alberto Del Rio and Rob Van Dam open the show in a hardcore match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match is alright and utilizes Van Dam's type of match to bring out the best in Del Rio. But the night will best be remembered as the greatest night in the history of the Rhodes family. With Dusty Rhodes in their corner, Cody Rhodes and Goldust fought Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns to stand against the Authority and get their jobs back. Not only is it a phenomenal tag team match, but it's a feel good moment that received a huge response from the superstars in the back, the commentators, the fans in attendance, and the fans at home who had to suffer through this show of epic failure proportions.

Skip It


10. Hell in a Cell

First things first: Why is R-Truth on the poster? Was he really that relevant during this year to where he warranted an appearance on a PPV poster? I mean, he's on the pre-show panel, but that's it....at that rate, why don't we put Alex Riley on a poster since he's technically at every show as part of the pre-show panel? Anyways, the show does get kicked off in tremendous fashion with a triple threat tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Cody Rhodes and Goldust, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, and the Usos all showed the WWE Universe that there was still some life and excitement in the tag team divisions as they decisively stole the show and set a match standard that no other match could compare to, not even the Hell in a Cell matches.

In a match that brought closure to the CM Punk/Paul Heyman feud, Punk challenged Heyman and Ryback to a handicap Hell in a Cell match. The match is pretty good, but thanks to a loophole, Punk competes solely against Ryback during the match (I guess some redemption for their debacle the previous year), and the fans waited to see if he could get revenge on Heyman once going through Ryback. In another match that brought (temporary) closure to a storyline, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton fought once again for the WWE Championship, but in the confines of the Hell in a Cell. To add to the drama, Shawn Michaels (YAY!) was placed in the match as guest referee. With his loyalties to both Bryan and Triple H, and his public (storyline) dislike for Orton, the obvious question was if he would be impartial. I actually think the Cell match is good even if Michaels wasn't present for it (shocker right?), and maybe this is an instance of too much going on in booking. Will the Hell in a Cell, maybe it's best to stick to the basics: end a match decisively to properly bring an intense rivalry to an end.

Skip It


11. Survivor Series

On this night, Survivor Series specialized on what made it an entertaining PPV in the first place: quality tag team matches (except the Diva's match....that was awful). The only 5-on-5 traditional elimination tag match on the card, the show opens with The Shield and The Real Americans facing Cody Rhodes, Goldust, the Usos, and Rey Mysterio. This match allowed a lot of young stars to shine, while also allowing veterans like Goldust and Mysterio to still hold the crowd's attention. On the Shield/Real Americans side, there was an obvious focus on Roman Reigns and preparing him to be a breakout star of the group. I also really like how much backing Cody Rhodes had at this time. He was able to entertain on the mic and deliver in the ring (PLEASE bring this Cody Rhodes back. Am I the only one wishing he wasn't Stardust anymore?), and he had a chance to step up as a team captain for this match. Another enjoyable match was the tag team match that brought the Best and the Beard together by having CM Punk and Daniel Bryan take on Luke Harper and Erick Rowan of the Wyatt Family. This match felt like a throwback to the great tag matches of the '80s that were given a great amount of time to tell a story through quality wrestling.

The main events, however, are another story. By this point, John Cena/Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship and Randy Orton/Big Show for the WWE Championship are the WRONG kinds of main events to follow great tag team matches on this show. Orton/Big Show could take home an award for "main event of the year that no one cared about," but thankfully the momentum is saved by what takes place after the match. As the Authority looked on in approval, the WWE and World Heavyweight Champions stared each other down in the center in the ring and the fans knew it was time for something historic.

Mild Recommendation


12. TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs

Did they forget to book the tables, ladders, and chairs matches for this show? The main event is the ONLY TLC match on the card and that just feels wrong. This once heavily gimmicked PPV has swapped out the need for a tables match, a ladder match, and a chairs match (not really complaining about that one), and replaced it with tag matches. TWO 3-on-1 handicap matches take place on this night. The first saw CM Punk open the show by taking on the Shield, and Daniel Bryan had his chance against the Wyatt Family later that night. Both are good and both sides come off looking strong by the end. Cody Rhodes and Goldust continue to show that they are fighting champions by defending their Tag Team titles against the Real Americans, RybAxel, and the team of Rey Mysterio and Big Show, in a Fatal 4-Way elimination match. While these tag matches were making the crowd happy, the show was focusing on the main event that was guaranteed to make history on this night.

In the night's only TLC, the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships were both on the line in an attempt to unify the titles and crown the "first" WWE World Heavyweight Champion (Chris Jericho and the Undisputed Championship should sue somebody). This match would be really exciting if not for two big problems. The first is that a lot of the TLC spots are underwhelming and don't add a lot to the moment. And the second issue: it's a John Cena/Randy Orton match which the fans were REALLY sick of seeing at this point. They could've easily built this up until WrestleMania, which would have created a bigger moment and would've removed an unnecessary gimmick like the TLC match to such a prestigious moment in company history. Here's a fantasy scenario for you: WrestleMania XXX, John Cena vs. CM Punk for the World Title (prompting Punk to NOT leave the company), Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Title  (decisively ending their feud) and the winners fight in the main event to unify the belts. The possibility for a Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk match to main event WrestleMania and crown the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion is truly best for business.

Mild Recommendation


Final Thoughts: For the last part of the year, something about 2013 seemed to fizzle in terms of quality. Sure, there's a strong focus on Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority, and the amount of tag teams and factions that were in high profile matches, but other than that, the midcard was lacking some serious spark during this time. Most of the non-main event PPV matches felt thrown together with a "just because" reason behind it, so the momentum of the shows were feeling very disjointed. With the crowning of the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, the door was left open for a different format to shake up the company as they were preparing for WrestleMania XXX. But that will be discussed at a later time.


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