The Year in PPV- 2010, Part I

I didn't need the WWE Network to remind me of the memories I had with the year 2010. By memories, I mean some of the most agonizing PPVs I had ever watched as a fan in my life (which was only about 3 or 4 years at that point). Is the problem within the superstars? No, in fact, I'd say that there was an overabundance in talent within the superstars. The biggest issue with the year 2010 is in the direction of booking, in that a lot of the superstars are left without any major direction.

If I was to ask a WWE fan what happened in the year 2010, most will answer with the year that saw The Nexus angle play out. What started off as a gripping storyline that had fans fully invested eventually got tiresome because, for many shows, it was the ONLY storyline that had any thought put into it. There are some very good superstars to watch out for throughout the year, including Sheamus, The Miz, Drew McIntyre (how could they ever release this guy?), and Daniel Bryan (what a shocker). Along with a handful of returns and departures, the year seems to have some monumental material (on paper).

So let's see the good, the bad, and the ugly surrounding the year 2010...


1. Royal Rumble

The year gets started with a mixed bag of midcard matches. There's a surprising gem of an ECW Championship match (the last one in PPV history) between Christian and Ezekiel Jackson, and a great (but short) World Heavyweight Championship match between the Undertaker and Rey Mysterio. But then there's a disgrace of a Women's Championship "match" between Michelle McCool and Mickie James (the culmination of the cruel "Piggie James" angle), and a very sloppy WWE Championship match between Sheamus and Randy Orton (since both were heels, it was very difficult to be invested in either winning). When the momentum is this scattered, the rest of the night can only be decided by the quality of the Royal Rumble match.

Ignore the fact that Edge's "surprise" return was a bit lackluster (he should be Rated-R for "Ring Rust"), and that many of the superstars are eliminated WAY TOO QUICKLY, and this Rumble match is still pretty underwhelming. The best performances of the match are Shawn Michaels (determined to get his WrestleMania rematch with the Undertaker) and CM Punk (who was able to display his amazing promo skills while eliminating the first batch of Rumble superstars). Then there are the moments that are just bizarre, like why were Kane and Matt Hardy eliminated so quickly, or why did R-Truth eliminate Big Show AND Mark Henry simultaneously if they weren't gonna do anything with him afterwards? The biggest problem with this match is that it feels directionless with the exceptions of Punk, Michaels, and Edge, and when this is one of the most anticipated matches of the year (particularly the match that I look forward to most every year), that's a BIG problem.

Skip It


2. Elimination Chamber

As one would expect with the introduction of these gimmick PPVs, there is a lot to be desired in filling the card with matches that do not feature the advertised gimmick match (in this case, the Elimination Chamber). The matches aren't bad, but they aren't what the fans came to see. The fans did pay to see who would walk into WrestleMania as WWE Champion (the World Heavyweight Championship was a little more predictable to be honest). Whoever walked away from the Elimination Chamber match definitely deserved to hold the belt. This match utilized Chamber veterans in Triple H, John Cena, and Randy Orton to legitimize younger stars like Kofi Kingston, Ted DiBiase and WWE Champion Sheamus. From Kofi's athleticism in the Chamber, the tension between Orton and DiBiase, Triple H enduring through the pain, Sheamus's dominance, and Cena being a "Superman," each man played a key part in painting scenarios for the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania, and many feuds for the other competitors. Make sure to stay tuned after this match is over, to see how the WrestleMania landscape can change within seconds, as the winner of the match (go on and guess who) was put in an impromptu Championship match by Mr. McMahon's newest heavy, Batista.

Most will regard the Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship match as a better overall match, but I think it suffers from two things. The first is the quick eliminations at the beginning of the match (the RAW Chamber match at least waited for all six men to be in the Chamber before the eliminations began), and the second is the filler spot that was given to R-Truth that served absolutely no purpose in getting him over. Rey Mysterio and John Morrison do their usual high flying antics in the match, CM Punk and Chris Jericho showcase why they are the best in the world (at what he does, in Jericho's case), and Undertaker is the dominating force of the match, made much angrier than usual thanks to being legitimately BURNED by his pyro before the match started. Watch the edits and listen to the commentary as they try to cover up this incident. Needless to say, the Deadman was in pretty bad mood for this match, but the night would get much worse at the conclusion of the match. Again, this is where I say it was OBVIOUS that Undertaker wouldn't walk into WrestleMania as World Heavyweight Champion, and that the eventual Champion was going to be obvious since they would be facing Edge, the Royal Rumble winner, but it is still a thoroughly entertaining match thanks to a lot of its key players.

Mild Recommendation


3. WrestleMania XXVI

Heading into this event, the WWE had a HUGE roster of talent that required 10 matches to give everyone a chance to perform. Admittedly, there are some matches on that show that feel crammed with talent (including a rushed WWE Tag Team Championship match, a 10-Diva tag match and a Money in the Bank ladder match involving 10 competitors), but there are more important stories that needed to be told. A lot of fans cite this as a WrestleMania where the wrong man won majority of the matches. In most cases, it's the internet crowd complaining that their guy didn't win, but there are some valid points nonetheless. With CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio, it was important to get Punk and the Straight Edge Society over as a faction. With Sheamus vs. Triple H, it was necessary to get Sheamus over as a legitimate, dominating powerhouse. And the Triple Threat between Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes, should have shown DiBiase and Rhodes over as the potential future of the company.

This WrestleMania is also responsible for one of the biggest letdowns in wrestling history with the horrifically boring No Holds Barred match between Bret Hart and Vince McMahon. How in the world do you make Bret's revenge for the Montreal Screwjob boring? You add a convoluted storyline to the match mere moments before it begins, barely any weapons are used (making the No Holds Barred gimmick nearly pointless), and you spend nearly 12 minutes of Bret beating Vince with a chair. On paper it might have seemed good, but something was definitely lost in translation. The match drained the audience of all excitement to the point where they were sitting on their hands during the World Heavyweight Championship match between Chris Jericho and Edge. Luckily for Jericho and Edge, they were able to win the crowd back mid-way through the match and show why they are two of the very best.

The WWE Championship was also on the line in a battle between Batista and John Cena. This match wasn't horrible, but fans knew exactly how the match would end. I think they would have had some extra excitement added if this was their first match together. Finally, fans were rewarded with the main event they should have had a year earlier: Shawn Michaels vs. the Undertaker. After months of demanding a rematch, Shawn finally got his second chance to end the Streak but only if he put his career on the line. A lot of fans agree that this match isn't as good as their match from WrestleMania XXV, but that's a really tough act to follow. Besides, I also appreciate story, and this match tells a much better story in my opinion because both men are willing to put both of their legacies on the line and one man would pay the ultimate price at the conclusion of this instant classic.

Recommended


4. Extreme Rules

Here we have a a post-WrestleMania filler show with a lot of good elements on the table. It's filled with many WrestleMania rematches with special gimmicks added. In many ways, the matches are improved by the gimmick like Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk (if Punk lost, he'd have his head shaved), and Edge vs. Chris Jericho (Steel Cage match). Another facet of the PPV that is important is even if the matches aren't "extreme," they should still be fun, and that's the case with the Extreme Makeover match for the Women's Championship (gotta love every single moment of its pun-filled goodness). The only real hiccups on the show are an extremely rushed Tag Team Gauntlet match (that was making up for their production schedule being a week behind due to many superstars being stranded overseas), and a Strap Match between Shad and JTG (it seemed obvious that Shad should be getting the push, so WHY DON'T THEY HAVE HIM WIN!?!?!)

The biggest shakeup in the landscape occurred when Jack Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Chris Jericho to become World Heavyweight Champion. His first PPV defense was against Randy Orton in an Extreme Rules Match. Despite Swagger's lackluster reign, this match is actually pretty solid. The Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship between John Cena and Batista is also an excellent match and follow up to their WrestleMania encounter (except the ending). But the show's best extreme match was the Street Fight between Sheamus and Triple H that started at the beginning of the show, only to continue later on and shows the strength and determination of both men in trying to gain victory at any costs.

Mild Recommendation


5. Over the Limit

Here's a great example of how a show's better moments and matches can be overshadowed by what's wrong with the show. Despite some overall good match quality, a lot of fans and critics focus on two very poorly received matches that were shown back to back. The first was a high profile match between Randy Orton and Edge that ended with a double countout finish thanks to Orton legitimately separating his shoulder. Immediately afterwards, they have Jack Swagger retain his World Heavyweight Championship via disqualification (one of my BIGGEST pet peeves when it comes to PPV title matches) against Big Show. Not only was this a badly timed outcome given the finish of the previous match, but it also did no favors for Swagger (who was still struggling to have a monumental title reign) or Big Show (who was being pushed as one of SmackDown's newest babyfaces).

Even with these setbacks, there's some solid work effort thanks to an opening match between Drew McIntyre (I miss having him in the WWE already) and Kofi Kingston for the Intercontinental Championship, a lost gem for the WWE Tag Team Championships between the Hart Dynasty and the team of Chris Jericho and The Miz (HOW DID THAT TEAM NOT GET A LONGER PUSH!?!?!), a match between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio that combined the stipulations of their last two PPV encounters (if Rey lost, he'd join the Straight Edge Society, and if Punk lost, he'd get his head shaved) and delivered their most cohesive encounter of quality wrestling and storytelling. And the show is highlighted by the I Quit match for the WWE Championship match between John Cena and Batista (in his last match with WWE for nearly 4 years), a very entertaining conclusion to their series of matches. All these components make up a semi decent PPV that is more recognizable for its faults than its accomplishments.

Skip It


Initial Thoughts: 2010 is off to a bit of a shaky start with a lot of what's going on seeming directionless. With the exception of WrestleMania, the rest of the shows seem to just be holding their spots on the calendar, and little to no stars seemed built up. It's as if they took these quality stars (Jericho, Edge, Cena, Batista, Orton, and Big Show to name a few) and just expected them to get over on their established star power. There was some momentum given to younger superstars like Drew McIntyre (a heavily underutilized performer over the last 4 years until his release from contract), The Miz, and most notably Sheamus, but their growth seems lost in the shuffle. In hindsight, all of this might have something to do with the rivalries that were to come throughout the remainder of the year that had longer lasting continuity.

Continued in Part II...


All rights and images are copyrighted and owned by World Wrestling Entertainment