The Year in PPV- 2013, Part II

As 2013 continues, the WWE returned to Chicago to unveil a brand new PPV...


5. Payback

When I saw the lineup for Payback, I had my doubts it would be anything more than a filler PPV. However, when the show started and the Chicago crowd began showing their enthusiasm, it became one of the greatest shows I've ever seen since being a fan. From beginning to end, every match mattered and the fans made sure to be loud for all of them. The crowd made it clearly know who they wanted to win and in most cases, they went away happy, and if the person they wanted to win lost, their anger only made the moment more effective in giving a superstar heat. The opening bout was a triple threat for the Intercontinental Championship between Wade Barrett, The Miz, and the newly repackaged Curtis Axel (formerly Michael McGillicutty) who was replacing an injured Fandango. Then, Kaitlyn defended her Diva's Championship against AJ Lee in a personal rivalry that actually had the crowd invested in a women's match (which is rare nowadays). And The Shield certainly had the crowd behind them in their matches as Dean Ambrose defended his United States Championship against Kane, and Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns defended the WWE Tag Team Championships against Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. And that's just the undercard.

The main event for the WWE Championship was a Three Stages of Hell match. John Cena and Ryback wrestled a lumberjack match, a tables match, and an ambulance match and actually succeeded in having a match that the Chicago crowd didn't boo out of the building. But the night really comes down to two crucial moments. The most obvious was how hometown hero CM Punk made his return since WrestleMania to take on Chris Jericho. But my favorite is the World Heavyweight Championship between Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio. Focusing on Ziggler's recently healed concussion, Del Rio targets the injury by viciously kicking him in the head throughout, making the crowd despise him more and root for the now sympathetic Ziggler. Simply put: it's the best double turn match since Steve Austin and Bret Hart's match at WrestleMania 13 (which also took place in Chicago, go figure).

Highly Recommended


6. Money in the Bank

Admittedly, the rest of this show outside of the ladder match is mostly filler but there is one main event worth talking about. That would be the WWE Championship match between John Cena and Mark Henry. After announcing his plans to retire, Mark Henry punked out Cena (and majority of the fans) by attacking Cena and declaring it was all a hoax to get into the Champ's head and give him a title shot. What proceeded was a match that we all knew who was likely to win, but all held out that hope and wondered if they were going to give Mark Henry a chance to hold the WWE title as a reward for all his hard work. It's a match that blurs the line between television storyline and backstage politics and it works out surprisingly well in terms of in-ring storytelling. But now on to the matches everyone came to see: the Money in the Bank ladder matches.

The first Money in the Bank match (for the World Heavyweight Championship contract) featured all heels (odd) and even some tag teams that worked together for most of the match, assuming that their partners would have their backs no matter what (morons). It may have been the opening match, but Dean Ambrose, Fandango, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro, and Wade Barrett showed that they could cut it in a big match situation. They would have almost stolen the show if not for the main event. In a Money in the Bank ladder match featuring 6 all-stars, Sheamus, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Christian, and the returning Rob Van Dam put on a great main event that the Philadelphia crowd ate up. It was obvious that they wanted an internet darling like Punk, Bryan, or RVD, but did the fans walk away happy?

Mild Recommendation


7. SummerSlam

This SummerSlam is a great show. I mean a REALLY great show. It's the best SummerSlam I've seen since 2002 and that's saying a lot. The show creates 2 amazing instant classics on this evening and that's where the show will leave its mark in history. The rest of the undercard is good and even has a gem or two in there (particularly the World Heavyweight Championship match between Alberto Del Rio and Christian), but on this night it was about four men and their desire to make history.

In the first main event, CM Punk fought Brock Lesnar in a No Disqualification match that was highlighted as The Best vs. The Beast. Lesnar's dominance was in full effect as he mercilessly beat Punk around the arena, and it was Punk's determination to never give up, throw everything he had at Lesnar, and desire to get revenge on Paul Heyman that rallied the fans behind him. It tells an excellent David and Goliath story (that they actually refer to many times throughout the night) and was so good it had Shawn Michaels (who was on the pre-show panel) say "Thank You," and I can only imagine how good it must feel to hear those words from the Showstopper. Then, the time had come to see if Daniel Bryan could be a main event player as he challenged John Cena for the WWE Championship with Triple H as the guest referee. The two superstars actually have a legitimate wrestling match for a while, which certainly felt like a jab at all the naysayers who say Cena can't wrestle. The two had an unforgettable match that I was on the edge of my seat for, and I would definitely love to see them have another PPV classic in the future. There is no controversy in who won or how they won, it was a clean victory and the better man truly won that evening. If only for a few minutes...

Highly Recommended


8. Night of Champions

After cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam, Randy Orton was declared the name and face of the WWE by Triple H (who helped Orton screw Bryan out of the title). What ensued was the beginning of what many considered the new Austin/McMahon feud of this generation: Daniel Bryan against The Authority. After having many matches against Orton on RAW earlier in the year, it's not possible for them to have a badly worked match, but they needed to add something new to their WWE Championship match on this night to spark some crowd interest and have the match stand out. CM Punk also has an opportunity to get revenge, with a no disqualification handicap elimination match against Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel. Once you add a stipulation like that, you can only figure that Axel gets eliminated. But once, Punk gets Heyman alone in the ring, does he finally get his revenge or does Heyman have a trick (or a new Paul Heyman guy) up his sleeve?

If anything, this show stands out for being such a transitional show that all of the challengers in the title matches seem like unique choices. Dolph Ziggler challenging Dean Ambrose for the United States Championship, Kofi Kingston challenging Curtis Axel for the Intercontinental Championship, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins defending the Tag Team Championships against the Prime Time Players, AJ Lee defending the Diva's Championship against Natalya, Brie Bella, and Naomi, Rob Van Dam challenging Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship, they aren't bad, but they certainly lack any long-term direction. So does that mean this show features nothing but well-wrestled filler? And if so, does that make it ok?

Mild Recommendation


Thoughts: The main good things in this block of shows are obvious. The formation of the Authority, the development of Daniel Bryan as a legit main eventer, the domination of the Shield, the debut of the Wyatt Family, the return of Rob Van Dam, the feud between Punk and Heyman, and the entire Payback PPV. Giant long-term plans were certainly in development for the WWE, with a main event focus on either Daniel Bryan or the Authority, meaning there could be some creative leeway for the remainder of the PPV undercards. Would they all work out well or would there be a few misfires?

Concluded in Part III...


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