The Year in PPV- 2015, Part III

Let's head to Japan for WWE Network Exclusive...


9. The Beast in the East

For the first time ever, the WWE had a PPV event in Japan and it was broadcast exclusively on the WWE Network. The big selling point for the show was that Brock Lesnar was going to wrestle his first match since WrestleMania. When you got to the PPV and saw that he was facing Kofi Kingston, you knew it was going to be bad day for the New Day. Still,as fun as the squash match was, that can't be the main event of a successful show and the WWE knew that when they put the match in the middle of the card. There was still room for a Divas match, an awesome opener with Neville and Chris Jericho and a main event tag team match with King Barrett and Kane taking on Dolph Ziggler and John Cena. Everything seemed solid enough to work on the show.

And then came what in my mind was the REAL main event of the night. Kevin Owens put his NXT Championship on the line against Finn Balor, in the country where Balor made a name for himself. The Japanese fans loved Balor when he was known as Prince Devitt, so this was a great homecoming of sorts and a big push in the right direction of getting Balor that mainstream exposure with the WWE fans that weren't familiar with the NXT superstars. It was a great show with good quality and a great crowd. I'd definitely be on board to see them return to Japan for another PPV if they turned out like this one.

Highly Recommended


10. Battleground

This show was decent. We had a solid opener from Randy Orton and Sheamus, in Orton's hometown of St. Louis, no less. We had a good match for the WWE Tag Team Championships. We had a lot of buzz surrounding the Divas thanks to the recent debuts of Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks. Granted, I didn't agree with the team selections for the Triple Threat match. Charlotte and Sasha Banks were great choices, but Brie Bella representing her team was something no one wanted to see. We had the conclusion to the John Cena and Kevin Owens trilogy. With both having a victory over the other, the rubber match was for the United States Championship. A goof finale of sorts, but I think they lost a lot of steam after that first match at Elimination Chamber. The match between Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns was also a feud that had a lot of intrigue surrounding it. But when we got to the match, I was pretty deflated by the result. They picked up more traction the more they fought, but this first match was pretty slow. The only thing I really hated on the show was the segment with The Miz and Big Show before the main event. It was to make up for a cancelled Triple Threat match that eventually happened at SummerSlam, but this didn't belong the show.

The main event gave the fans something they had been waiting since WrestleMania to see: Brock Lesnar get his hands on Seth Rollins. Rollins defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Lesnar in a match that was predicted to be very one sided. I was really intrigued heading into the match, and the ending doesn't necessarily bother me, but it wasn't really what I had in mind. I would've liked to see what would have happened if the match could've had a clean finish.

Mild Recommendation


11. SummerSlam

For the first time ever, we were given a 4-hour SummerSlam. That added a big, epic feel to the show. Watching it live, I wasn't fully prepared for how long the show was and got bored a number of times. However, re-watching it 5 months later actually helped me ease into the 4-hour grind. Not every match fires on all cylinders, and I could easily shave this down to 3 hours, if we eliminated the gimmicky celebrity match (Neville and Stephen Amell vs. Stardust and King Barrett), the Intercontinental Championship match (Ryback vs. The Miz vs. Big Show), and the match between Dolph Ziggler and Rusev.

Still, what's good on this show is really good. Sheamus and Randy Orton had another fine opener. The WWE Tag Team Championship match showed why The New Day was one of the best things in the WWE in 2015. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose had a fun little tag match against Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper. John Cena and Seth Rollins had a match that would unify the United States and WWE World Heavyweight Championships, proving why the two were champions in the first place. Both men brought their A game to give the New York crowd a match they wouldn't forget, while also teasing that this match could give Cena his 16th world championship, which would tie with Ric Flair's record. Would he be able to do it? Or would Rollins prove he's a worthy champion by winning the United States Championship? That's the beauty of this match and its storytelling. The Divas Revolution continued the storyline while it was still fresh with an elimination tag team match pitting Team PCB, Team BAD, and Team Bella against each other in a battle for team and Diva supremacy. Cesaro and Kevin Owens had a great gem of a match before the main event. The main event saw the rematch the world waited over a year to see: Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker. Despite a controversial finish, this match was an amazing brawl from beginning to end that was a much better match than their WrestleMania XXX encounter. Overall, it's a great show that suffers from a little too much filler that could easily be trimmed to give a much more coherent show.

Highly Recommended


12. Night of Champions

The midcard championship matches at Night of Champions were fine, but nothing spectacular. Ryback defended the Intercontinental Championship against Kevin Owens, and they did well as the opener to get the crowd going. The New Day defended the WWE Tag Team Championships against the returning Dudley Boyz and had a good match, until the ending. Nikki Bella defended her Divas Championship against Charlotte, in a pretty good match, but didn't have the emotion and intensity of the match they had the week before on RAW. I could've done without the entire Rusev/Dolph Ziggler/Summer Rae/Lana storyline in hindsight, but their match wasn't half bad to watch. And the six-man tag pitting the Wyatt Family (with the recently debuted Braun Strowman) against Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and a mystery partner definitely gave the fans something to cheer about.

The big moment of the night was the challenge that Seth Rollins had, defending two titles in two matches in one night. First, he was going to have to defend the United States Championship against John Cena. And immediately after, he would have to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Sting. This is a concept that really helped validate Rollins as the top worker in the company at the time. It's pretty telling how much the company was backing this guy. These aren't just any regular two opponents. This is Sting and John Cena. And both matches were fine to watch, so it was a pretty good payoff. After the two matches, complete chaos ensues. I mean, it's just rapid fire what happens. And it's a tad disappointing, as it takes away from the two championship matches we just saw. Almost as to say "these two matches weren't important. Here's what Rollins' next feud will be. And while we're at it, throw in a Money in the Bank tease so the fans don't forget why Sheamus is relevant." Just seemed a strange way to finish the night.

Mild Recommendation


Thoughts: There was some really good stuff in this group of PPVs. NXT was able to get a good showcase at Beast in the East, we had 3 shows in a row that utilized Lesnar's talents, a show that proved Rollins was good enough to work 2 matches in a row against the likes of Cena and Sting, and the early signs of change coming to the tag team and Divas divisions. And that's just to name a few. Hopefully, the WWE can keep bringing the positive vibes heading out of 2015.

Concluded in Part IV...


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