Top 8 Favorite WrestleMania Matches

We've finally arrived at that time of the year that means so much for wrestling fans: WrestleMania!!! Well, we're still technically a few days away from WrestleMania weekend, but that doesn't really matter because this week always gets me hyped up every year. It's a great opportunity to reminisce on the most storied moments in Mania history, so that's what I'm going to do. You might see that some of the most memorable and legendary moments aren't on my list. The reason for that is because I didn't become a fan until WrestleMania 23, meaning I didn't grow up with the iconic moments like Hogan/Andre or the Iron Man match. Because of this, heading into those moments had way too much hype to live up to. These are the matches that have wowed me with the in-ring work and the moments they created with me as a fan, regardless of any hype or historical significance. Without further ado, let's get right to it with my Top 8 Favorite WrestleMania Matches.


Number 8: Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania XXX)

I know I talked about this one already in my Favorite Daniel Bryan Matches list, so I won't go too much more into depth on this one. The important thing to take away from this match is that it had a monstrously over story that pitted the much hated authority figure against the never say die underdog. The winner would move on to the main event and compete for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. They were given 25 minutes and put on a match that had the audience completely riveted. With good in-ring psychology, storytelling, and crowd reactions, this is one of the greatest opening matches to a PPV ever, let alone a WrestleMania. From the video package, to the entrances, to the match stipulation, to the match quality, everything about this match screams "epic moment."

Number 7: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 23)

They say that you always remember your first and that was definitely the case with my first WrestleMania. Without Mania 23, I wouldn't be who I am today. I wouldn't spend the last 10 years of my life being a fan of professional wrestling, wouldn't have made some of the friends I've made over the years, and wouldn't be running my own wrestling blog. So naturally, a moment from my first wrestling show is always sure to get me in the mood for WrestleMania. With tons of moments to choose from, the forefront of epic encounters was in the main event. John Cena defended his WWE Championship against Shawn Michaels. With both of them holding the World Tag Team Championships, this was a story of former allies clashing for the richest prize in the industry. In front of over 80,000 fans, this match also really helped legitimize Cena as the face that runs the place. Whether you loved him or hated him, you had to respect him after a match like that. It was the right match, against the right opponent, at the right time of year. A classic that created an instant life-long fan out of yours truly.

Number 6: The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge and Christian (WrestleMania 2000)

I knew I was going to include a ladder match to feature Edge in this countdown, but I was torn between this and the first Money in the Bank match. At the end of the day, I appreciated that this match signaled the arrival of 3 tag teams, rather than a match that signaled the arrival of one future main eventer. I've always been partial to this match over their future TLC encounters, probably because those two matches had to try and elevate the standard these 3 teams set in this match. The spots they take are jaw dropping to see at the time. While it was supposed to be a Triangle Ladder Match, tables made their presence known within the match numerous times, foreshadowing the matches that would connect these 3 teams together for over a year. These are 3 of the greatest tag teams to come out of their era, if not 3 of the greatest teams in wrestling history, that had their opportunity to shine at on the Grandest Stage of 'Em All. And they definitely made the most of it, climbing the ladder (pun intended) towards tag team immortality.

Number 5: The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WrestleMania XIX)

It's not too out there for fans to include a Rock/Austin match in their favorite Mania bouts. But most wouldn't choose THIS encounter. They'd pick the WrestleMania X-Seven match and put it in the Top 3. Not on MY list! I was always more of a Rock guy more than an Austin guy anyways, so it makes sense I'd favor the one that Rock actually wins. But that isn't the only reason I prefer this match. There's the fact that this is Austin's last match, the commentary from JR and King is really on point, and this one doesn't end with a BS ending like the one at Mania X-Seven. All kidding aside, the Rock/Austin trilogy is a milestone in Mania's history, and their final encounter is the one I consider the most important chapter in their storied rivalry.

Number 4: The Ultimate Warrior vs. Macho Man Randy Savage (WrestleMania VII)

Every time I watch this match, it's like I'm watching art. Warrior and Savage had a great rivalry that stemmed from Warrior's refusal to give Savage a title shot. By the time they got to this match, it was so personal that it was more important than the belt (it said so on Warrior's tights). With a retirement stipulation, this match also had the implication that one of these beloved superstars would leave us for good. Of course, since that didn't happen at all, it gets a minor ding which pushed it to the Number 4 slot, but it's still a darn impressive accomplishment. The two put on an adrenaline-filled encounter, with every pinfall a second away from the end of a career. Macho Man lost the battle, but was victorious in defeat as he reunited with Miss Elizabeth. With tears streaming down the faces of fans everywhere, it created an emotional moment that had everyone rejoicing. It just gives me chills whenever I watch it.With the level of professional Savage was, it only makes sense that he'd be the guy to pull a 5-star match out of Warrior.

Number 3: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WrestleMania X)

This is the greatest opening match in Mania history, and easily the greatest sibling rivalry story to take place in wrestling. The quality of effort Bret and Owen put into this match is off the charts. Bret was already over as the top babyface in the company, so he didn't need this match in order to succeed. In fact, that part of the story is utilized throughout the night. He wrestles later that night for the WWF Championship, so he wasn't really going to lose everything if he lost this match. Owen NEEDED to win this match, but I'm sure there wasn't many that expected him to win. At the time, this was considered a huge upset for The Rocket, and it today has stood the test of time as a huge landmark match in the careers of both Hart brothers. There's so many little nuances in the match that I love. From Owen's premature celebrations, to the battle over who could apply the Sharpshooter, and to the match's sudden finish. This match is a definite showcase of how both brothers were great talents, but Owen was just a little better on that night.

Number 2: Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (WrestleMania XXV)

My Top 2 was a real Sophie's Choice, boiling down to the greater match and moment combination. For Shawn and Taker, the moment was already made before the match ever happened. It was the two most important performers in Mania history squaring off at the 25th WrestleMania. In anyone's right mind, this should have been the main event so it wouldn't take the spotlight away from the other matches. Of course, it wasn't the main event, so it was probably the biggest show stealer in Mania history. It's an obvious 5-star classic between two of my all-time favorite performers that was the saving grace from one of the biggest disappointments in wrestling PPV history.

Number 1: Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit (WrestleMania XX)

But my Favorite WrestleMania Match is going to be Chris Benoit achieving his dream at Madison Square Garden. I'm prepared to have a good number of people crucify me for my choice, but hear me out. Regardless of Benoit's actions in the end as a person, this crowning achievement for Benoit the performer is something you wait your whole life to see. It's the 20th WrestleMania, in Madison Square Garden no less, against two of the greatest ever in Shawn Michaels and Triple H. After competing all over the world for over 15 years, Chris Benoit wrestled a perfect Triple Threat main event and walked away World Heavyweight Champion. That moment is great enough on its own, but the cherry on top is the closing moment. Benoit celebrating in the ring with his best friend, WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. The tears just flow out of me every time I watch this. It's an amazing and inspiring moment that is the perfect close to an amazing show like Mania XX. If someone asked me to only watch one match, every day, for the rest of my life, THIS is the match I would choose. In my mind, it's absolute perfection!

Are there any that I'm forgetting? Is there one on this list that you think isn't deserving of a top spot? Well, let me know in the comments and also suggest what type of wrestling countdown you'd like to see me do next.


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Roadblock 2016 Review

With 3 weeks left until WrestleMania 32, the WWE treated us to another one of those house show-like PPVs with a WWE Network-exclusive broadcast. Originally titled March to WrestleMania, this is Roadblock, an event from Toronto, Canada, teasing the idea that the entire landscape of WrestleMania could change in one night. Being this close to the event, those gears started to turn, wondering if we could get a little shakeup in the lineup. If you look on the internet, the response is the usual for the last couple of years. This is the biggest show of the year and a lot of the matches that have been planned feel like headscratchers, so the prospect that we could get a few changes 3 weeks before the PPV was admittedly enticing for the internet fan out there. But then again, this is what we'd expect it to be: a house show that was televised on the Network, meaning that the ACTUAL chances of any significant changes happening on the Road to WrestleMania were slim to none. But, could the show still deliver in terms of match quality? In many ways, yes it did. But the question that the show had me constantly thinking was when nothing is really on the line, does the match quality matter? We know that titles aren't going to change hands and a lot of the matches are there for filler purposes, but if they're good matches, does that make it ok? Let's find that out with my look at Roadblock.


WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day vs. The League of Nations

I know The New Day is planning on facing The League of Nations at WrestleMania, so this opening match had me a bit confused on why they'd give a variation of it so close to the actual event. Wouldn't you want to make sure we don't see what the match looks like? That's what would make it so special when they lock up at Mania. But anyways, this match works fine outside of a couple obvious botches. This match did point out to me that the two members of The League of Nations I tolerate most are Sheamus and Bad News Barrett, so there's a tiny silver lining from this whole thing. I still can't see this being the best idea for the WWE Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania. The League of Nations have "go away" heat and The New Day still haven't really become babyfaces yet. We'll see what happens to help spice this feud up a little.

Chris Jericho vs. Jack Swagger

Why did Jack Swagger come out to challenge Jericho? Jericho was in the ring cutting a heel promo on how Canada sucks and then the Real American comes out. What sense does that make? I mean, it's not like they had a Canadian athlete like Sami Zayn to come out and wrestle Jericho. Oh wait, YES THEY DID!!!! And do you have any idea how much that match would've rocked? That confrontation is WrestleMania worthy. How do you pass on an opportunity like that guys?!? I mean, the match was fine, but still such a headscratcher on a booking standpoint. Take the promo out, and it's a good enough random match, but the promo was so good that the choice of opponent can't be ignored.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: The Revival vs. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady

Leave it to NXT to put on one of the best matches on a WWE PPV. Going back and watching the episodes of NXT on the WWE Network really sparked a love for the team of Enzo and Big Cass. Add to the fact that Dash and Dawson have been one of the best teams NXT has had to offer in quite some time, plus the fact that we KNOW these two teams can have a great match together, and the match pretty much sells itself. The two really gel well in the ring due to their contrasting styles. Enzo and Cass are the larger than life personalities and Dash and Dawson add a more rough and tough brawling attitude. I really enjoy their matches and this was a great way for both teams to get a taste of mainstream exposure. There's still a chance that a lot of viewers haven't checked out NXT yet, and I hope a match like this can introduce them to what they've been missing out on.

Divas Championship Match: Charlotte vs. Natalya

I'm getting more and more impressed as each PPV goes by to see how much more time they're giving the Divas to wrestle. With the build up to an awesome Triple Threat at Mania coming up, it seemed beyond anticlimactic for Charlotte to defend her championship against Natalya at this event, but the crowd made up for it. This is Canada, Natalya's home country, so there was an added amount of emotion and motivation for her to win. The crowd was invested in her to win because, let's face it, it's Canada and she's a Hart. And when Charlotte inevitably beats her, she gets some legit heat from the crowd because she beat the hometown favorite. It's a simple strategy on how to do some successful heel work, but it's a formula that proves to work, so this match did a good job of helping get Charlotte on the right track heading into Mania.

Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper

I remember reading early card advertisements had Brock fighting Luke Harper, but then the WWE announced it was going to be Brock facing Bray once the plans for their Mania match turned into Brock vs. Dean Ambrose. So, when exactly did they change the plans for this to be a handicap match? They didn't announce that until the match started, and even when that happened, Bray left Harper to fight Lesnar on his own. What's going on? Is Bray Wyatt injured or something? I thought this would've been the big payoff for their feud. This would've been Lesnar's revenge for the Wyatt Family screwing him at the Royal Rumble, and we didn't get that. We had Lesnar just do the usual Suplex City stuff to a really good worker in Harper, while Bray sat and watched. Feud over? I guess so. Oh well.

Sami Zayn vs. Stardust

See what I mean? They could've used Sami Zayn to face Jericho and it would've been awesome. I'm totally fine with the match Zayn had with Stardust in terms of ring work, but it was lacking a whole lot in terms of booking. What was the point of the match? To show Sami was ready to face Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship? We already knew that because of their historic NXT feud, so why did we need this match? We didn't really. We needed Zayn to answer the call for Canada and put on a spectacular match with Chris Jericho. THAT is what the show needed.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose

This main event worked on so many levels simply for the fact that it gave us a number of moments where we believed Dean Ambrose could win the championship and shakeup the WrestleMania card. This match also did a lot of good for Triple H, making us feel like he was ready to take on a guy like Roman Reigns in the main event of Mania. Let's face it, Triple H hasn't wrestled for a lengthy push in a while and is probably nearing the end of his wrestling career, so this is probably one of the last hurrahs he will have holding the company's top prize. Chalk up another good title match and main event to add to The Game's impressive in-ring resume. As for Ambrose, I don't feel like he was "buried" by Triple H here, but rather showed that he can hang with one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time. With a performance like this, he's ready for the big time moment at Mania. I've been saying for a while now that he's a modern day Mick Foley, willing to put his body on the line and has a huge amount of heart and guts in a fight. This match showed us that Dean Ambrose might actually be able to give Brock Lesnar one heck of a fight at WrestleMania.


Final Thoughts: As far as a house show goes, this is a good event. There's a few questionable booking decisions for the overall show, but a lot of the ring quality makes up for it. Boosted by that excellent main event from Ambrose and Triple H, I can give Roadblock a Mild Recommendation. It's not an important show to watch in the grand scheme of things, but if you appreciate a few standout matches here and there, it's an easy enough show to have some fun with.


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Top 8 Favorite Sting PPV Matches

As I was looking for a topic to do for this week, I was looking for something that could tie into the Road to WrestleMania. Struggling to find something, I decided to do a PPV match spotlight on the Hall of Fame headliner this year. Sting has many nicknames, including "The Icon" and "The Franchise." He was the man that carried the WCW banner throughout the '90s and is one of the most recognizable names and faces in wrestling for the last 30 years. To celebrate his legendary career, I'm looking at my favorite 8 PPV matches to feature The Stinger. Just for the record, I'm not counting any Clash of the Champions specials, since those were broadcast on television for free. It's the equivalent of a PPV match on an episode of Monday Night RAW, it just wouldn't make much sense in context with how I like to do my lists. But this list was a very challenging one to do, since Sting had wrestled nearly everyone in WCW. It's about looking at his greatest rivalries and career highlights, as well as the matches that kept me the most entertained. That being said, you'll notice in this list I have a stronger favoritism towards the Surfer Sting look than I do the Crow Sting, simply based on the match quality. When Crow Sting showed up, the roster on WCW was nowhere near as talented or near his level like it was in the late '80s and early '90s. That in mind, it's showtime so let's look at the 8 best PPV matches of The Man They Call Sting.


Number 8: Hollywood Hogan vs. Sting (Starrcade 1997)

The only appearance from Crow Sting on this list, this spot is given out of sheer principle for how big this moment was for WCW. This match was the big payoff for over a year's worth of buildup and the first time Sting wrestled in a year. Sting was WCW's last chance at standing up to the nWo heading into the match, and you can feel the audience really waiting to see these two go at it. The match is a bit lackluster in some respects and the ending is pretty badly handled, but this was the biggest moment for Sting's transformation into this new character. It's the biggest moment this new look of his would ever have and it's worth mentioning as one of WCW's most iconic matchups during the era of the Monday Night Wars.

Number 7: The Road Warriors vs. Sting and Dusty Rhodes (Starrcade 1988)

Another memorable Starrcade match in Sting's career involved him teaming with The American Dream to get revenge on The Road Warriors. As far as tag matches go, it's a good match with an ending I can't stand. But you can't deny just how much the crowd was behind Sting and Dusty Rhodes. These are two of the greatest babyface wrestlers in history teaming up to take on one of the most decorated tag teams in history. It's a recipe for a fantastic tag team encounter and it has aged pretty well by today's standards. It just all comes back to that ending that puts it this high. Trust me, if a decisive finish would've happened, this would be much higher because the formula works.

Number 6: Sting vs. Vader (Starrcade 1992)

Man, the guy really knew how to work matches at Starrcade. And how could he not? This was WCW's equivalent to WrestleMania, so you can imagine Sting always had the mentality to kick it up a notch in his matches. At this Starrcade, Sting had the opportunity to win the King of Cable Tournament by defeating Big Van Vader. Of course, this tournament didn't go down in the annals of history like the King of the Ring, but the focus here is mainly on the match. Vader was always one of Sting's greatest opponents and this match is pure action and intensity throughout. You can always hear the crowd rally behind Sting as he would show feats of strengths against the physically imposing Vader. The two just went together really well in the ring and this match served as the biggest spotlight for their feud.

Number 5: Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard vs. Sting and Nikita Koloff (The Great American Bash 1988)

Most of what I had to say about the previous tag match is relevant here, but cranked up to a much higher voltage. You can't talk about Sting's career without mentioning his long feud with The Four Horsemen, and this tag match is one of the greatest matches he had against the legendary stable. Everyone in the crowd is behind him and Nikita Koloff to win the tag titles, leading to epic boos for the Horsemen and electrifying pops for the babyfaces. The ending, while a bit of a letdown, also tells an incredible story and the commentary from Jim Ross really paints the picture of how important time is, and how a championship can be lost in a matter of moments. A really stellar effort on all involved.

Number 4: The Steiner Brothers vs. Sting and Lex Luger (SuperBrawl I)

By now, you can see that Sting was a tag team specialist in some regards. His most famous tag team partner was probably Lex Luger and this was their best tag team match on PPV. For 10 minutes, it's just pure action between the two teams, momentum constantly switching. All 4 men look strong in this match, and there's a little bit of shenanigans at the very end but it really works for the match, especially in the Sting component. This run in moment had context heading into the match, but it changes the outcome of the match, and leads to a future storyline with Sting. That's fantastic long-term booking if I've ever seen.

Number 3: Ric Flair vs. Sting (The Great American Bash 1990)

Any time you win a major World Heavyweight Championship, it's going to be considered a career highlight. Sting's strongest title win came in a classic match with one of his most famed opponents, Ric Flair. The Stinger and The Nature Boy have had many great matches together, but I really felt this was the most crucial match in Sting's career on a booking standpoint. Keep in mind, had I decide to include Clash of the Champions, their match that really put Sting on the map would've probably clinched the top spot. It's THAT good. But, as far as PPV matches go, this served as a huge passing the torch moment. The commentary said it best. Flair was the top superstar of the '80s and Sting was the guy that would be carrying WCW throughout the '90s. The result is one of the most important matches in The Icon's career, and I very much appreciate it.

Number 2: Sting vs. Cactus Jack (Beach Blast 1992)

I knew this match was good, but I didn't know it was THAT good. In a matchup that came out of nowhere for me, Sting went up against Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere match. At the time, Sting was the World Heavyweight Champion and this was a non-title match. For a nice little match, this has fantastic quality to it. It took a man the crowd could get behind like Sting and put him in an environment that his opponent was best known for. You'd expect it to probably be a pure hardcore brawl, but Sting knew how to bring the fight to the ring and add some actual wrestling to it, blending the two styles spectacularly. It's a great Mick Foley match. It's a great Sting match. It's a great match, period.

Number 1: Sting's Squadron vs. The Dangerous Alliance (WrestleWar 1992)

But the crowning PPV moment in Sting's career was in the famed WarGames match against the Dangerous Alliance. I'm not normally big on this gimmick match. I'm more of a Hell in a Cell guy personally, but this match really had me hooked. The components for it were just too good to pass up on. For starters, the Dangerous Alliance is possibly the most underrated stable ever. Managed by Paul Heyman, featuring Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko, and Bobby Eaton, this stable came to win against Sting's Squadron, comprised of The Stinger himself, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham, and Nikita Koloff. There's never a dull moment in the match, at least 4 competitors bleed buckets, and it features a stacked roster of the best competitors WCW had to offer at the time. It's a match that just screams instant classic and one I can revisit over and over.

Are there any that I'm forgetting? Is there one on this list that you think isn't deserving of a top spot? Well, let me know in the comments and also suggest what type of wrestling countdown you'd like to see me do next.


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The Year in PPV- NXT 2014

So if you're part of the internet wrestling community, there's been this little promotion within the WWE that has been talked about for years for featuring some of the best wrestling in the world right now. Of course, I'm talking about NXT, so I wanted to give the brand a Year in PPV retrospective for its debut year for the WWE Network in 2014. Being a little late to the party, I decided to fully immerse myself in NXT by watching all the of the NXT episodes available on the WWE Network. It fills in enough context for the entire roster and shows me all the rivalries and storylines I'll need to know heading into the PPVs.

Without further ado, let's head to the first ever NXT PPV on the WWE Network...


1. NXT ArRival

In many ways, NXT ArRival is the first impression NXT left on a lot of the WWE Universe. How did it fare out? Pretty well actually. Admittedly, there's maybe one or two more squash matches than I would like, but the matches that last a lengthy amount of time are very well done. Opening the show with Triple H in the ring hyping up the NXT brand is one of the smartest things you could do to up the show's stock. An even smarter move was following that opening up with Cesaro and Sami Zayn. These two had an amazingly bitter rivalry and some really great matches together heading into this match that was going to serve as the culmination for everything they worked for. It was a battle for respect, from each other and all the fans watching. A great opening contest that set the bar high for the rest of the show.

Later on in the night, another great rivalry culminated. This time, it was the heavily competitive feud between Paige and Emma for the NXT Women's Championship. They had a great match and it's refreshing to see women try to wrestle each other in a match full of psychology and submission moves. The main event, introduced by Shawn Michaels (which I gave a pretty good pop for), was their first ever ladder match for the NXT Championship. Bo Dallas and Adrian Neville put on a very solid main event that didn't rely too heavily on high spots. It was more of them having a match that just so happened to have a ladder involved. I like that every once in a while, it's refreshing to return the ladder match to its roots, and this was a proper way to end a very solid mainstream introduction to NXT.

Recommended


2. NXT TakeOver

With a few minor hiccups that I didn't care about in the first two matches, this show really kicked into high gear in quality once we got to the third match in the evening. In a battle to see who'd be the new number one contender, Tyler Breeze and Sami Zayn put on a spectacular contest. I really think this matched served as a coming out party for Tyler Breeze. He was certainly popular for his gimmick, but might have flown under the radar in terms of in-ring ability. Zayn really pulled some special moments out of Breeze in this match, letting the NXT fans know that Breeze was a force to be reckoned with in the main event scene.

Then, we got the Women's Championship match that saw Natalya and Charlotte go at it for the vacant title. With Bret Hart in Natalya's corner and Ric Flair in Charlotte's corner, this was a battle for more than just a championship. This was a battle for supremacy as the greatest family in wrestling. And it's not a bad match. You can see Charlotte constantly improving as a performer based on the women she works with and Natalya was a great opponent for her to work with on a major show like this. And in the main event, Tyson Kidd challenged Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship. This was a pretty good main event for the evening, with the two being near equals in styles. Tyson would favor technical wrestling and Neville would favor a more high-flying style, but the two could trade and counteract styles as well. A solid match to close the show, but this was the second show in a row where the main event was overshadowed by a Sami Zayn performance. They better get that guy up to the main event level soon.

Recommended


3. NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way

Speak of the devil. As the title for the show would suggest, the main event saw the NXT Champion Adrian Neville defend his title in a Fatal 4-Way against Tyson Kidd, Tyler Breeze, and Sami Zayn. This was a terrific main event match. All four had momentum heading in. All four stood a chance of winning. The pendulum was constantly swinging in everyone's favor. The ending really kicked the door open for a great storyline involving Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville. I really thought this was the first time the main event deservedly was the best match on the card.

Although, that could be because a lot of the matches on the rest of the show ranged from a good 10 minute match to a mere squash. The NXT Tag Team Championship match was good with the Lucha Dragons challenging the Ascension. The NXT Women's Championship match was good with Charlotte and Bayley going at it. There was even a good in-ring segment where Hideo Itami made his debut. It's all good, but it all felt by the books in comparison to the main event. This was the only PPV NXT gave in 2014 where something felt missing. It was lacking a bit of spark. Hopefully, that is only a temporary feeling and the next show can really deliver to end the year on a high note.

Mild Recommendation


4. NXT TakeOver: R Evolution

I will never be able to properly explain how near PERFECT this show is, but I'm going to try my best. Everything that took place on this show worked. Baron Corbin comes out for the usual squash match and Bull Dempsey is watching from the audience, continuing their feud. The Lucha Dragons and the Vaudevillains have a good NXT Tag Team Championship match, showcasing the amazing tag team division NXT offers. Hideo Itami and Finn Balor have an impressive PPV debut against the Ascension, with Balor debuting his Demon paint form to one of the loudest pops of the night. Charlotte and Sasha Banks have a great Women's Championship match to show how the Women's division is far superior to the Diva's division. And Kevin Owens made his debut in the opening match to an amazing response from the fans, validating him and letting him know that he had made it to the big leagues and he belonged there.

And it all comes down to the main event. The NXT Championship was on the line as Adrian Neville defended against Sami Zayn. There were so many facets that made this match interesting. Sami's aggression heading into this match, fueled by his inability to win his biggest matches, created a dynamic that had fans in his corner and gave him a new attitude that had fans really believing he could win. Neville's recent cheating ways create a subtle heel turn without having to eliminate his high-flying offense. Zayn said if he lost the match he would leave NXT. There was so much on the line and they delivered an absolute classic match. One of the best stories told in the ring in 2014, and it ends the right way. Zayn wins the belt, celebrating with the entire NXT roster. Neville gives Zayn a showing of respect. And Zayn heads to the back with his best friend Kevin Owens when Owens brutally attacked Zayn. What an amazing cliffhanger to end one of the best PPVs I've ever seen since becoming a fan. Truly, on this night, Kevin Owens arrived in NXT and made an impact.

Highly Recommended


Thoughts: The future is in good hands based on what I saw with NXT in 2014. There were a few gimmicks I didn't care for, like Adam Rose, but the overall product had a great balance of good wrestling and deep characters. Guys like Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville were the glue throughout the year, and new guys would debut throughout the year and find their way into the mix. The tag team and women's divisions were also very impressive to watch. There's not much else I can say. The promos are well thought out, the matches are usually executed to the highest quality, and the superstars are very enjoyable. This is the kind of stuff I wish the main roster would give us on RAW and SmackDown. If you value professional wrestling, do yourself a favor and check out NXT from the beginning on the WWE Network. You can properly see this wonderful idea for a minor league show snowball into the best product the WWE has to offer today.


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