Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,
Pro Wrestling Love vol. 55:
The Best of World Wrestling Entertainment 2010-2014
Objective: Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at http://gweproject.freeforums.net/) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.
Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.
Subject: This fifty-first volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the halfway of the Top 24 countdown of the best matches to take place in WWE between 2010-2014. This will be the first ever four part series in Pro Wrestling Love history! There has never been a better time to be a WWE fan than from 2012-2014 if you love in-ring action. In my opinion, 2013 is the best year wrestling-wise in the history of the company. The year 2010 was a strange year for the WWE as the WWE lost a lot of this its essential support structure for John Cena. The year 2010 saw Shawn Michaels go into retirement, HHH & Undertaker went into semi-retirement, Batista & Jericho left and it was Edge's last full year. This left just John Cena and Randy Orton as main eventers by the end of 2010. The year 2010 saw a complete overhaul in the WWE main event scene. The key replacements came in the form of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan who were the new major minted main eventers during the first half of the 2010s. I selected the year 2014 as the end year because seems like the year they finally transitioned away from John Cena being The Man. The year 2015 seemed like the year Roman Reigns would begin his era but instead it has become more like the Brock Lesnar era, which I am not complaining about as a big Brock fanboy, but that's for a different blog. You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.
Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.
This is the match that actually inspired me to join PWO. I found PWO in the spring of 2012 and fell in love instantly, but like most people started out as a lurker. I loved this match so much and was surprised a lot of people here didn't like it so I decided to join and speak up. The rest is history.
I still think this is one of the most underrated matches in WWE history. I am a huge, unabashed Brock mark and this is a stellar Brock performance. Brock has a pro wrestling IQ so much higher than everybody else it is scary. He just has a great feel. He knows exactly what makes sense for Brock Lesnar. We start with the usual Brock bullying and crowding the corner, which is the perfect start. Now watch how HHH clotheslines him over the top rope twice. First off you see the impressive athleticism of Brock. I have seen LeBron James in person live and I am not sure if he is the greatest athlete I have ever seen because Brock is just that damn freakish. Brock is a great bumper and at his size all his bumps look great. The key is how does he sell it. He is NOT selling pain. He is selling shock. Big difference! That's pro wrestling IQ.
Then we go into Brock Beast Mode. He literally takes the gloves off. How does he take control a cheap shot to the back of the head. Michael Cole does a great job pointing out you would be docked one point in UFC and the next time would be a DQ. Brock is an asshole. He is a bully. That is not a respectful move. Great job by Cole putting over this heelish action. Then it is a focused attack on the arm. It is Brock Lesnar in all his reigning offensive glory. Slamming HHH on the bad arm (he broke it in the build to the match). I loved the King Kong Spot where Brock tips the announce table on its side, ascends it and then leaps into the air and crashed down on HHH. HHH was great with peppering in hope spots and shots to make Brock cut him off. His arm is in pain, but he can still fight back and he showed that. This was the Brock show but HHH was doing a good job. Brock was great with all the cutoffs. What is also great is how they foreshadow the big turning point. HHH is throwing kneelifts and punches to Brock's gut constantly. By the time we get into the latter stage of the match, we see the best Brock, the wounded bear Brock.
Andre and Vader had this special charisma when it came to selling. They were even more dangerous as these "wounded bears". Perhaps the greatest of them all is Brock Lesnar. I have consistently said that Brock Lesnar is the seller on the WWE Roster since 2012. AJ Styles is a close second just as AJ is the best bumper and Brock is a close second. You can already see Brock selling those shots the stomach. How it is slowing him down and the grimace on his face. Then when HHH pulls him into the pointed edge of the announce table stomach, wow, some of the best selling of all time. Brock Lesnar put on an absolute master class in selling. HHH to his credit stayed on it. Every punch and kneelift was to the gut. Brock was milking it. It had me on the edge of my seat just like back in 2012. Pedigree was a great final hope spot. Then the BALLSHOT~! I forgot about that. The match was effectively No DQ, No Countout because HHH told the ref to let everything go. Here you have the man who is supposed to bring legitimacy back to WWE. He is the Shootfighter and he has to stoop to a low blow. That's great fucking heeling! I love that shit! I love when a monster heel cheats because it just much more terrible. It also puts over how desperate he was. I liked the F-5 kickout to give HHH a little love and protection. The one part of the match I didnt dig was the finish. I think first Double Wristlock (I refuse to call it a Kimura, we are in pro wrestling) should have ended it. The Pedigree -> Flash Submission is stupid modern day wrestling where moves don't matter. What is so great about this match is every move up until the finish had consequence and had meaning.
I am sour on the finish, but it does not negate how tremendous this match is especially as a standalone Brock performance and you see all three aspects of Brock that make him great, Brock the Bumper, Brock the Asskicker and Brock the Seller. Come in with an open mind and give this a shot. ****1/2
"WELCOME TO THE HALL OF PAIN" That post-match promo has to go down as one of the best championship victory promos of all time.
It seems that Mark Henry coined the term "Hall of Pain" on the Smackdown before this show. I gotta check out that promo. Amazing match. Best Mark Henry match I have seen thus far. There are a couple different elements at work here. It is not just Mark's power and mass versus Orton's speed and guile. Mark Henry is the "Worlds Strongest Failure" according to Randy Orton. He is a career underachiever. How will he perform in the biggest match of his career. Henry shows off some of that power early but Orton goes for the legs. Orton can be uptempo when he wants to be. Garvin stomp by Orton focused on the legs. Mark ends up on the outside and rips the cover off the announce table. Show his inexperience. Orton has him rattled. Mark hits a big boot on Orton. I cant believe Mark can pick up his leg that high. Orton has one last gasp with the sleeper. Great idea. Mark backs him in he corner. Orton is on the top rope and one swing of that bear paw sends Orton crashing to the floor. Mark Henry in control is a beautiful thing. Mark Henry is just in a zone. One of the best super heavyweight, power heat segments. Stretching Orton's back across the ring post. Big bodyslam and that big ass splash. Orton is trying to fire up and Mark hits these huge headbutts. The entire Hall of Pain run built to this moment and Mark Henry was ready. However, this confidence turns to arrogance. Mark Henry starts to toy with the World Heavyweight Champion. I use that term to remind everyone this is the World Heavyweight Champion he is wrestling, Mark Henry is on the roll of a lifetime, but even he should not take the World Heavyweight Champion lightly. Orton starts to build some momentum. He has a great punch and European Uppercut. Henry stymies him with one of those big headbutts. Orton to the mat. Henry splash, but nobody is home. Here is the Champion's opening. He is rocking. I liked the rapid fire ten count punches in the corner with Henry on one knee. Orton hits some massive clotheslines but Orton cant get him off his feet. Standing dropkick knocks the big man down! We got a fight on our hands now, boys!
Now we get to unique part of the match. Henry shoves Orton off when he goes for the Hangsman DDT and hits a heavy clothesline. Mark Henry hits the World Strongest Slam and Orton kicks out?!?! What's unique? This was not an act of finisher trading. This was a spot that was built to. Mark Henry had control let that control slip from his grasp by getting cocky and once he regained control he went for the kill, but Orton kicked out. This actually built to another segment instead of spot trading. By kicking out of the World Strongest Slam in this context, you truly believe Orton will win. In a typical wrestling match with this build, Orton is a 95% chance of winning. I think this one of the most effective red herrings they have ever produced.
Having had his finish kicked out of, Mark Henry does the sensible thing and goes for a bigger bomb. The Vaderbomb. He eats feet. You feel that Orton finish stretch that will end up in victory. He kicks Mark Henry down to size. DDT. Hangsman DDT. Yep Orton has this one. He moves in for the kill and with one flick of his tree trunk like leg Mark Henry takes Orton's knee. Orton sells it like he has been shot in the leg. Orton's selljob is incredible. The way he is writhing in pain. Everything he tries to get up, he sort of collapses. He cant put any pressure on his leg. He uses Mark Henry to get up. Mark Henry is all business. Not a single shred of mercy. Orton defiant goes for the RKO and Henry throws him off. World's Strongest Slam. 1-2-3. WELCOME TO THE HALL OF PAIN!
Amazing match. Early frustration from Mark Henry before settling into a groove. I loved how he earned that heat segment fighting through a sleeper and knocking Orotn off the top. He ruled that heat segment. I loved how he got cockier and cockier allowing Orton back in. Orton was terrific in this match. Good selling early, awesome fire late and the leg selling at the end was downright awesome. The kickout of the Worlds Strongest Slam is one of the best false finishes they have had in awhile. Like I said 95% of the time when a match is paced like that, the babyface goes over after kicking out of a heel's finish. Awesome curveball. Loved the finish with Mark injuring the leg, Orton's selling, the last ditch RKO attempt and then Mark Henry finishing the job. Badass.
It is still amazing that this happened in a WWE ring on a WWE PPV for the WWE Championship but here it is and they delivered the goods. This is the last major WWE match I had never seen at least once before and it lived up to the hype.
The simplistic story to this match is that of dual limb psychology with CM Punk targeting the leg of D-Bry and Bryan working over Punk's midsection. However, there is a lot more meat on the bone than just a story of dual limb psychology. The match is decidedly lo-fi and rooted in the fundamentals. This is not simply a Greatest Hits Collection of two of the best Indy wrestlers. Punk never even hits a Go 2 Sleep. There are not a zillion nearfalls. There are no overwrought sequences. It is a wrestling match. Just men playing the human game of chess. In addition, the psychology of their characters play a role into the match. I loved Daniel Bryan's character at this time. He was a size too small, but the chip on his shoulder was three sizes too big if ya catch my drift. He had a great Napoleon complex that would cause him to whip himself into a frenzy and we would see that rage in this match. As Michael Cole likes to say that pugnacious pitbull, he would become enraged at losing control of the match and suffocate Punk with a barrage of knees to the midsection. On the other hand, Punk is a cool customer, nonchalant smartass. He enjoys saying he has a count of 5 and has a huge shit-eating grin on his face after this. However, he is also the babyface and he is the one delivering the fiery comebacks. I loved the grit he shows in the match. He comes off like a DIY Punk in all his matches because how raw his performance is, but in this match he keeps it even simpler which is great. The best part of the whole match may have been Bryan is going to stretch Punk out and Punk fights it off by grabbing his own kneepad to avoid it being cinched in. What a spot!
The match begins with Punk targeting the leg of Bryan by attacking it in the corner. He eventually makes strong in-roads into injuring the leg. There's a nice part where Bryan does his customary flip in the corner, but he can explode into his all-out assault because he clutches the knee and so Punk is able to tease Go 2 Sleep and when Bryan evades kick him in the knee. Working Bryan's leg is like working KENTA's leg, it is a risky proposition, but here Bryan is mostly on his best behavior. You could claim this is heel in peril as opposed to a shine which it is, however it fits the story of the match. Bryan is being shown up in his own style and this will be cause to piss him off. In addition, Punk is the champion so he needs to establish why he is the champion and why he is the better wrestler. The highlights of the first segment is Punk's wicked curb stomp and then Kneecrusher and dumping him over the top rope.
The second segment begins when Punk tries to follow Bryan outside but not with his trademark suicide dive but rather with a baseball slide because Bryan had moved to the apron. Bryan duck and hid. He tackles Punk and drives him ribs first into the barricade. He then hands him out to dry gut first on the ribs establishing the abdomen as his target. Bryan hit a missile dropkick and again the knee keeps him from pressing his advantage and so he settles for a sitting abdominal stretch which will hurt Punk and allow him time to recuperate. This is when Punk grabs his kneepad to stop the stretch from taking place, but Bryan breaks his grip. I like Punk going for the figure-4 when he gets out. Bryan fights him off twice. Then Bryan toe kicks him in the gut to re-consolidate the advantage, kneelift, swift kick to the back, all great. Mexican Surfboard! Perfect! Dragon Clutch, Punk breaks his grip and goes to town with elbows. Punk is relentless and he gets on top and gets a cover for no count. I loved that exchange. It was so gritty and so smart to go for cover on that. Punk gets a Fisherman Suplex at one point and then stomps the knee. Bryan kicks the abs again and gets a suplex. The first big highspot of the match goes to D-Bry with a top rope diving headbutt for two. They then hit a double crossbody which levels the playing field.
Minor quibble is the double crossbody probably should have hurt Punk more but Punk is the one who comes out firing on all cylinders and hits his usual comeback sequence with the neckbreaker, powerslam and suicide dive. What I like about this is Bryan makes him earn the powerslam and Suicide Dive. He is still fighting back and Punk has to fight through Bryan's offense. One of the best spots of the match is Bryan hitting a dropkick to the injured ribs when Punk is sailing through the air on a Springboard Clothesline. Bryan is pissed. He goes for his Yes! Kicks! but they dont have the same zip on them so Punk counters into a Dragon Leg Screw->Figure-4! OH SHIT! That's awesome! This is when Punk says I have until 5. Punk goes for a kneecrusher but Bryan wriggle free into a Sunset Flip. Punk becomes inspired and drop toeholds into a La Magistral Cradle. He tries again, Bryan has it scouted BANG! WICKED KICK TO THE HEAD! Punk deadweight sells but kicks out at 2! Now thats a damn great pro wrestling exchange. Bryan exposes the injured knee and buries it repeatedly into Punk's midsection. Ok, thats the best spot of the match! What a great Fuck You! You think you hurt me? Well here's my injured body part and I am going to use it to further fuck you up. Holy shit! Thats great! Bryan goes for a superplex, but Punk desperately knocks him off and Bryan takes a bad spill crotching himself on the top rope, recovers and Punk nails a Springboard Clothesline for two. That was Punk's first big nearfall.
This resets things again for the final hurrah. They fight on their knees work up to base each missing wild kicks to the head. They tease Go 2 Sleep and YESLock. Punk nails a huge kick to the head and this is his second big nearfall. He goes up to the top rope for the Macho Man Elbow with bad ribs and his face says it all. "This is gonna hurt" and boy it does as he is left writhing in pain not able to capitalize. Instead Bryan goes into frenzy with a barrage of knees to the midsection and Bryan looks triumphant. The ref rips him off. Bryan is YES! He does the Psychosis dropkick ass-bump into the corner. Punk nails the big step-up knee. Bryan puts on the brakes and wrestles him into the YESLock. Punk rolls him on his back to get the pinfall but as the ref counts three, Punk is tapping. Ooooooooooooooo DRAMA!
Again, I dont like the step-up knee leading to someone else's offense. I just got knee'd in the head should not be leading to F-Us and YESLocks. If you wanna shove Punk off and take a moment for you to both sell thats fine, but the Knee to the Head should not be the Macho Man Reviving Elbow of the 2010s. Besides a few minor selling quibbles like above, this match is tremendous. It is a match wrestled organically and they take what is given them. They are not shoehorning their stock highspots into the match. They incorporating them based on how the match presents them. Great counterwrestling throughout, they wove the injured bodyparts from beginning to end and a great sense of struggle and urgency. This is an all-timer!
I love Power Wrestling! This match is straight from Bill Watts playbook of two big uglies throwing hammocks and each other. Power wrestling is so refreshing in the WWE, which is so highspot-oriented. The year 2011 was a great year for Power Wrestling with the push of Mark Henry & the Hall of Pain and his matches against Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show. The Hall of Pain was a grand spectacle of anti-workrate. Sheamus vs Big Show representing the closing of the triangle. What if the other two best power brusiers in the WWE wrestled? I loved the story going into the match, so simple, so elegant, who is the toughest SOB and who has the best KO shot: Brogue Kick vs KO Punch. Good shit!
The match itself is better than any of Mark Henry's output in 2011, which is say a lot because I love those aforementioned Mark Henry matches. This match is all about timing. The hope spots and cutoffs are so well-paced. The selling is executed to perfection. It is all about the gradualism and Sheamus never dies thus never undercutting his own comeback. Sheamus is the best brawler in WWE and usually has considerable size and power advantage. This is all negated by Big Show's mammoth size and Sheamus is a fish out of water. They do a great job establishing this. Big Show picking up Sheamus while Sheamus has a headlock clamped on Show was such a great visual. It made Sheamus look small, which is weird. I love how Sheamus tried to meet Big Show head on with a ton of body shots to no avail. He is a valiant champion and is going to back down from the challenge. It establishes Show as an Everest worthy of climbing. Show absorbs the blows. He registers them, but fights through them. Loved the short knee and all the big overhead chops.
Eventually Sheamus goes for the knee, but Show wisely powders. This is another great aspect of the match is how well the outside the ring is used in King of the Mountain spots. Sheamus is knows he is at disadvantage and attacks Big Show when he is vulnerable when Show is trying to re-enter the ring. Sheamus makes some headway, but Show throws him hard to the outside. Again, the outside the ring become critical. Big Show becomes the Biggest Nick Bockwinkel constantly playing King of the Mountain. Sheamus has to take hard falls to the outside. Big Show gets to rest and has the high ground OR he go outside and throw Sheamus around. This is when the Bill Watts style comes in as Show ragdolls Sheamus into barricades and announce tables. Sheamus does such a great job of selling. You believe he is beaten up and worn down, but he is not out of it. Show wisely has not hit him in the head so Sheamus' hope spots are all credible. Sheamus tries his best to mount comeback but meets a big boot from Show or a bearhug. Show gets two big nearfalls in the form of a Vaderbomb and a chokeslam (he had to earn that Chokeslam it took three attempts). I liked how Sheamus' comeback proper really began from Show missing moves like an elbow drop and then slamming himself into the post on a charge. Then Sheamus repeatedly drove him back into the ringpost. Awesome! White Noise! Solid nearfall! So with all this out of the way, it is put up or shut up time! Thats when it becomes KO Punch vs Brogue Kick and I wont spoil it from there.
Loved this match so much. Great power wrestling with awesome timing on the hope spots and cutoffs. Sheamus wrestled so well as an outgunned, game babyface showing great fire in the hope spots. Big Show was such a force of nature and excellent in his cutoff. Show also did a great job registering the hope spots but not bumping. I thought when he did bump they could have built it a bit more. I think they could have done a more interesting finish. I am not going to hold this against them but I think teasing each finish (Brogue Kick, KO Punch) would have been great. Anyways, this feels so different than so much of 2010s WWE and it is worked so tight. The pinnacle of the early 2010s bruising, power style wrestling in WWE.
I watched this match and RAW rematch back to back and came away so thrilled about the rematch's chaos that it actually overshadowed this match initially. I went back and rewatched this one and just absolutely loved it even more when paying attention to all the little details. To me, this is the match to beat for WWE match of the year.
It is crazy to think that if they pulled the trigger on a Dean Ambrose/Bray Wyatt feud at this point, I would have lapped it up. By November, I was actively rejecting it as one of the worst things on TV. It tells you how cold the product has gotten and cooled off these two molten characters are now. Ambrose was just rocking it as the firebrand that was the trigger for the chaos. I loved when everyone was turning to go to their respective corners, Ambrose just jumped the Wyatts. The tag wrestling in this was better than in the rematch. I loved how strongly they emphasized getting their opponent into their corner. That's the Shield to exploit the numbers game, but they may have met their match in the Wyatts that will throw that strategy right in their face. Rollins opening with speed to get Rowan into the Shield corner was perfect with Rowan bowling him over to escape. It put over how much strategy mattered in this match.
Roman Reigns versus Bray Wyatt felt huge during their showdown and I loved how Reigns fought through everything. Nothing was given, he had to go through the Wyatts. The beatdwon of Harper in the corner was just classic Shield. That's tag team wrestling baby! They do a great transition where Ambrose's temper gets the best of him as he takes a swipe at Bray on the apron and eats a Harper dropkick. What follows is just badass. Ambrose bites Rowan, Harper steps on Ambrose head and claws at his face. I love it, Michael! The swinging neckbreaker transition is super weak though. Rollins was a great house of fire with great speed moves and climaxing on an excellent suicide dive that got the crowd rocking. He gets the drive by knee, but whiffs on the Curb Stomp and eats a swinging powerslam. The Bray Wyatt senton on the outside looked nasty. My favorite spot of the match was Harper had Rollins by the hair just playing with his food and Rollins slaps him in defiance and Harper slaps the taste out of his mouth. That was powerful shit.
People talk up Ambrose's fighting from underneath prowess, but Rollins should not be underestimated as he fights in the corner with great urgency only for nasty Bray headbutts to keep him at bay. This match utilized Bray better as the game changer for his team. I like the idea of him letting his heavies do the dirty work, but if ever gets out of hand, he is there to keep in check. Ambrose makes the save for Rollins and eats a hellacious big boot from Harper. Rollins hits an enziguiri to get Reigns in the match (I am not digging these transitions). Reigns is so great in these hot tag situations and not just the typical Reigns offense, there is a nasty back elbow to Rowan that keeps you on your feet. In an electric moment, Reigns is thrown outside and just runs around the ring to kick Rowan's head in. AMBROSE SWARM!!! KATIE BAR THE DOOR! There is a pier-six brawl a brewin'! Harper suicide dive and Rollins says two can play at that game. Ambrose and Wyatt tumble into the crowd and Rollins gets double chokeslammed through the table. Hey, come the monitors did not explode when they were ripper out of the announce table. After more than a year of The Shield picking their opponents off one by one, The Wyatts gave them a taste of their own medicine. Now Reigns was left alone surrounded by the Wyatts just as he surrounded so many others. Luke Harper serves a beaten Reigns to his master. I loved how Reigns blocked Sister Abigail and turned it into a test of strength. SUPERMAN PUNCH! Reigns goes for the spear on Bray, but Harper takes the bullet for his leader. In the chaos, Bray hits his wicked cross body and Sister Abigail to win.
I loved the finish. The Shield's strategy was predicated on two tenets: create chaos and divide and conquer. The Wyatts took out two members of the Shield leaving Reigns alone and then in the chaos that ensued Bray Wyatt took advantage to win the match. The match weaknesses: the transitions were lame & uncreative and I would have liked more chippiness. They were too willing to just let one guy have his segment and that be that. The rematch thrives on that chaos and full court press by both teams. I think if you could combine the best parts of this match and the rematch, you would have all-time classic that really could rewrite how North American tag team wrestling is executed and presented. As is, it is still an incredible match from both an action and storytelling standpoint as the Shield essentially get beaten at their own game.
So I did something interesting I watched this match without having watched XXV in many years. I have not watched this one in many years. I wanted to see how well this stands on its own. I would say very, very well indeed. These are not two legends coasting on their reputations, WrestleMania, and the fact this is a retirement. They built a classic from the ground up using the fundamentals of what makes pro wrestling great. Two men struggling to win a contest. I LOVED the urgency at the beginning of this match. Both men were 45, but they were explosive at the outset. I think they did a great job explaining why each slowed down. For Michaels it was the constant shots to the head and for Undertaker is the unfortunate jamming of his knee on Old School. The urgency at the beginning was refreshing and really felt like two of the best vying to win a crucial match. What I loved about the next portion is that it took about five minutes for Shawn to really injure Taker's leg. He had to EARN that advantage. Taker kept him at bay with his reach using those big jabs to keep Michaels at a distance or his size to bully Michaels around. Michaels for his part was as pugnacious as a bulldog and was going for the leg at every opportunity. Michaels sealed that deal with a figure-4 and then heel hook. Now you believe the match is anyone's ballgame. It will be the big bombs of Taker vs Michaels' attack on the leg. I thought they did a magnificent job down the stretch with each nearfall. It would be easy to fall prey to "My Turn, Your Turn", excessive nearfalls or way too much down time. They paced it perfectly. The Tombstone on the outside was awesome. A big moment, but since it happened on the outside something that Michaels can come back from. The Last Ride into a facebuster due to the bum wheel was great. That first Sweet Chin Music, holy shit, did everyone in attendance bite on that or what! The crowd went nuts for that. The Sweet Chin Music/Moonsault through the table combo was a great Holy Shit spot to send Michaels out on a high note. A sort of salute to the great career he had. Then it was time one more Sweet Chin Music to get that one last nearfall for the Heartbreak Kid. He has nothing left to do but try it again, but this time it is the Chokeslam. We all know the story from there. The Tombstone kickout, the cinematic ending with the defiant Michaels pulling up on Taker and slashing his throat and then Taker giving him the BIGGEST TOMBSTONE EVER!
First half was great. Lots of energy early they came with good in-match storyline reasons why it slowed down. The finishing stretch was perfectly paced. They were some nitpicks here and there about transitions especially in holds that keep it up from the full monty, but this is easily the 2010 WWE Match of the Year. I have one last critically acclaimed FUTEN tag team match to watch before I decide if this was 2010 match of the year, but definitely has a good shot. It will be interesting to see if this makes by Top 100 matches. Stellar WrestleMania Main Event, hard to ask for a better one.
The Best of WWE 2010-2014: #12-#7
#12. Brock Lesnar vs Triple H - WWE Summerslam 2012
This is the match that actually inspired me to join PWO. I found PWO in the spring of 2012 and fell in love instantly, but like most people started out as a lurker. I loved this match so much and was surprised a lot of people here didn't like it so I decided to join and speak up. The rest is history.
I still think this is one of the most underrated matches in WWE history. I am a huge, unabashed Brock mark and this is a stellar Brock performance. Brock has a pro wrestling IQ so much higher than everybody else it is scary. He just has a great feel. He knows exactly what makes sense for Brock Lesnar. We start with the usual Brock bullying and crowding the corner, which is the perfect start. Now watch how HHH clotheslines him over the top rope twice. First off you see the impressive athleticism of Brock. I have seen LeBron James in person live and I am not sure if he is the greatest athlete I have ever seen because Brock is just that damn freakish. Brock is a great bumper and at his size all his bumps look great. The key is how does he sell it. He is NOT selling pain. He is selling shock. Big difference! That's pro wrestling IQ.
Then we go into Brock Beast Mode. He literally takes the gloves off. How does he take control a cheap shot to the back of the head. Michael Cole does a great job pointing out you would be docked one point in UFC and the next time would be a DQ. Brock is an asshole. He is a bully. That is not a respectful move. Great job by Cole putting over this heelish action. Then it is a focused attack on the arm. It is Brock Lesnar in all his reigning offensive glory. Slamming HHH on the bad arm (he broke it in the build to the match). I loved the King Kong Spot where Brock tips the announce table on its side, ascends it and then leaps into the air and crashed down on HHH. HHH was great with peppering in hope spots and shots to make Brock cut him off. His arm is in pain, but he can still fight back and he showed that. This was the Brock show but HHH was doing a good job. Brock was great with all the cutoffs. What is also great is how they foreshadow the big turning point. HHH is throwing kneelifts and punches to Brock's gut constantly. By the time we get into the latter stage of the match, we see the best Brock, the wounded bear Brock.
Andre and Vader had this special charisma when it came to selling. They were even more dangerous as these "wounded bears". Perhaps the greatest of them all is Brock Lesnar. I have consistently said that Brock Lesnar is the seller on the WWE Roster since 2012. AJ Styles is a close second just as AJ is the best bumper and Brock is a close second. You can already see Brock selling those shots the stomach. How it is slowing him down and the grimace on his face. Then when HHH pulls him into the pointed edge of the announce table stomach, wow, some of the best selling of all time. Brock Lesnar put on an absolute master class in selling. HHH to his credit stayed on it. Every punch and kneelift was to the gut. Brock was milking it. It had me on the edge of my seat just like back in 2012. Pedigree was a great final hope spot. Then the BALLSHOT~! I forgot about that. The match was effectively No DQ, No Countout because HHH told the ref to let everything go. Here you have the man who is supposed to bring legitimacy back to WWE. He is the Shootfighter and he has to stoop to a low blow. That's great fucking heeling! I love that shit! I love when a monster heel cheats because it just much more terrible. It also puts over how desperate he was. I liked the F-5 kickout to give HHH a little love and protection. The one part of the match I didnt dig was the finish. I think first Double Wristlock (I refuse to call it a Kimura, we are in pro wrestling) should have ended it. The Pedigree -> Flash Submission is stupid modern day wrestling where moves don't matter. What is so great about this match is every move up until the finish had consequence and had meaning.
I am sour on the finish, but it does not negate how tremendous this match is especially as a standalone Brock performance and you see all three aspects of Brock that make him great, Brock the Bumper, Brock the Asskicker and Brock the Seller. Come in with an open mind and give this a shot. ****1/2
#11. World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Mark Henry - Night of Champions 2011
"WELCOME TO THE HALL OF PAIN" That post-match promo has to go down as one of the best championship victory promos of all time.
It seems that Mark Henry coined the term "Hall of Pain" on the Smackdown before this show. I gotta check out that promo. Amazing match. Best Mark Henry match I have seen thus far. There are a couple different elements at work here. It is not just Mark's power and mass versus Orton's speed and guile. Mark Henry is the "Worlds Strongest Failure" according to Randy Orton. He is a career underachiever. How will he perform in the biggest match of his career. Henry shows off some of that power early but Orton goes for the legs. Orton can be uptempo when he wants to be. Garvin stomp by Orton focused on the legs. Mark ends up on the outside and rips the cover off the announce table. Show his inexperience. Orton has him rattled. Mark hits a big boot on Orton. I cant believe Mark can pick up his leg that high. Orton has one last gasp with the sleeper. Great idea. Mark backs him in he corner. Orton is on the top rope and one swing of that bear paw sends Orton crashing to the floor. Mark Henry in control is a beautiful thing. Mark Henry is just in a zone. One of the best super heavyweight, power heat segments. Stretching Orton's back across the ring post. Big bodyslam and that big ass splash. Orton is trying to fire up and Mark hits these huge headbutts. The entire Hall of Pain run built to this moment and Mark Henry was ready. However, this confidence turns to arrogance. Mark Henry starts to toy with the World Heavyweight Champion. I use that term to remind everyone this is the World Heavyweight Champion he is wrestling, Mark Henry is on the roll of a lifetime, but even he should not take the World Heavyweight Champion lightly. Orton starts to build some momentum. He has a great punch and European Uppercut. Henry stymies him with one of those big headbutts. Orton to the mat. Henry splash, but nobody is home. Here is the Champion's opening. He is rocking. I liked the rapid fire ten count punches in the corner with Henry on one knee. Orton hits some massive clotheslines but Orton cant get him off his feet. Standing dropkick knocks the big man down! We got a fight on our hands now, boys!
Now we get to unique part of the match. Henry shoves Orton off when he goes for the Hangsman DDT and hits a heavy clothesline. Mark Henry hits the World Strongest Slam and Orton kicks out?!?! What's unique? This was not an act of finisher trading. This was a spot that was built to. Mark Henry had control let that control slip from his grasp by getting cocky and once he regained control he went for the kill, but Orton kicked out. This actually built to another segment instead of spot trading. By kicking out of the World Strongest Slam in this context, you truly believe Orton will win. In a typical wrestling match with this build, Orton is a 95% chance of winning. I think this one of the most effective red herrings they have ever produced.
Having had his finish kicked out of, Mark Henry does the sensible thing and goes for a bigger bomb. The Vaderbomb. He eats feet. You feel that Orton finish stretch that will end up in victory. He kicks Mark Henry down to size. DDT. Hangsman DDT. Yep Orton has this one. He moves in for the kill and with one flick of his tree trunk like leg Mark Henry takes Orton's knee. Orton sells it like he has been shot in the leg. Orton's selljob is incredible. The way he is writhing in pain. Everything he tries to get up, he sort of collapses. He cant put any pressure on his leg. He uses Mark Henry to get up. Mark Henry is all business. Not a single shred of mercy. Orton defiant goes for the RKO and Henry throws him off. World's Strongest Slam. 1-2-3. WELCOME TO THE HALL OF PAIN!
Amazing match. Early frustration from Mark Henry before settling into a groove. I loved how he earned that heat segment fighting through a sleeper and knocking Orotn off the top. He ruled that heat segment. I loved how he got cockier and cockier allowing Orton back in. Orton was terrific in this match. Good selling early, awesome fire late and the leg selling at the end was downright awesome. The kickout of the Worlds Strongest Slam is one of the best false finishes they have had in awhile. Like I said 95% of the time when a match is paced like that, the babyface goes over after kicking out of a heel's finish. Awesome curveball. Loved the finish with Mark injuring the leg, Orton's selling, the last ditch RKO attempt and then Mark Henry finishing the job. Badass.
#10. WWE Champion CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan - WWE Over The Limit 2012
It is still amazing that this happened in a WWE ring on a WWE PPV for the WWE Championship but here it is and they delivered the goods. This is the last major WWE match I had never seen at least once before and it lived up to the hype.
The simplistic story to this match is that of dual limb psychology with CM Punk targeting the leg of D-Bry and Bryan working over Punk's midsection. However, there is a lot more meat on the bone than just a story of dual limb psychology. The match is decidedly lo-fi and rooted in the fundamentals. This is not simply a Greatest Hits Collection of two of the best Indy wrestlers. Punk never even hits a Go 2 Sleep. There are not a zillion nearfalls. There are no overwrought sequences. It is a wrestling match. Just men playing the human game of chess. In addition, the psychology of their characters play a role into the match. I loved Daniel Bryan's character at this time. He was a size too small, but the chip on his shoulder was three sizes too big if ya catch my drift. He had a great Napoleon complex that would cause him to whip himself into a frenzy and we would see that rage in this match. As Michael Cole likes to say that pugnacious pitbull, he would become enraged at losing control of the match and suffocate Punk with a barrage of knees to the midsection. On the other hand, Punk is a cool customer, nonchalant smartass. He enjoys saying he has a count of 5 and has a huge shit-eating grin on his face after this. However, he is also the babyface and he is the one delivering the fiery comebacks. I loved the grit he shows in the match. He comes off like a DIY Punk in all his matches because how raw his performance is, but in this match he keeps it even simpler which is great. The best part of the whole match may have been Bryan is going to stretch Punk out and Punk fights it off by grabbing his own kneepad to avoid it being cinched in. What a spot!
The match begins with Punk targeting the leg of Bryan by attacking it in the corner. He eventually makes strong in-roads into injuring the leg. There's a nice part where Bryan does his customary flip in the corner, but he can explode into his all-out assault because he clutches the knee and so Punk is able to tease Go 2 Sleep and when Bryan evades kick him in the knee. Working Bryan's leg is like working KENTA's leg, it is a risky proposition, but here Bryan is mostly on his best behavior. You could claim this is heel in peril as opposed to a shine which it is, however it fits the story of the match. Bryan is being shown up in his own style and this will be cause to piss him off. In addition, Punk is the champion so he needs to establish why he is the champion and why he is the better wrestler. The highlights of the first segment is Punk's wicked curb stomp and then Kneecrusher and dumping him over the top rope.
The second segment begins when Punk tries to follow Bryan outside but not with his trademark suicide dive but rather with a baseball slide because Bryan had moved to the apron. Bryan duck and hid. He tackles Punk and drives him ribs first into the barricade. He then hands him out to dry gut first on the ribs establishing the abdomen as his target. Bryan hit a missile dropkick and again the knee keeps him from pressing his advantage and so he settles for a sitting abdominal stretch which will hurt Punk and allow him time to recuperate. This is when Punk grabs his kneepad to stop the stretch from taking place, but Bryan breaks his grip. I like Punk going for the figure-4 when he gets out. Bryan fights him off twice. Then Bryan toe kicks him in the gut to re-consolidate the advantage, kneelift, swift kick to the back, all great. Mexican Surfboard! Perfect! Dragon Clutch, Punk breaks his grip and goes to town with elbows. Punk is relentless and he gets on top and gets a cover for no count. I loved that exchange. It was so gritty and so smart to go for cover on that. Punk gets a Fisherman Suplex at one point and then stomps the knee. Bryan kicks the abs again and gets a suplex. The first big highspot of the match goes to D-Bry with a top rope diving headbutt for two. They then hit a double crossbody which levels the playing field.
Minor quibble is the double crossbody probably should have hurt Punk more but Punk is the one who comes out firing on all cylinders and hits his usual comeback sequence with the neckbreaker, powerslam and suicide dive. What I like about this is Bryan makes him earn the powerslam and Suicide Dive. He is still fighting back and Punk has to fight through Bryan's offense. One of the best spots of the match is Bryan hitting a dropkick to the injured ribs when Punk is sailing through the air on a Springboard Clothesline. Bryan is pissed. He goes for his Yes! Kicks! but they dont have the same zip on them so Punk counters into a Dragon Leg Screw->Figure-4! OH SHIT! That's awesome! This is when Punk says I have until 5. Punk goes for a kneecrusher but Bryan wriggle free into a Sunset Flip. Punk becomes inspired and drop toeholds into a La Magistral Cradle. He tries again, Bryan has it scouted BANG! WICKED KICK TO THE HEAD! Punk deadweight sells but kicks out at 2! Now thats a damn great pro wrestling exchange. Bryan exposes the injured knee and buries it repeatedly into Punk's midsection. Ok, thats the best spot of the match! What a great Fuck You! You think you hurt me? Well here's my injured body part and I am going to use it to further fuck you up. Holy shit! Thats great! Bryan goes for a superplex, but Punk desperately knocks him off and Bryan takes a bad spill crotching himself on the top rope, recovers and Punk nails a Springboard Clothesline for two. That was Punk's first big nearfall.
This resets things again for the final hurrah. They fight on their knees work up to base each missing wild kicks to the head. They tease Go 2 Sleep and YESLock. Punk nails a huge kick to the head and this is his second big nearfall. He goes up to the top rope for the Macho Man Elbow with bad ribs and his face says it all. "This is gonna hurt" and boy it does as he is left writhing in pain not able to capitalize. Instead Bryan goes into frenzy with a barrage of knees to the midsection and Bryan looks triumphant. The ref rips him off. Bryan is YES! He does the Psychosis dropkick ass-bump into the corner. Punk nails the big step-up knee. Bryan puts on the brakes and wrestles him into the YESLock. Punk rolls him on his back to get the pinfall but as the ref counts three, Punk is tapping. Ooooooooooooooo DRAMA!
Again, I dont like the step-up knee leading to someone else's offense. I just got knee'd in the head should not be leading to F-Us and YESLocks. If you wanna shove Punk off and take a moment for you to both sell thats fine, but the Knee to the Head should not be the Macho Man Reviving Elbow of the 2010s. Besides a few minor selling quibbles like above, this match is tremendous. It is a match wrestled organically and they take what is given them. They are not shoehorning their stock highspots into the match. They incorporating them based on how the match presents them. Great counterwrestling throughout, they wove the injured bodyparts from beginning to end and a great sense of struggle and urgency. This is an all-timer!
#9. World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus vs Big Show - Hell In A Cell 2012
I love Power Wrestling! This match is straight from Bill Watts playbook of two big uglies throwing hammocks and each other. Power wrestling is so refreshing in the WWE, which is so highspot-oriented. The year 2011 was a great year for Power Wrestling with the push of Mark Henry & the Hall of Pain and his matches against Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show. The Hall of Pain was a grand spectacle of anti-workrate. Sheamus vs Big Show representing the closing of the triangle. What if the other two best power brusiers in the WWE wrestled? I loved the story going into the match, so simple, so elegant, who is the toughest SOB and who has the best KO shot: Brogue Kick vs KO Punch. Good shit!
The match itself is better than any of Mark Henry's output in 2011, which is say a lot because I love those aforementioned Mark Henry matches. This match is all about timing. The hope spots and cutoffs are so well-paced. The selling is executed to perfection. It is all about the gradualism and Sheamus never dies thus never undercutting his own comeback. Sheamus is the best brawler in WWE and usually has considerable size and power advantage. This is all negated by Big Show's mammoth size and Sheamus is a fish out of water. They do a great job establishing this. Big Show picking up Sheamus while Sheamus has a headlock clamped on Show was such a great visual. It made Sheamus look small, which is weird. I love how Sheamus tried to meet Big Show head on with a ton of body shots to no avail. He is a valiant champion and is going to back down from the challenge. It establishes Show as an Everest worthy of climbing. Show absorbs the blows. He registers them, but fights through them. Loved the short knee and all the big overhead chops.
Eventually Sheamus goes for the knee, but Show wisely powders. This is another great aspect of the match is how well the outside the ring is used in King of the Mountain spots. Sheamus is knows he is at disadvantage and attacks Big Show when he is vulnerable when Show is trying to re-enter the ring. Sheamus makes some headway, but Show throws him hard to the outside. Again, the outside the ring become critical. Big Show becomes the Biggest Nick Bockwinkel constantly playing King of the Mountain. Sheamus has to take hard falls to the outside. Big Show gets to rest and has the high ground OR he go outside and throw Sheamus around. This is when the Bill Watts style comes in as Show ragdolls Sheamus into barricades and announce tables. Sheamus does such a great job of selling. You believe he is beaten up and worn down, but he is not out of it. Show wisely has not hit him in the head so Sheamus' hope spots are all credible. Sheamus tries his best to mount comeback but meets a big boot from Show or a bearhug. Show gets two big nearfalls in the form of a Vaderbomb and a chokeslam (he had to earn that Chokeslam it took three attempts). I liked how Sheamus' comeback proper really began from Show missing moves like an elbow drop and then slamming himself into the post on a charge. Then Sheamus repeatedly drove him back into the ringpost. Awesome! White Noise! Solid nearfall! So with all this out of the way, it is put up or shut up time! Thats when it becomes KO Punch vs Brogue Kick and I wont spoil it from there.
Loved this match so much. Great power wrestling with awesome timing on the hope spots and cutoffs. Sheamus wrestled so well as an outgunned, game babyface showing great fire in the hope spots. Big Show was such a force of nature and excellent in his cutoff. Show also did a great job registering the hope spots but not bumping. I thought when he did bump they could have built it a bit more. I think they could have done a more interesting finish. I am not going to hold this against them but I think teasing each finish (Brogue Kick, KO Punch) would have been great. Anyways, this feels so different than so much of 2010s WWE and it is worked so tight. The pinnacle of the early 2010s bruising, power style wrestling in WWE.
#8. The Shield vs Wyatt Family - WWE Elimination Chamber 2014
I watched this match and RAW rematch back to back and came away so thrilled about the rematch's chaos that it actually overshadowed this match initially. I went back and rewatched this one and just absolutely loved it even more when paying attention to all the little details. To me, this is the match to beat for WWE match of the year.
It is crazy to think that if they pulled the trigger on a Dean Ambrose/Bray Wyatt feud at this point, I would have lapped it up. By November, I was actively rejecting it as one of the worst things on TV. It tells you how cold the product has gotten and cooled off these two molten characters are now. Ambrose was just rocking it as the firebrand that was the trigger for the chaos. I loved when everyone was turning to go to their respective corners, Ambrose just jumped the Wyatts. The tag wrestling in this was better than in the rematch. I loved how strongly they emphasized getting their opponent into their corner. That's the Shield to exploit the numbers game, but they may have met their match in the Wyatts that will throw that strategy right in their face. Rollins opening with speed to get Rowan into the Shield corner was perfect with Rowan bowling him over to escape. It put over how much strategy mattered in this match.
Roman Reigns versus Bray Wyatt felt huge during their showdown and I loved how Reigns fought through everything. Nothing was given, he had to go through the Wyatts. The beatdwon of Harper in the corner was just classic Shield. That's tag team wrestling baby! They do a great transition where Ambrose's temper gets the best of him as he takes a swipe at Bray on the apron and eats a Harper dropkick. What follows is just badass. Ambrose bites Rowan, Harper steps on Ambrose head and claws at his face. I love it, Michael! The swinging neckbreaker transition is super weak though. Rollins was a great house of fire with great speed moves and climaxing on an excellent suicide dive that got the crowd rocking. He gets the drive by knee, but whiffs on the Curb Stomp and eats a swinging powerslam. The Bray Wyatt senton on the outside looked nasty. My favorite spot of the match was Harper had Rollins by the hair just playing with his food and Rollins slaps him in defiance and Harper slaps the taste out of his mouth. That was powerful shit.
People talk up Ambrose's fighting from underneath prowess, but Rollins should not be underestimated as he fights in the corner with great urgency only for nasty Bray headbutts to keep him at bay. This match utilized Bray better as the game changer for his team. I like the idea of him letting his heavies do the dirty work, but if ever gets out of hand, he is there to keep in check. Ambrose makes the save for Rollins and eats a hellacious big boot from Harper. Rollins hits an enziguiri to get Reigns in the match (I am not digging these transitions). Reigns is so great in these hot tag situations and not just the typical Reigns offense, there is a nasty back elbow to Rowan that keeps you on your feet. In an electric moment, Reigns is thrown outside and just runs around the ring to kick Rowan's head in. AMBROSE SWARM!!! KATIE BAR THE DOOR! There is a pier-six brawl a brewin'! Harper suicide dive and Rollins says two can play at that game. Ambrose and Wyatt tumble into the crowd and Rollins gets double chokeslammed through the table. Hey, come the monitors did not explode when they were ripper out of the announce table. After more than a year of The Shield picking their opponents off one by one, The Wyatts gave them a taste of their own medicine. Now Reigns was left alone surrounded by the Wyatts just as he surrounded so many others. Luke Harper serves a beaten Reigns to his master. I loved how Reigns blocked Sister Abigail and turned it into a test of strength. SUPERMAN PUNCH! Reigns goes for the spear on Bray, but Harper takes the bullet for his leader. In the chaos, Bray hits his wicked cross body and Sister Abigail to win.
I loved the finish. The Shield's strategy was predicated on two tenets: create chaos and divide and conquer. The Wyatts took out two members of the Shield leaving Reigns alone and then in the chaos that ensued Bray Wyatt took advantage to win the match. The match weaknesses: the transitions were lame & uncreative and I would have liked more chippiness. They were too willing to just let one guy have his segment and that be that. The rematch thrives on that chaos and full court press by both teams. I think if you could combine the best parts of this match and the rematch, you would have all-time classic that really could rewrite how North American tag team wrestling is executed and presented. As is, it is still an incredible match from both an action and storytelling standpoint as the Shield essentially get beaten at their own game.
#7. The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania XXVI
WWE Match of the Year, 2010
So I did something interesting I watched this match without having watched XXV in many years. I have not watched this one in many years. I wanted to see how well this stands on its own. I would say very, very well indeed. These are not two legends coasting on their reputations, WrestleMania, and the fact this is a retirement. They built a classic from the ground up using the fundamentals of what makes pro wrestling great. Two men struggling to win a contest. I LOVED the urgency at the beginning of this match. Both men were 45, but they were explosive at the outset. I think they did a great job explaining why each slowed down. For Michaels it was the constant shots to the head and for Undertaker is the unfortunate jamming of his knee on Old School. The urgency at the beginning was refreshing and really felt like two of the best vying to win a crucial match. What I loved about the next portion is that it took about five minutes for Shawn to really injure Taker's leg. He had to EARN that advantage. Taker kept him at bay with his reach using those big jabs to keep Michaels at a distance or his size to bully Michaels around. Michaels for his part was as pugnacious as a bulldog and was going for the leg at every opportunity. Michaels sealed that deal with a figure-4 and then heel hook. Now you believe the match is anyone's ballgame. It will be the big bombs of Taker vs Michaels' attack on the leg. I thought they did a magnificent job down the stretch with each nearfall. It would be easy to fall prey to "My Turn, Your Turn", excessive nearfalls or way too much down time. They paced it perfectly. The Tombstone on the outside was awesome. A big moment, but since it happened on the outside something that Michaels can come back from. The Last Ride into a facebuster due to the bum wheel was great. That first Sweet Chin Music, holy shit, did everyone in attendance bite on that or what! The crowd went nuts for that. The Sweet Chin Music/Moonsault through the table combo was a great Holy Shit spot to send Michaels out on a high note. A sort of salute to the great career he had. Then it was time one more Sweet Chin Music to get that one last nearfall for the Heartbreak Kid. He has nothing left to do but try it again, but this time it is the Chokeslam. We all know the story from there. The Tombstone kickout, the cinematic ending with the defiant Michaels pulling up on Taker and slashing his throat and then Taker giving him the BIGGEST TOMBSTONE EVER!
First half was great. Lots of energy early they came with good in-match storyline reasons why it slowed down. The finishing stretch was perfectly paced. They were some nitpicks here and there about transitions especially in holds that keep it up from the full monty, but this is easily the 2010 WWE Match of the Year. I have one last critically acclaimed FUTEN tag team match to watch before I decide if this was 2010 match of the year, but definitely has a good shot. It will be interesting to see if this makes by Top 100 matches. Stellar WrestleMania Main Event, hard to ask for a better one.
