The 2015 Sammy Awards

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH SOCCERBALLANDWRASSLINNNNNN! DON'T YOU DARE BE SOWAH! CLLLLAAAAAP FOR THE 2ND ANNUAL SAMMY AWARDS! AND FEEEEEEEEEELLLLLL DA POWWWAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! That's right, it's time for the 2nd Annual- and in no way New Day biased Sammy Awards. I did these last year, and I had a lot of fun with them- and on the eve of the much less prestigious Slammy Awards here we are again. This Blog's grown a lot in the last year, so if you missed last year's here's a brief explanation. Basically, this is the Golden Globes to the Oscars that is the Slammy's- apart from the fact I can't be bought off like the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. After that statement, if I'm dead before Christmas- you all know why. I'll leave my Xbox to Big E, for he is both my Uncle and my Daddy.

Before we really get into it all, I'll start off by saying how happy I am with this last year. I genuinely couldn't have imagined things going much better than they have on here. I don't publicise my View Statistics, mainly because I have a crippling fear of you all leaving me one day- but suffice to say it's grown a lot over the year. I can only assume you're liking what I'm doing, and I hope to continue for as long as I can. I know I can't be doing this Blog on its own forever, and I do have some other plans- but I can honestly say I'm having so much fun doing this and I hope that comes across. With that in mind, you'll notice I've ended up missing quite a few over the last Month or so. There's been a couple where I've ended up not being able to write because I'm helping Family with stuff, but there's others where I've just not been able to. I don't mean to come across as preachy, but Chronic Fatigue can really affect people- as it does me and I've been feeling quite burned out lately doing these. Winter's always the worst for me for some reason, and that's why I've ended up missing a few. Anyway, lets get on with the Award Giving. If any of the Winners are reading this, your Reward 6-Packs of Strawberry Ribena can be claimed at any time.

I feel as though it's only right that I start off as I did last year with the Video Package of the Year Award given the nature of two of the Award Nominees this year. I've made a point of including this one, as I did last year- because even with the WWE going as badly as it has done this year the Video Package people are always stellar. It's a bit different to last year, but given the sort of year we've had in Wrestling I think these Nominations are the best.

The Dusty Rhodes Tribute Video

The Roddy Piper Tribute Video

Kevin Owens v Sami Zayn Takeover: Rival Video Package

Winner: The Dusty Rhodes Tribute Video 

While the Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn hype Video Package was by my reckoning the best "Match" Video Package of the year. In terms of emotion, and the reaction to the Videos- the two Tribute Videos have it beaten. Then we get down to the two Tributes, and it's really just personal preference. While both obviously had some effect on me, the Dusty Rhodes just "got to me" more- and it's on that basis that I make it the Video Package of the Year for 2015. 

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If you ended up watching those Video Packages again, yes- those are Onions. Anyway, moving on- but not quite to the ring yet. I didn't do this as a full-blown category last year- but there's been some absolutely stellar candidates for Entrance of the Year. Before we get into the nominations, I should specify that it can only be ONE per person. So, in-terms of someone like Finn Balor- I've just picked (in my opinion) the best of his. 

The New Day's "Mega Dad of the Year" Entrance

The Undertaker's Survivor Series Entrance

Finn Balor's NXT Takeover: London Entrance

Winner: The New Day's "Mega Dad of the Year" Entrance

I've said it constantly throughout the year, and even with the Undertaker's Survivor Series Entrance a Month ago- and then Balor's less than a week ago my opinion hasn't changed. The amount of times I've watched that GIF is probably unhealthy, and yet- every time I watch it manages to get better. I feel like I should also briefly mention why I put in Balor's Takeover: London Entrance. I just felt it was better, simply put. The only one I considered putting above it is his Beast in the East one, but I felt that it wasn't quite on the same level as this one. That may well be because it's fresh in my mind, but hey- that's why Films are timed to coincide with Oscar Voting. 

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Speaking of "making an entrance" the Return of the Year category I'd say is somewhat similar to the previous category. There's been a few this year, we've had a couple of Brock Returns, a couple of Undertaker ones- but these three nominations for varied reasons are the three best for my money.

Sting

 The Dudley Boyz

Alberto Del Rio

Winner: The Dudley Boyz

Before I get into the (fairly obvious) reasons, I think it's hilarious that all three of these returns largely came to nothing in the long-run. However, in the moment these three returns were absolutely amazing. We had the obvious "Sting in the Box" moment, and then we had the pretty weird feud between Sting and Seth- and then we had the Buckle Bomb botch and the match went to shit with Sting not seen since. We had the Alberto Del Rio return, subsequently followed by the absolutely horrendous MexAmerica angle. Then we had the Winner. Forget the fact The Dudleys return ended up coming to nothing. The Dudleys' return on the RAW after Summerslam was absolutely amazing. It was just so great. The crowds reaction to the return says it all- and that's what makes it the Return of the Year. 

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Similar in some ways to the Return of the Year, in that all three eventually fell completely flat- the "One Hit Wonder" award is here to honour that sort of thing somewhat. The "One Hit Wonder" award is here to commemorate those gimmicks/moments that started off quite well- but then died a death soon after. Unfortunately with the WWE, it actually took a bit of thought to get this category down to three- but I have and here are said three. 

Mizdow 
The main reason this isn't winning this category is because it started in 2014. However, Mizdow was just SO GOOD for the first 3 or so Months of 2015. Mizdow was not a "Main Event" gimmick, but the fact is- the crowd did love him. So, for Mizdow to go the way it did both during and after Wrestlemania is just sad above all else. I'm sure most people thought Mizdow was winning the Andre Battle Royal, and then I'm sure most people thought Mizdow would just turn on Miz and that would be that, and then I'm sure most people thought after Miz won the "Miz Brand" match Damien Sandow would not have a one week "mimicking" gimmick and then exist solely on UpUpDownDown. That was only after he gave us the Worst. Macho Man. Impression. Ever. It's a shame to see a waste of talent like Damien Sandow, it really is.

#AXELMANIA

You can't have one Mega Power without the other. You only have to look through my Posts prior to Wrestlemania to know how much I enjoyed this gimmick. Axelmania was genuinely one of the best parts of the (albeit bad) Wrestlemania build. I suppose this gimmick was made for this category, because it had a natural limit on it in Wrestlemania. However, it's quite hilarious and quite tragic how badly Axelmania dropped. The gimmick had admittedly expired, however for Axel to go for the "full" Hulk Hogan impression and be joined by Mizdow was bad enough. Then the Hogan controversy happened, and Axel dropped off the face of the Earth. I'm not sure if Axel's going to resurface now we're close to the Rumble, if nothing else than for a cheap spot- but for now Axelmania is firmly 6 feet under.

The "Divas Revolution"
I've had my say at various points over the course of the last 6 or so Months about the "Divas Revolution". Now, we're here at the End of the Year- and I think it's safe to say it's been an abject failure. It was safe to say that months ago, but now it's safer. The Divas Revolution is the Winner of this category, to the surprise of nobody. In-terms of how "high" it could go, and then how far it's fallen- this is by far and a way the best (or worst). The initial night of the Sasha, Charlotte, Becky call-up everyone was full of hope- and then they branded it as a "Revolution" and it all just went to shit. The so-called "Revolution" has hardly changed anything for the Divas, apart from the majority of people just getting more annoyed with the Divas Division if anything because there's characters people want to care about in there. 

Winner: The "Divas Revolution"

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Speaking of the "Divas Revolution" we might as well move on to the "Diva" of the Year category. You'll notice I've specifically highlighted the word "Diva" for this award- which'll explain the eventual winner, before you all get the pitchforks. It's not been a good year to be a Diva, but with the amount of exposure they've gotten- I'd definitely say it's been an interesting one. I was debating whether to have Sasha Banks in this list, but however great she is- she hasn't done enough as a "Diva" to merit a nomination for me.

Charlotte
We have the current Divas Champion, and all around bad Promo- Charlotte. Charlotte is the only one of the three NXT Call-Ups that triggered the "Revolution" to get into this category, because simply put she's the only one who's done something of any significance since. In fairness to Charlotte a lot of the bad things that have happened in the "Revolution" haven't been her fault. She's done about as well as she could do, but that isn't exactly high praise of her since the call-up. However, as one of only two Divas Champions this year- it's fairly obvious she's one of the Top Three. 

Paige
Paige is pretty much here because she's the only other Diva who's had any sort of exposure this year other than AJ who's just been shacked up with UFC Fighter Phillip Brooks for around 8 Months of the year. I genuinely felt sorry for Paige prior to the Divas Revolution, and not in an "I want to cheer for her" way- she was just in an absolutely horrendous angle getting killed by The Bellas every week. I will say Paige has improved over the last few months, but she's still not winning. The reason being, well- she just didn't have enough fight in her. 

Nikki Bella
Some people might want to debate this, but the fact is Nikki Bella was Divas Champion for the lions share of the year- and with pretty much every Diva being a bitch at the moment she may well win the actual category at The Slammy's. Nikki Bella perfectly encapsulates the word "Diva", and yes- that is a back-handed compliment. The term "Diva" is as I've said before an outdated concept, and them feuding over what looks like a Kids Toy is apt. With that in mind, yes Nikki Bella is the Winner of the "Diva of the Year"- because she is the embodiment of the term. 

Winner: Nikki Bella

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On the Divas theme, we might as carry on with honouring the worst parts of the year with the Worst Feud of the Year category. There's been quite a few this year with which to pick from, however I've decided this year that I'm going to stick to feuds that had more than 1 PPV match- because to me that says they honestly thought it was working.

Dolph Ziggler (and Lana) v Rusev (and Summer Rae)
What to say about this one eh? It was just so horrifically bad. Between the Ziggler/Lana pairing that had absolutely zero chemistry, like not one tiny shred and some of the shit they had Ziggler and Rusev do this was just horrendous. I think this feud can be perfectly summed up by the RAW where we had Summer Rae sneaking into Dolph's Dressing Room. If you remember what happened with this, I don't need to go any further. If you don't, I won't go any further to save you. You're Welcome.

Roman Reigns v Bray Wyatt
This may perhaps be a bit of a surprising inclusion, given how over the course of my Reviews I didn't necessarily bury this feud as I did the other two in this Category. However, looking back on this feud- what did it really accomplish other than be way too long? Yes, Roman Reigns went over strong at Hell in a Cell. However, the 4-5 Months before that were just one long drawn out "thing" that didn't go anywhere quickly. That combined with the fact it started off with Reigns beating Bray after he'd only just gotten through Mark Henry an Hour before- and it was followed by a load of ultra-competitive matches just makes this one of the worst three feuds of the year for me.

Sheamus v Dolph Ziggler
I was debating as to whether I wanted to include the "Kiss Me Arse" match in the Worst Match of the Year category, but I decided against it- because the actual MATCH was decent. For the feud category, there's no such luck. There was legitimately a whole feud primarily based around Sheamus wanting to humiliate Dolph Ziggler- and in order to do so he wanted him to kiss his "Arse". I really just couldn't have made that up. The thing is, I can almost guarantee Vince absolutely LOVED this feud.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler (and Lana) v Rusev (and Summer Rae)

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Carrying on with the "Worst" theme, and seeing as I've already brought it up- let's move on to the Worst Match of the Year. I was desperately thinking of the Worst Matches of the Year last night, and as a result I ended up asking on Twitter- because I need you lot to write these things for me. It was actually quite funny how many different options there are. However, just with the weird way it's worked out- none of the suggestions are actually in the nominations. I suppose I just needed a load of other suggestions for some clarity. Let's get on with the Horror Show.

The Royal Rumble Match
A match so bad, I was so pissed off as a result I didn't do a Review to avoid an unreadable rant of a Review. It wasn't just Roman Reigns winning, although that was a large part- overall this year's Royal Rumble was for me the Worst Rumble in recent memory. It was just so bad. The Royal Rumble match was about as limp and lifeless as Dolph Ziggler was after Big Show knocked him out in the match. Just remember folks, my Royal Rumble match was better.

The Intercontinental Title Elimination Chamber
I don't think it's a surprise to see this match on the list, let's be honest. It was genuinely amazing how much this match just went to shit, given almost everyone involved in the match is what I'd label as "experienced". On a seemingly common Dolph Ziggler theme, the moment where Ziggler literally started shouting at everyone- and calling spots so loudly I heard them over in England was the moment I knew this match was destined for this category. The one person I do feel sorry for as a result of this match is Ryback. Ryback's not going to win many Titles given his career trajectory, so for a massive WWE Fan like Ryback to win his 1st Title in a Match that he's going to want to show NOBODY is just sad.

Dean Ambrose v Roman Reigns (Survivor Series)
I believe in my Predictions for Survivor Series, I said that this match was definitely worthy of Main Event status. While on paper it was, put into practice- fucking hell it wasn't. A lot of this match being in here is because of what it was, in relation to what it could (and should) have been. We legitimately had a 6 Minute WWE Title Main Event. I mean, just... Ugh. We don't have many entirely new pairings in the WWE when it comes to people in and around the Main Event scene. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose was one of them- and they just completely wasted it.

Winner: The Intercontinental Title Elimination Chamber

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We're moving in a positive direction now, with the "So Bad it's Good" Award. This Award is basically here to recognise something that, by all right should not have worked. However, for some weird reason it just... did.

#AXELMANIA
As I've already said, Axelmania was a gimmick that had a limit on it right at the start. However, before Wrestlemania Curtis Axel and Axelmania was indeed running wild. It was just so weird to think that Curtis Axel being used as a means to an end with regard to getting the Three Wyatts in the Ring at the Rumble could have given Axel arguably the best run of his career. Everything just seemingly "clicked" for Axel during this run, and the stuff about him not having any charisma was definitely put to bed.

Rusev gives Summer Rae Presents
"It's a Fish". Yes, this stuff with Rusev, Summer, Ziggler and Lana was the Worst Feud of the Year. However, that doesn't mean there weren't any positive segments during. This was one of them. Again, just the idea that one of the Creative Team probably just walked by a Fishmongers heading to RAW and though "Let's build a whole segment around a Fish". Rusev doing wacky prop comedy with Hot, Submissive Summer should NOT have been in any way as entertaining as it was.

"Korporate/Demon Kane"
I've said it a few times, Kane is massively underrated in-terms of comedic timing and just ability from a comedic perspective. Yes, the Korporate/Demon Kane angle was pretty bad- I'll acknowledge that. However, Kane really held up his end of the bargain with regard to making whatever he was given work. In that respect I'm really happy for Kane, and will acknowledge him in this Category.

Winner: #AXELMANIA

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I spoke too soon, we're back with the "negative" categories with the "I'm Dumb as Fuck" Award. As you may be able to guess, this Award is here to recognise the Stupidest Moment of the Year. Unfortunately in the case of the WWE, it was quite hard to limit this category to just three nominations. I think that's an indictment of the WWE, and also of the three nominations because they managed to be the stupidest over quite a few other options.

The Royal Rumble Match
I won't go into great detail again with this one, because I've already done so. However, I will say I legitimately don't think there can be a worse Royal Rumble match this year.

Bray Wyatt loses to Roman Reigns on RAW
I've made reference to this one already, but I feel as though the stupidity of this deserves to be recognised. I acknowledge Bray Wyatt hasn't quite turned out how I hope(d) he would so far. You can bring up how old he is, but so far Bray Wyatt hasn't lived up to his potential. Not a lot of that is actually on Bray however. Stuff like what happened on this fateful RAW was the living embodiment on Creative just fucking Bray over. Roman Reigns wrestles Three Matches on RAW. He beats Wade Barrett, fair enough. He's then so beaten down and worn out he can only beat Mark Henry BY COUNT-OUT. MARK HENRY. Roman Reigns' Third Match is Bray Wyatt, and Roman Reigns pins him. That's bad enough, THAT STARTED A FEUD BETWEEN THE TWO!

The "Divas Revolution"
It's 2015, and we're almost in 2016. I think it's widely accepted that Women are treated as equals in the Western World. The "Divas" didn't need a "revolution", all the Divas needed was just to be booked as legitimate competitors. I know it's the WWE, but in their attempts to try and "brand" it all- and Stephanie's involvement just makes the Divas Revolution an abortion of an attempt to become relevant.

Winner: The "Divas Revolution" 

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We've now moved onto the Funniest Moment of the Year, and we're firmly on positive ground from here on out. It is quite rare, but when WWE gets comedy "right" they definitely get it right. There hasn't been as many to choose from in-terms of individual moments. I could simply just say "New Day" for this category and I think the majority of you would accept it. However, limiting New Day to one entry has opened up some others for the Nominations- and here they are in all of their glory.

Axelmania Runs Wild on John Cena

New Day interrupt Roman Reigns & Randy Orton

Korporate Kane's Wacky Antics

Winner: R-Truth's Money in the Bank interruption

Wait? It wasn't nominated?... Seriously...? My bad, guys. That one's on me. Y'all have a good night.

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This is a category that's becoming increasingly relevant as NXT continues to develop and become it's own "brand and it is of course the Most Improved Award for 2015. This is, as the Title may suggest the Award to recognise those who have improved the most in 2015. The award isn't exclusive to NXT, as you'll see- but I think it's a fairly safe bet to assume it'll be dominated by those in NXT in-terms of nominations.

Baron Corbin
I made reference to this in the Takeover: London Review, but Baron Corbin's had an absolutely sublime year in-terms of developing both as an in-ring performer and as a character. I've loved Corbin's "Anti-Indy" type gimmick, and factoring in his massively improving ring-work- I've ended 2015 and am heading into 2016 as a Fan of Baron Corbin. That's something I doubt many people would have been saying heading into 2015.

Dana Brooke
She's not your enemy, or your friend. No, this isn't just because Dana Brooke tweeted me one time. I can't remember how it came about, I think it was around June- so JUST when Dana Brooke was starting to be featured regularly where I tweeted I was starting to like Dana. That like has only grown stronger over the last 6 Months, and as is the case with Baron Corbin I've ended up being a fan of Dana Brooke heading into 2016. Especially with the NXT Womens Division as it as at present, Dana Brooke is going to be playing a MASSIVE part in it's (hopefully) continued success in 2016.

New Day
Does this surprise anyone? Of course The New Day are winning, because New Day do in fact rock. I believe they lost the TLC Pre-Show match CLEAN as Babyfaces to Adam Rose and KiddSaro a year ago. They walked out last Sunday as the WWE Tag Team Champions and by far and a way the best Tag Team of 2015.

Winner: New Day

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Michael Cole Interview of the Year

Kevin Owens

New Day

Bray Wyatt

Winner: New Day

As good as the other two nominations were, and Kevin Owens delivered a number of great Michael Cole Interviews- including one in the build to Owens/Zayn that I can't find. All I can say is *hits gong* AYYYYYYYYYY WE WANT SOME NEW DAY! AYYYYYYYYYY WE WANT SOME NEW DAY!

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This next award is in no way patronising and is here to recognise the WWE when they actually do something well. It's the "Holy Fuck, They did something right" Award. See? Not Patronising. The moments have been few and far between, but the WWE have on a number of occasions- but not nearly enough gotten something just "right". I honestly don't try to be negative in these Posts, and I'm a firm believer in the Power of Positivity. So here are the nominations;

Seth Rollins' Money in the Bank Cash-In
I believe I described this in my Wrestlemania Review as the WWE "winning a no-win situation". My opinion in that regard hasn't changed. Roman wasn't ready for the WWE Title, and in my opinion he still isn't. At the same time, Brock couldn't lose to Roman as soon as they got him for another 3 Years. With that in mind, this was legitimately as good as it could get. We had Seth Rollins cashing-in Money in the Bank, pinning Roman and winning the WWE Title. This was legitimately a perfect moment.

John Cena's US Open Challenge
John Cena gets a lot of stick, from a lot of people. However, and I'll talk about this more when it comes to "Wrestler of the Year" between Cena's Open Challenge and the matches he was putting on before he took some time off. This was one of, if not the best year in-ring wise for John Cena and the Open Challenge was a large part of it. Whether it was Sami Zayn, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Cesaro- the list goes on. The US Open Challenge was one of not many consistent highlights of RAW for basically its entire run.

The New Day
The New Day were pretty much nothing in January. They were losing Pre-Show matches as Babyfaces, that's how little they mattered. Then, we got the three immortal words "New... Day Sucks". They didn't have  to turn New Day however apparent it was, they didn't have  to let New Day just take the ball and run with it. While it's common sense looking back, at the time we didn't know just how great New Day would be once they turned. So the fact the WWE just gave New Day time to develop as Heels and become one of the most over acts in the Company is a massive plus on their part. Who'd have thought letting someone like Big E be himself rather than a personality-less lump of Muscles would work?

Winner: John Cena's US Open Challenge

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We now move onto the "9.99 Award". The 9.99 Award is the Award to recognise the individual moments of 2015 that on their own were worth paying the 9.99 for the Network. There's not been that many proper "stand out" moments this year, but when we've gotten them- wow, have they been good.

Seth Rollins' Money in the Bank Cash-In
It was a Money in the Bank Cash-In at Wrestlemania, in a match that was already up there in-terms of Match of the Year Contenders. There really isn't much more that has to be said. The atmosphere that night was just unbelievable once Rollins' Music hit and he ran down that ridiculously long ramp.

Kalisto's Ladder Salida Del Sol
Words just can't do this spot justice. For some reason I can't get the GIF saved, so enjoy it in all of its glory here; https://twitter.com/wheelerdeeler/status/676434364994031616

Sami Zayn answers John Cena's US Open Challenge
This moment was just absolutely unreal. The Montreal RAW was by far and a way the best RAW of the Year, and this moment was the crown jewel of it. The match wasn't actually that good, understandably so. However, from the moment Bret Hart came out we all knew what we were about to see was just special. The pop when Sami Zayn's music hit was just absolutely great. If you're not reliving the moment in your head like I am while I'm writing this, you have no soul. Don't worry though, Bray Wyatt definitely wasn't the one who stole it.

Winner: Seth Rollins' Money in the Bank Cash-In

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Feud of the Year

Kevin Owens v Sami Zayn
The main reason this isn't being considered to win is because of the fact it did actually start in 2014. However, the majority of the feud took place in 2015- so in my book it's eligible. Similar to the Bray Wyatt/Daniel Bryan feud last year. I don't really have to say much as far as this feud goes. Especially with the Video Package category right at the start providing you all with the details of the feud in detail. I can't really think of many people who didn't see this feud, or at least hear about it who wouldn't consider this one of the top five feuds of the year.

Kevin Owens v John Cena
The second Kevin Owens feud, and this one was just absolutely out of this world good. Not just the match quality, that shall be discussed later- the work these two put into the feud especially with Owens was just absolutely great. This goes back to what I was saying about Cena with regard to the Open Challenge, in-ring wise this was one of/the best year of Cena's career- and the Kevin Owens matches and feud was all the proof that was required. Everything about this feud was just golden.

Sasha Banks v Bayley
I'll talk about Bayley a bit later on, but in-terms of a storyline- Bayley's "rise" to the NXT Womens Championship was without a doubt one of the best of the year. Sasha Banks is just SUCH a great Heel, but she was especially great as the counter-balance to Bayley and everything Bayley as a character really is. They delivered two matches that can definitely be considered as Match of the Year Contenders, and the pay-off specifically at Summerslam was just absolutely amazing.

Brock Lesnar v The Undertaker
As is the case with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, the primary reason this feud isn't considered as the Winner of this Category is the fact the feud in its entirety didn't start in 2015. I suppose it did get sort of "resurrected" this year (get it? RESURRECTED! BECAUSE IT'S THE UNDERTAKER!) but it didn't start. What to say about this feud? It was just great. These two delivered a moment, or rather brawl that was one of the best I'd argue in WWE History- and it only narrowly missed out in the "9.99 Award" category. I suppose this feud can be summed up perfectly by the two lines "I'LL KILL YOU!" "YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO!".

Seth Rollins v John Cena
I admit this feud isn't an obvious candidate for "Feud of the Year", but with this category being one of the main ones and requiring 5 Nominations this feud is what I'd label as the "Best of the Rest". It wasn't perfect, but it did have an absolutely amazing match at Summerslam, and that combined with stuff like Rollins breaking Cena's nose just gave it that extra little "something" to make this an albeit distant fifth best feud of the year.

Winner: Kevin Owens v John Cena

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Wrestler of the Year

John Cena
John Cena is without a doubt a candidate in this category, and a couple of months ago I'd have been arguing for him to win the thing. As it is, after he won the US Title back from Rollins he just didn't quite get up a full head of steam with the Open Challenges again and then he's obviously missed the last two(ish) months of the year. With that said, and as I've previously made mention he's been absolutely great for the majority of the year in-ring wise. Cena gets a lot of shit, a lot of it I admit justified- but this year I think he's won over all but the "stuck in their ways" Anti-Cena people who just refuse to admit Cena is better than they've been lead to believe by someone they take their opinions from on Messageboards. Generalisation? Yup. Doesn't mean I'm wrong for 95% of them. It's even gotten to the point where the Crowds in the Arenas are missing Cena, and making it known that they are. That was the day Vince McMahon dreamed of, and it's finally come.

Seth Rollins
I think Seth Rollins being on here won't surprise many people. With that said, I also don't get why many people are arguing that Seth Rollins is some sort of guarantee as Wrestler of the Year. Yes, he had a great year- I'm not denying that. However, he was in god knows how many pointless opening segments. Endless Backstage Segments and was just way too overexposed for me. Basically a combination of Rollins' prolonged overexposure, combined with the fact his injury came when it did means he just hasn't quite reached "Wrestler of the Year" status for me.

Brock Lesnar
Every time Brock Lesnar shows up, it's just great. He's not here often, but when he does it always just feels somewhat special. As you'll see in my Match of the Year category, Brock Lesnar occupies basically a third of the Category- and he's only had a handful of matches this year(as with every year). I'm in no way saying if Brock was here more often he'd be a guarantee to win the thing, because while as Paul Heyman repeatedly tells us Brock is a once in a lifetime athlete- in the WWE even once in a lifetime athletes can get stale pretty quickly.

Bayley
Bayley has legitimately been "that good" this year. Speaking in-terms of character arcs, Bayley's has been in my opinion the best this year- and I wouldn't be doing it justice if I didn't acknowledge it in this category. The storytelling with Bayley throughout this year has just been absolutely amazing, factor in the fact the person who "plays" Bayley is just so ridiculously likeable and it's been an amazing year for Bayley. The build to Bayley winning the Womens Title in Brooklyn was just absolutely great, and the two matches with Sasha will be spoken of for quite a long time. In short, Bayley has without question been one of Top 5 Wrestlers this year- and I'll hug anyone who disagrees to death.

The New Day
Firstly, yes- all three are together for this. FREEBIRD RULE! This has been The New Day's year. Ever since they turned not long after Wrestlemania they've just been out of this world great. I've already covered some different aspects of The New Day's year throughout these Awards. But, consider this section just an appraisal of it all. The New Day have legitimately made pretty much everything they've done this year just "work". Everything from The New Day's quest to "Save The Tables" to making a 2 Live Crew Song PG to supposedly pissing off Jay-Z to Wearing fucking Unicorn Horns and above all else getting Clapping Over. Because! NEW... DAY ROCKS!, NEW... DAY ROCKS!, NEW... DAY ROCKS!

Winner: The New Day

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We're now here for the Main Event of these Awards, the Match of the Year. Seeing as this has been my first full year doing these Reviews, I thought it would be fun to look back at my Reviews for these Match of the Year Contenders. I had a long-list about a Month ago both and then I went back and re-watched all of the matches on the long-list. Some of the ones that didn't quite make the cut where Jordan & Gable/Corbin & Rhyno, Roman Reigns/Big Show at Extreme Rules, Finn Balor/Adrian Neville, John Cena/Cesaro (1) and a few more. Anyway, with those acknowledged- let's get on with this ten.

Brock Lesnar v Seth Rollins v John Cena (Royal Rumble)

What I said at the time: N/A

Looking Back: 
I unfortunately didn't Review this match, because doing so would have meant I'd have had to Review the whole Rumble PPV- which would not have been fun. However, I ABSOLUTELY FUCKING LOVED THIS MATCH. This match for me was about as close to just completely perfect as a match can be. This was by far and a way the best Brock Lesnar match of the year from a Brock Lesnar perspective- and I think that about sums up how great this match was given the competition in that respect. This was match was almost beautiful in its absolute chaos and brutality.

Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns (v Seth Rollins) (Wrestlemania 31)

What I said at the time:
"Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns
I said in one of my blogs in the build to this, I genuinely can't remember which one that I thought this match would be better than the Bryan match at Fast Lane because Roman would just have to sell for the majority of the match- and I inadvertently called the whole thing to a T, so you're welcome. I thought they did a good job in all honesty of building Roman in this match- I fundamentally disagreed with Roman kicking out of 3 F5s because of the Undertaker permutations but that's the way they wanted to go so more power to them.

Seth Rollins v Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns
Sometimes you do have to give credit to WWE, they managed to win a no-win situation with the end of this Mania. I'm not exactly a hardened smark but I do criticise WWE quite a lot- but sometimes you do have to credit them and they got it right last night. I did call it on Twitter 3 Weeks ago, which I was very proud of- but Rollins cashing in during a match was perfect booking- and it's what I thought they should have done with Orton at Summerslam with Bryan and Cena because it shields both guys to an extent. Seth pinning Roman keeps Brock looking strong while heading into some time off- and it gives Roman the Rematch at Extreme Rules because it looked like the tide was turning in Romans favour. I've seen some people say Roman being pinned means it's the end of his push (for now) as a Main Eventer, and while I can't say for definite I highly, highly doubt this is the end of Roman's push- and it's not going to surprise me if Roman is Champion before Summerslam- or is at least still in the hunt."

Looking Back:
Speaking of Brock Lesnar matches, the only Wrestlemania match that had a hope of getting on the list this year- and it's damn close to winning the thing. I've already had my say with regard to the finish before- but this match was just absolutely amazing in its brutality. These two just beat the every living daylights out of each other. I think I remember hearing/reading that this match was actually scheduled to go even longer as just Reigns/Lesnar, which I can't imagine would have happened without someone dying. In short, I absolutely fucking loved it.

Sasha Banks v Becky Lynch (NXT Takeover: Unstoppable)

What I said at the time: 
"This was a Womens match and set of circumstances that deserve a review. I like some of the "Divas" on the Main Roster but the whole perception of the "Diva" is outdated in my opinion- this is Womens Wrestling; and this is what everyone wants to see. Just on a fundamental level it was a great match- not in comparison to other Womens Matches, it was just a great match. They worked the psychology of the match perfectly with the Arm being the focal point after the build in which Sasha tapped- and then these two put all of the pieces together around that main point of the match and built a proper Wrestling Match and wow did it deliver. 

By my reckoning these two made 8 Women featured on a 2 Hour Card and none of them were pointless cameos- they all had a purpose. I'm struggling a bit with just how to articulate my feelings toward this match, it was just a "THIS IS WHAT WE WANT!" moment- with the rumours demise of TNA (again) I'd love it if Trips cherry-picked a few of the Knockouts to come in and not take over (pardon the pun) the NXT Womens Division but add to it with different dynamics and styles, I saw the thing about Sara Del Rey being promoted and her being a Road Agent so now the dynamic has well and truly changed with NXT I'd love to see Gail come in for NXT and maybe have a run, but primarily be a trainer. 

Anyway I'm getting a bit off topic- I loved every second of this- and for the mark of how good a match it was, was the ovation after; every Takeover has delivered a great Womens Match- I personally don't think anything will top Charlotte v Nattie in a long, long time but given the way "Give Divas a Chance" has taken off since the last special for me this was the most important of all of the Takeover Womens Matches- because it showed that we don't want "Divas" to be given a chance- we want Womens Wrestling."

Looking Back: At least looking through my Reviews before the Revolution came about that I've been consistent in-terms of my views on "Divas". I do sometimes worry that I'll look back and would have called something horribly wrong or in retrospect loved something I said I hated or vice versa. The 4-Way at the previous Takeover was really good, but for me it was great without a doubt- but it didn't necessarily flow at times and looked and felt too choreographed in places. This was just on another level. Looking back to seemingly a lifetime ago, and I just remember the emotion above all else. These are the matches that get nominated, the ones that truly stay with you and you can look back and remember them vividly- as is the case with Sasha/Becky.

Kevin Owens v John Cena (Elimination Chamber)

What I said at the time: 
"This is where I may get some abuse, and hey- everyone is entitled to their opinion. I liked this match, I really liked it. BUT it was no way Match of the Year as seemingly everyone is saying. For me a truly great match can only be called great when the crowd are sucked along for the ride and add to it. I'll always cite Rock v Hogan as the prime example, if you watch it on Mute it's awful- if you watch it with the crowd you get goosebumps and it's a classic match. I don't rate matches, because I fundamentally disagree with giving out stars because people tend to look at the star rating and move on and they don't see how you arrived to said star rating which after all is the point of doing a Review. That said for me this was a 4* Match. All the bits were there- they just weren't elevated to that next level and made truly special by the crowd. I do think some people saying "Match of the Year" are slightly clouded by the fact the Owens pinned Cena clean- you only have to see my Reaction when it happened to see how mental I was going, but I've calmed down from that now and without wanting to insult anyone I'm perhaps more level-headed than they were.

A Couple of other tiny issues I had with this match- but these are really nitpicking. False Finishes when used right add to the drama of a match- but for me they were slightly overused during this match. Then we get onto more of a character issue. Owens is pretty much the best Heel going at the minute- in fact he's such a heel people were actually cheering Cena, that in itself is a massive accomplishment. His whole character is based on doing stuff for his family and nobody else, so I don't get why he's doing Senton's and Moonsaults. Yes, it pops the crowd- but surely that's exactly why Owens shouldn't be doing it? Owens will hopefully have plenty of time in WWE to bring out the variety in his offence- and for me this wasn't the time. But as I said this is nitpicking.

In short, I really liked the match- but I do think some people are going overboard with their praise of it."

Looking Back: 
I fully admit I was too critical of this match considering what it was, however my fundamental points still stand. For me, this match just felt like it lacking something- and Owens pinning Cena clean perhaps blinded some people to that fact. However, that's not to discount this match in any way- there's a reason it's in this category. This match was just absolutely great on the whole.

Kevin Owens v John Cena (Money in the Bank)

What I said at the time: 
"This PPV was generally bad bordering on offensive, but wow did this match deliver. I said in my Review a couple of weeks ago that something was missing to make it a 5* match- whatever that was be it the crowd or something just clicking last night's match was the lightning in a bottle all the wrestlers go out there for every night. I make the odd Cena joke but it's always dripping in sarcasm because while I hate his character and his general stale persona he is always putting on at least one MOTY contender every year- and by my reckoning he's been in two this year and we're only half way through. It's getting to the point where Cena really is the Benchmark for all of the young talent coming through in that if they can't have a good match against Cena then maybe they aren't really all that because Cena has great chemistry with such a diverse range of wrestlers. While going into the match I would have obviously preferred Owens won, this match got Owens over as much if not more so than if he'd won. Cena hit Owens with all of his best shots- and even brought out new moves like the Sunset Flip Powerbomb and Owens kicked out of it all, to the point where Good Guy John was arguing with Chioda.

The stuff that happened after the match took this match as a segment to Perfection. I was afraid for a second that Owens was just going to accept the Handshake and go back to NXT knowing he gave it his best. Instead we got Owens Powerbombing Cena onto the edge of the ring which is going to be great for the I believe 5 week build they have between now and Battleground. I think it'll be something along the lines of Cena costing Owens the NXT Title at the July 4th thing before they move Owens fully up to the Main Roster and they hopefully Main Event Battleground for the US Title- because their feud up to this point is deserving of it."

Looking Back: I still maintain this was the best of the John Cena/Kevin Owens matches. The third one doesn't even touch the two on this list- but for me this one was the best. Even with Cena going over Owens I'm saying that. I know Owens has been on a somewhat downward trajectory since the Cena feud- but I still believe at the time Owens losing was the right decision for both guys within the context of the feud. I just loved this match, and I realise I made a point of saying this in the initial Review- but for how many years Cena's been in the Company and taking stick- he's still delivering Match of the Year contenders EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.

John Cena v Cesaro (RAW, 6th July)

What I said at the time: N/A

Looking Back: Would you look at that? Another John Cena match. I genuinely can't remember the reason as to why I didn't Review this. I think I was just ridiculously tired from doing Beast in the East and I think I was doing something on the Sunday as well. Anyway, I just loved this match. It's quite funny how John Cena/Cesaro was one of my MOTY Contenders last year as well. The Cena/Cesaro match last year to me "announced" Cesaro on the WWE stage as "one to watch". Cena/Cesaro this year pushed Cesaro into the upper echelon of the WWE.

Bayley v Sasha Banks (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn)

What I said at the time: 

"This was just great. I'm not going to go as far as saying this was the best Womens Takeover match, some may well disagree- but for me Charlotte/Nattie and the 4-Way (and possibly even Becky/Sasha) was better. The emotion in this match and the occasion was without a doubt better, but in terms of the actual match it didn't quite reach the other two so it all depends on how you rate matches. However, just because it didn't reach those two matches that were simply outstanding doesn't mean this match wasn't also great. They worked the match near perfect, the one issue I had was the "Hand" angle because they were saying "She may have broken her hand" after the hand in the step spot- despite the fact she had her hand all taped up implying that it wasn't healed. Maybe Sasha re-broke it, or broke it in a different place, but that's really nitpicking. Everything about this match was great, it just had the emotional connection that a great match needs. Sasha played her Heel role to absolute perfection last night and it made Bayley even more over as the Babyface if that was even possible. Pretty much everyone knew Bayley was winning, but this match got everyone sucked in and as I've said so many times in this section- IT WAS GREAT!

One thing that has really annoyed me about the match- and it isn't even about the match. Seemingly everyone wanted to turn this match into a stick to beat The Bellas with. Yes, the match last night was better than any Bellas match, Yes The Bellas are in fact not as good as Sasha and Bayley. We all know why Nikki's got the Belt, that fact is not going to change- so stop finding ways to bitch about the Bellas and enjoy the fucking match. 

Also, the "Curtain Call" after the match was the perfect way to close the "Four Horsewomen" chapter of NXT, I know Becky and Charlotte worked a match that'll happen on Wednesday and without spoiling anything it may be leading to a Tag Match with them involved. But, between Bayley's win and presumably getting a run as "top dog" of NXT and then things like the Nia Jax vignettes these next few months should see the "next generation" of the NXT Womens Division come through to the forefront. Hi Eva. "

Looking Back: I suppose I've already somewhat mentioned this when it comes to Bayley being nominated for Wrestler of the Year, because this was truly the crowning achievement of Bayley's year. I still maintain from a Wrestling Match perspective Sasha Banks/Becky Lynch was better. However, overall this whole match as a story and as a spectacle was just absolutely amazing. Just the emotion involved in this match was just out of this world.

Seth Rollins v John Cena (Summerslam)

What I said at the time:

"I absolutely loved this. The finish was a take it or leave it type thing, and I took it. I said all the way back in March when Stewart first showed up I'd like to see him as a Manager, and without knowing for definite I think we're going to get Stewart aligned with Rollins- at least for the Cena rematch presumably at Night of Champions. Everything before that finish though was as golden as the trim on Rollins' gear. Cena was pretty much working as the Heel last night and I absolutely loved it, the Figure Four spot was just amazing- and it was where I thought Triple H was going to hit the ring given the tease on Monday. This match was just amazing, without a doubt this was Match of the Night and Cena's most likely got another entry in for Match of the Year. I just loved this, this match alone was worth 9.99. 

Also, I'm also expecting Stewart to say he did it protect Flair's record given he went on about The Streak ending earlier, which looking back was pretty good foreshadowing- so whoever thought that out deserves a pat on the back."

Looking Back: Had the finish have been different, this match may well have reached the true "Match of the Year" status. I liked the finish, but having a somewhat cheap finish does take away from the overall match quality- even if it's a good one for me. Also, another Cena match. Yup, he definitely can't wrestle. This match was about as close to a Heel John Cena as we'll ever see again in my opinion, but for that night it was just so incredible.

Brock Lesnar v The Undertaker (Hell in a Cell)

What I said at the time:
"Fucking hell, this was great. I was expecting a violent match, I love that style in general- so Brock is perfect. What I wasn't expecting was a legitimate Match of the Year contender. I'm not going as far as saying it is the Match of the Year, but it has to be in the running. Ironically next to two other Brock matches from the Rumble and Mania. There's of course others, and I never really settle on something properly until I do it- but for now those are my Top Three.

This match was just pure, amazing violence. I think the spot where it honestly looked like Brock just started to shoot on Taker with punches summed this match up. There were so many taboo elements in this match whether it was the blood (I'm convinced Brock is blading in these matches at this point), them ripping the ring apart (which judging from Bryan Alvarez's tweets was a shoot) and seemingly trying to break the ring it was just so fucking amazing. I was never on the boat of "Taker didn't have it any more" after Wrestlemania 30. He had a fucking Concussion and then went another 20 Minutes, but with that said- even I didn't expect Taker to perform to the level he did tonight. Brock is Brock, he's legitimately special and he needed this win." 

Looking Back: This match was amazing in its brutality. For me, the best three matches this year have all been Brock Lesnar matches- and it's just been a case of ranking them. You'll see the eventual winner in just a bit, however this match just a couple of months ago definitely made a case to be overall Match of the Year. Above all else, it was just so great to see that The Undertaker still well and truly has "it" in this match- delivering a match the quality of which this was.

New Day v The Usos v The Lucha Dragons (TLC)

What I said at the time: N/A

Looking Back: I had to miss the TLC Review about a week ago because I was helping some family out with some stuff. Christmas Spirit and all that. However, I just absolutely loved this match. TLC was in many ways exactly the same two years in a row, it opened with a Ladder Match and the rest of the show really had no hopes of following it. There were so many great spots in this match, from Big E's Bench Press spot, to Sin Cara swanton-ing a Ladder on top of an Uso and Kofi- but above all else you just have to look at Kalisto's Salida Del Sol on an Uso off the Top of a Ladder, through a Ladder. I just loved this match, and while New Day won- it was without a doubt The Lucha Dragons' match.

Winner: Brock Lesnar v Seth Rollins v John Cena (Royal Rumble)

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Well, wasn't that a long one eh? If you've skim read this, or somehow managed to read the whole thing good on you. I really wanted to go all in on this one. I spoke about it at the start, but I've been feeling quite burned out with these lately- so I've really thrown everything into this one. I'm not sure if after this one I'm going to be doing any more Posts before 2016, I'm just making you all aware of that fact now.

Thanks for reading as always. I know I say that in every post, but I do genuinely mean it. I hope over the course of this year I've given you some good Reviews and you've enjoyed reading them- and that you've kept coming back. Because, from my perspective that's all I can really ask for from you. I only hope if you have been reading these consistently that I can keep living up to your expectations and I can continue to keep you coming back. Thanks again for reading, have a really good Christmas- and EVERYONE REMEMBER! NEW... DAY ROCKS!, NEW... DAY ROCKS!, NEW... DAY ROCKS!

End of Awards, Pointless- yet somehow necessary Award Montage. 

One Liner of the Year- "NEVILLE, IMMA CALL GRAVITY! HE'S GONNA KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"- Xavier Woods"

Worst Commentator of the Year- Byron Saxton

WWE Network Event of the Year- NXT Takeover: Rival

WWE Network "Original Show of the Year"- Swerved

Tag Team of the Year- The New Day

Most Underwhelming Return- Alberto Del Rio

Worst Idea of the Year- Erick Rowan as a Winemaker

Worst Name of the Year- "Submission Sorority"

Finisher of the Year- Dash & Dawson's Shatter Machine

Meme of the Year- 

NXT Takeover: London Review

How's this for immediate reactions eh? As I'm typing this it's 9 Minutes past 10, WE'RE ALL ON UK TIME TONIGHT FUCKERS- because I figured "Hey, Why not do the Review tonight?". I'm genuinely not sure what to make of the Takeover we've just witnessed at the time of writing this sentence. Usually I've slept on my thoughts for these Wrestling Reviews, and they usually become more "thought out" and considered. So, I suppose what I'm trying to say is- this Review is going to be a rambling mess. Do I know how to sell these, or what? I know I've ended up skipping a couple of Reviews, namely the TLC and RAW ones for this week, but some stuff came up and I can only apologise.

Tonight's Takeover had flaws without a doubt, of which I'll get into as this Review unfolds- but of course it being an NXT Takeover it had massive positives as well. This Takeover along with TLC, RAW and judging from the Smackdown Spoilers- Smackdown as well have all been pretty good. I wonder when the last time we had such a good week product wise was.

I've briefly made reference to this in some of my other Reviews, but I think tonight perfectly encapsulated what I've been trying to say with regard to there being a "new version" of Heels now. The Heels, apart from Samoa Joe were universally Heels- in that they were booed constantly. Which, after all is what Heels should be. "Cool" Heels and "Smarky" Heels are something the WWE are clearly trying to avoid now, because that way when the Babyface they want winning wins- the crowd are actually happy to see it happen. I'm not saying the "Cool" Heel is going to be completely obsolete, but I'm expecting to see the "Heels" who are going to get cheered simply become Babyfaces- because the crowd clearly wants to cheer them.

Anyway, enough about my thoughts on the Wrestling business and its future for now. LET'S GET FIELD TRIPPIN- I MEAN REVIEWING!

Asuka v Emma
This was a pretty good opener all things considered. Asuka is just great, and Emma is as well. I know Asuka is somewhat of a "new toy" and she's going to take (deserved) praise- but Emma's part in this match can't get lost. It wasn't perfect, and there were a few missteps along the way- but on the whole this match really was good. It makes me laugh that we had two Women's matches tonight, and the crowd surprisingly cared about them. You know why, because they were booked in such a way where the crowd actually could. We had defined Babyfaces and Heels, and the matches were presented as being a "big" deal.

What with this being the last "major" event of the Year for either NXT or the Main Roster, I think this is a good time for reflecting back on the last year. I'll talk about this more with someone a bit later, whom you can probably guess- but the rate at which Dana Brooke's improved over this last 6-7 Months is remarkable. I know she wasn't wrestling tonight, but she did really well in her "Manager/Valet" role- and she's become a very watchable screen presence.

I was actually leaning more toward Emma winning tonight. As I've said I know Asuka is in the "new toy" phase, and based off an interaction we had later with Nia Jax she's most likely going to take a loss at the next Takeover- or in the build for it. Asuka winning was the natural conclusion for this feud, however I really like Emma and Dana as a pairing- and they needed a win A LOT more than Asuka did. I'm not really sure where Emma and Dana go now, because I highly doubt they're going after Bayley next.

Dash & Dawson v Enzo Amore & Big Cass- NXT Tag Team Titles
I'll start with the ending. Dash & Dawson NEED the NXT Tag Team Titles at present, and they definitely need them a lot more than Enzo & Cass. I'm definitely warming to Dash & Dawson, I'm not quite there yet- but I'm warming to them. However, as I've said- I'm not quite there yet and crucially neither are they. Dash & Dawson need to be chased, and they need to be the team to "overcome" to be in any way relevant at this moment in time. Going back to my point about Dana Brooke, they haven't yet developed a proper "screen presence" at this stage. I'm not saying they're not going to in the future, but they haven't yet. I know they always say "The Titles don't make the Man", but in this case it's about a 50/50 split between them making the Titles- and the Titles making them.

I liked this match, without ever getting close to loving it. Enzo & Cass are just really enjoyable to watch, and Dash & Dawson really are good at what they're doing at the moment. I do "get" Dash & Dawson, and I think that helps in my view of them- but in the "modern" WWE I'm not sure they're going to be to everyone's taste. Overall this match definitely satisfied me, and the way they built up to the finish- and they shot the near-fall after Enzo's splash so you couldn't really see Dawson at first was just great.

Baron Corbin v Apollo Crews
Again, with this being the last "major" event of the year- let's look back on Baron Corbin. I'm going to go into more detail in The Sammy's- but suffice to say had you have said I'd be a Baron Corbin fan, and would actually be happy for Corbin to go over Crews 6 Months or so ago I'd have had you committed to a psychiatric facility. Corbin has come on leaps and bounds in this last 6 Months. I know it's surprising, right? Someone has actually developed in developmental. I always make a point of not completely writing someone off in NXT any more, after I did Sasha- before that fateful day with Summer in-front of a Mirror.

This match wasn't amazing, but at the same time it was a long way from being "bad" as well. Ithink the best way to describe it is "solid". As I've already said Corbin's come a long way, and Apollo Crews is... Apollo Crews. It would have had to be something for this match to be a "bad" match. I thought these two played their roles really well, and told a good story- and the story was an extension on what we've already had between the two. Crews played the "this is personal" type Babyface perfectly tonight. Nobody watching, even those unfamiliar with the story wouldn't have been able to "get" it pretty quickly. Overall this was a solid, satisfying middle of the card match- with in my opinion the "right" person winning at the end. Yes, I'm happy Corbin went over Crews. Going back to what I've said with regard to Emma as well as Dash & Dawson, Corbin needed the win tonight A LOT more than Apollo did. I can see Corbin feuding with Balor or a returning Sami next after tonight.

Bayley v Nia Jax- NXT Womens Title
This was never going to be a technical masterpiece. This wasn't going to touch Bayley/Sasha in-terms of- well pretty much everything. However, for what it was- and with how limited Nia Jax is they did about as well as they really could have done. Nia is quite limited at present, so they just decided to do the good ol' fashioned "David vs Goliath" story. It was basically Bayley having a match against a Tree. With that said, both women sold the match and the story quite well. I was definitely getting vibes of Brock/Cena at Summerslam and/or Owens/Zayn during the middle part of the match, so the comeback from Bayley when it did come was definitely welcome. I'm not sure how I feel about the 4 (?) Dragon Sleepers in a row as the Finish, it did feel a bit anti-climactic. There wasn't the "WOW!" moment, there was just a run of Dragon Sleepers that eventually wore Nia out. I'm not saying that's a bad finish- in-fact Bayley winning by basically having more ring awareness than Jax was pretty good, but usually in the "David vs Goliath" matches you get the "big pop" moment- which in this case would have been a Bayley-to-Belly. I'm not even sure if that's possible with Nia though.

Finn Balor v Samoa (NOT SOMOA, GRAPHICS PEOPLE) Joe- NXT Title
This was just great. I'm not saying it's anywhere near a few of the NXT Title matches we've had, but these two going at each other with everything they have was never NOT going to be great. These two just gave absolutely everything in this match, to the point where it looked like Balor was hurt at the end. This match simply put was just brutal. There's not much else than can be said in-terms of match quality for the match.

I'm not sure what to make of Finn Balor retaining tonight. I will say with Balor winning, I'm fully expecting Joe to be called up ASAP- likely at the Royal Rumble. I've got this idea for Joe should he get called up in the Rumble that I'll elaborate on fully in my Rumble Match Booking that I'll do in the Rumble Predictions. Anyway, back tonight's result- there's three people who I think Balor can realistically feud with now. Baron Corbin- who I think is likely after tonight), Sami Zayn although this feud would take some work and then Hideo Itami. Aside from Corbin there's not much Finn can do as a Babyface Champion now, so for me- and this may just be because I did a whole booking thing about it. I want Balor to "sort of" turn and it turn out that Balor was the one who attacked Itami- or rather "The Demon" did. Speaking of "The Demon", mandatory reference to Finn Balor's Entrance/Paint. It was very good.

Overall I really enjoyed this Takeover. It wasn't the best Takeover of the Year by a long way, but there wasn't one bad match on the card- and there were a couple of really good ones. I'd probably rank Asuka/Emma as the Match of the Night, but that's not to discount any of the other matches on the card- specifically Balor/Joe. As I've already said, tonight- as well as what's shaping up to be a decent Smackdown has all-in-all made this week a really, really good one for the WWE.

Thanks for reading as always, I know I missed the TLC and RAW Reviews- but I'll be adding my thoughts on stuff like Roman winning the Title next week. Which, in a way is better because we'll see whether Roman's booking will carry on as it has done this week- or we'll be back to the Roman we all know and get frustrated by. Thanks again for reading, I hope you have a really good weekend- and you're back here for the last Review before Christmas.

TLC Predictions

Hang on, it's another PPV? Already? This isn't me embellishing, were it not for me seeing a Tweet plugging the PPV tonight calling the Sheamus/Roman Reigns feud "personal" that caught my eye- these Predictions wouldn't have been happened. I genuinely just completely forgot that TLC was in fact tonight. That's always a good sign. The TLC PPV is always good for at least one good match, most of the time it being the one you don't necessarily expect as well. See the Dolph Ziggler/Luke Harper Ladder Match that was just brutal last year. I'm somewhat hopeful in-terms of match quality tonight, but at the same time I couldn't give less fucks about anything related to the stories heading into tonight. Again, that's only ever a good sign.

As was the case last month as well, there's no announced Pre-Show match. It's impossible to predict an Unannounced Match, and as we saw last month it can actually affect my other Predictions. With that said, if I had to have a guess at one it would either be Sasha Banks/Team Bella Member- although they may be saving that for when Nikki's returning now. Alternatively, having Neville either wrestle the Miz- or wrestle someone in-front of The Miz with Miz helping Neville without his consent. I do wonder when/if they're going to pull the trigger on the Neville/Miz pairing, because heading into Mania Season these two can easily get lost in the shuffle while they're still trying to build up some chemistry. Another option is Ziggler/Breeze, but really- what would be the point?

UPDATE
Pre-Show: Sasha Banks v Becky Lynch
Well, better late than never I suppose. The above paragraph isn't entirely irrelevant with regard to stuff like The Miz and Neville which is why I've left it in. I suppose I wasn't a million miles off suggesting a Sasha Banks match. This match is relatively straightforward to me, it at least appears as though they're angling for a Nikki Bella return as a Babyface against Sasha Banks with Team BAD playing up the numerical advantage at present. I may be wrong, but it definitely seems like they're angling for Team BAD/Team Bella and by proxy Nikki/Sasha with Nikki as the Babyface. That's going to go well. In the meantime I think it's a pretty safe bet to assume Sasha's winning with shenanigans.

The New Day v The Usos v The Lucha Dragons- Tag Team Title Ladder Match
This match has a lot of "steal the show" potential. Pretty much any time you put Kofi Kingston in a Ladder Match scenario shit is going to go down. Obviously it's impossible to say how a match will happen before it has, but at least on paper there seems to be a really good balance in the match- and the only proper limit for this match will be time. You've got the obvious high-flyers in The Lucha Dragons, The Usos will be good for a few spots and then Big E can be the "base" for quite a few spots while Kofi and Xavier just go for it.

I'm genuinely not sure what's going to happen outcome wise for this match. On the one hand I really want The New Day to retain, and I do think they will given the numerical advantage and the fact nobody has to be pinned. However, there's always the potential for The Usos to win the Tag Titles at any given time. I realise this isn't a new comparison, but they're literally Tag Team Cena- in that they're kid-friendly and get pushed quite a lot but just quite bland on the whole. I do expect New Day to retain, at least for tonight- but I wouldn't be at all surprised if The Usos are the Tag Team Champions before Mania.
Winner: The New Day

Charlotte v Paige- Divas Title
This is another one that's quite hard to call. If you read my Predictions regularly you'll know by how I lay them out that I do think Charlotte's winning tonight. However, as with New Day it's a long way off being a "sure thing". I stand by the statement I made last month that were it not for the Reid Flair stuff Charlotte was dropping the Title to Paige at Survivor Series. Now heading into TLC there's always the potential for them to pull the trigger on that, however with Charlotte's "new attitude" it may be enough to hold her over for now.

My whole thing with this match is-as I said in the RAW Review WHO IN THE ACTUAL FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO BE CHEERING FOR TONIGHT?! The two "Divas" feuding for the Title are pretty equal in their bitchiness. Both of them are equally unlikeable, it's like they WANT a completely flat crowd for this match. The reason I've positioned it here on the "card" is because they MUST know it's going to kill the crowd dead, and it'll need time to recover with some good matches to rope them back in.

One thing I have to say, it is really annoying that on a literal Stipulation PPV- that the Divas are just wrestling a normal match. I'm not suggesting there should be Divas Ladder Matches, because that's a death waiting to happen- but could they really not give Charlotte and Paige some Chairs? These two supposedly hate each other, and on a Stipulation PPV they're going to WRESTLE within the confines of a normal match.
Winner: Charlotte

Alberto Del Rio v Jack Swagger- US Title Chairs Match
Speaking of Chairs, we might as well talk about this one now. Depending on how much time this match is given, and how "creative" these two get with the Chairs- this match also has some steal the show potential. It is quite amazing how much Alberto Del Rio's star has fallen within the space of 3 PPVs, however as is the case with both Del Rio and Swagger- their ring-work can speak for itself most of the time. It's a no-brainer as to who's going to win this- and I do think that'll effect the match somewhat, but if Zeb shows up and causes trouble there might be some doubt creeping in.

If nothing else, before Zeb goes off TV- which may well have been Monday I want him to hit someone with his Mobility Scooter. Del Rio "firing" Zeb would be the perfect time to bring back Ricardo. Oh Well.
Winner: Albertoooooooooooooooooooo Deeeeelll Riiioooooooooooooo

Rusev v Ryback
I genuinely couldn't have less interest in this match. We've had this match twice already in the very recent past, and apart from Ryback doing a Corkscrew(ish) over the Top Rope- literally nothing of any significance happened in them. I'd genuinely argue this is the hardest match to call on the whole card. The reason being, they've already had Lana shenanigans resulting in Rusev getting the better of Ryback on RAW. Even for WWE, basically repeating a finish twice within the space of a week (and not on Smackdown) is too much.

With that in mind, I genuinely think Ryback has a chance tonight. I can see something happening along the lines of Lana getting "injured" again, Ryback calls bullshit because of what happened on RAW and then Rusev looks concerned and Ryback takes advantage. The pay-off would of course be that Lana is actually injured this time, and it's a "cried wolf" situation for both Rusev and Lana. That's making the best of a bad situation, but for some reason I don't think it will- and Rusev will just win.
Winner: Rusev

The Wyatt Family v Team ECW- Tables Elimination Match
This match could be quite fun, but it could also just be really slow and awkward. Especially with the Tables Stipulation, I wish RVD would have been in the ECW Team. There's only so many ways Bubba Ray, D-Von, Rhyno and Dreamer can put people through Tables- although as I'll discuss they may not even have to. Putting someone like RVD in Team ECW to fly around a bit, and generally be a counter-balance to the other guys in the team would have been better.

If it were entirely up to me, this would be an absolute massacre. This match would be 5 Minutes at most, and would literally consist of Braun Strowman killing bitches. This is also where I wish Spike would have been involved, because as I've said before Strowman and Spike together is money. I would literally have Strowman eliminate all 4 members of Team ECW on his own with Bray laughing in the corner. I'd have Harper and Rowan just doing "brawl" spots with the members of Team ECW not pairing with Strowman or already eliminated- and then have Strowman throw the ECW guys around to the best of his ability. That would be a "star making" performance for Strowman, and especially heading into Mania season- of which TLC is usually the bridge for it's needed.

I highly doubt this would actually happen though, so here's my predicted Elimination Order;
Erick Rowan (Eliminated by Rhyno- GORE! GORE!)
Tommy Dreamer (Eliminated by Braun Strowman)
Rhyno (Eliminated by Braun Strowman)
Luke Harper (Eliminated by a 3D)
D-Von (Eliminated by Braun Strowman)
Bubba Ray (Eliminated by Bray Wyatt)

I realise I haven't gone that far away from what I've said would be a "star making" performance for Strowman, but I think the match is going to be at least 10 Minutes and in my opinion it'll be too long for what it is.
Winner: The Wyatt Family

Dean Ambrose v Kevin Owens- IC Title Match
I'm not quite sure why, but I genuinely think Dean Ambrose is winning the IC Title tonight. In my Accumulator for the PPV tonight this is the only one that I've picked which isn't the favourite. I'm not even quite sure why I do in fact think Ambrose is winning, I just sort of "do". It might be because I have this deep lying idea to have Reigns and Ambrose butting heads and the idea that Ambrose is winning Titles on his own while Reigns is getting fucked over can potentially play into that. If I'm honest with myself, Ambrose isn't winning- but I've already done my Accumulator as of writing this so I'm sticking with it. How's that for being decisive.
Winner: Dean Ambrose

Sheamus v Roman Reigns- WWE Title TLC Match
Especially with how RAW went, I think it's a fairly safe bet to say that Sheamus is winning. Unless Vince suddenly freaks out with the RAW Ratings and decides Roman's the solution Sheamus is winning tonight. I'm in no way suggesting that Sheamus will win Clean, and I'm fully expecting The League of Nations to be involved at a minimum.

In fact, going back to my earlier Predictions- assuming The Usos and Ambrose (I know) aren't winning they could do "League of Nations ambushes" on them after the match. Alternatively, have The Usos get killed by a big Ladder/Table Spot and Kevin Owens Powerbomb Ambrose onto the Apron. The point being, I'm expecting them to try and play up the idea of Reigns having to fight off a load of people. That would be fine given the current angle, were it not for the fact Reigns beat all four in a Handicap Match on Smackdown. That's what I'm expecting, and for the end of the show I reckon Sheamus will still be the WWE Champion.
Winner: Sheamus

There's not any obvious candidates on the card where you look at the match and say "that match is going to be great". What there is, is a lot of "dark horse" matches in that they're not obvious "going to be great" matches- but at the same time if the stars align for those involved it very well can be. TLC is always a very "transitional" PPV, as I've already said once today it's truly the "bridging" PPV between the Autumn/Early-Winter period and Mania Season. This is of course the last PPV of the Year, so lets hope that it's at least worth spending 3 Hours of our miserable lives watching.

Thanks for reading as always, these next few weeks are quite busy for both sides of the Blog. There's of course the TLC Review coming up tomorrow and the RAW Review on Monday. Then we move onto the NXT Takeover: London Review, where I'm debating as to what day I'm going to put it up given the time of the event is a lot more agreeable to us English Folk. I'm also not sure if the Brock Live Event next Saturday is on the Network, so there might be another one there. All of that, plus The Sammy's are going to be written and posted somewhere along the way. So hopefully you'll be staying tuned for all of those. Thanks again for reading, hopefully you'll be tagging along on Twitter tonight as well, and let's just hope for the best eh?

Fulham v Brentford Review: One Step Forward

Hello! Well, it could have been infinitely worse. I'm genuinely not sure what to make of the game today, although I do think on balance a Draw is the fair result. It was actually a pretty good derby, the First-Half was weird in that we looked like a team low on confidence- but at the same time Brentford were only getting chances when we made mistakes. Then in the 2nd Half the game opened up, almost too much and either team could have snatched it late on. I'm genuinely surprised given how much the game had opened up that we didn't lose it late, so I suppose that's one positive of the game today. At least it wasn't another 4-1.

Before we fully get onto the game today, there's another name to discuss in relation to the Head Coach search. I put my Preview up discussing Jokanovic and Oscar Garcia, and then pretty much as I put the Preview up the stories about Garry Monk came out. Garry Monk is someone I can see a lot of people getting behind the appointment of, and of course should he be appointed I'll back him fully. With that said, I REALLY don't want him. It's not that I don't respect what Garry Monk did last season at Swansea, but he basically did a longer version of what Kit did with us. If Garry Monk wasn't, well Garry Monk he'd have been gone long before he actually was at Swansea. I won't fully write him off before he's begun, but I'd much rather bringing someone in with more experience- both in the Championship and just in general.

Right then, the Goals. I think the two First-Half goals perfectly summed up the Half as a whole. I wasn't in a good position to determined whether it was a Penalty or not, but looking at the Highlights it's a hard one to call. My initial gut reaction was Penalty, and even looking at the Highlights it's a tricky one. I'm not surprised that it's been given, but at the same time the Ref wouldn't have necessarily got it "wrong" had he not given it. It's a harsh one in that Jazz Richards does get a bit of the ball, but he gets a bit of Bidwell as well- combined with the debate as to whether it was in the Box or not. Then our first goal was, definitely something. We needed a bit of luck in the First-Half to get a goal, because we were just generally quite flat in it- and for once we actually did. I have no idea if Button had called for it, if the Centre-Back had called for it- or whatever the hell happened. Either way, I don't really care. The Dembele goal was the first proper bit of quality there'd been all game, and as it turned out the only. It was a great bit of play, and then McCormack got it into Dembele and Dembele did what he's done so many times this season.

I'm debating how harsh I'm going to be on us for conceding from ANOTHER CORNER. The issue is such a long-standing one that Stuart Gray wasn't going to fix it in a week. With that said, even if Brentford were going to get an Equaliser I wish it hadn't have been from one just to get some confidence back when we're defending Set-Pieces. It's not as simple as a height issue for us which some people seem to be suggesting as a reason for Dan Burn to start. In working out how I was going frame the argument I was weirdly reminded of Mariappa's goal in "that" Kasami game where the 5'11 Mariappa outjumped the 6'5 Hangeland. In short, height isn't everything. Even if it were, Dan Burn isn't some blanket heading machine who covers every ball that goes in the box- nor has every Header we've conceded been either Ream or Stearman's fault.

The main issue in-terms of defending Set-Pieces to me are positional awareness and physicality. It came to nothing, but out our lack of positional awareness from Corners astounds me- and was perfectly summed up when Alan Judge had tonnes of space at the back post from one. Physicality is different to height, there's too many of our players that simply aren't strong enough to hold their man and that creates more free headers- and in turn more goals conceded. These issues can't be solved in such a short period of time, and it'll take extended work- and dare I say a whole Pre-Season to properly fix the issue.

A definitive positive today was Andy Lonergan's return. It's annoying in a way, because I don't know why we can't be more clear with Team News heading into a game. I realise we didn't rule out Lonergan (and Jazz Richards) but at the same time the general lack of news is annoying. Anyway, back to the pitch and I thought Lonergan was really good today. He made a number of key saves, one in particular in the 2nd Half from (I think) Vibe that I was convinced was in. While sacking Kit was definitely the right move, he did get a bit unlucky with a number of injuries coming at once. Lonergan being back is a difference maker, and as shown today he can be the difference between 0 and 1 Points- and hopefully in the future 1 and 3.

Jazz Richards was another player returning today, and in general I thought he did reasonably well. He did give away the Penalty of course, but apart from that I don't think he did a lot wrong throughout the game. Between Richards and Fredericks they had a fairly good handle on the Right-Hand side of the Pitch I thought, and with a few exceptions not a lot came from that side. I thought today was Luke Garbutt's best game in a Fulham shirt so far- although that isn't really saying much. He wasn't perfect today by a long way, but he was getting up and down the line a lot better- and he actually showed signs of being a capable Left-Back. Garbutt can take a lot of positives from his game today, and hopefully use today as a means to get "back on the Horse" and kick on for the second half of the season.

Tim Ream's 1st Half performance pretty much summed up the entire teams. He just looked really shaky and generally low on confidence. There was one moment in particular where Ream completely misplaced a pass to Stearman and almost gave Brentford a clear opportunity. After that I noticed Stearman having a few words with Ream, and the message from him- and Lonergan on a few occasions was basically just calm down and focus. That's all we have to do, but I acknowledge that's a lot easier said than down given our general instability as a Club at present. I thought Stearman did reasonably well today, he made a number of key tackles and blocks, and he went on the best solo run I've seen at Craven Cottage in at least 3 or 4 Seasons. I only wish Stearman had shot when he got the ball back after making that run, it was his time to shine.

I realise Scott Parker in particular is a very "Stuart Gray" player, but a Centre-Mid pairing of Jamie O'Hara and Scott Parker isn't exactly going to pull up any trees. It's just so ridiculously one-dimensional. Especially in the 1st Half, we were just so flat- and there wasn't any energy in the middle of the pitch to push us forward nor was there much creativity. I realise there wasn't much movement off the ball, and in the 1st Half all Brentford really had to do to stop us was hold their defensive shape- but the middle of the pitch is such a key area that we're losing the battle in. It's not even that Parker and O'Hara played "badly" today, it's that they're Scott Parker and Jamie O'Hara. My expectations for them aren't realistic, we all know the sort of players they are- it's just a fact that having both in the same team as a Centre-Mid pairing isn't going to work. It may well be because we're missing Tunnicliffe, but the Centre of the Pitch from our perspective just looks so flat without him. I'm also fairly certain we haven't in fact won a (league) game this season without Tunnicliffe, which of course goes back to the point I've made throughout with him that he's key to the balance of the whole team.

The Parker and O'Hara pairing is especially frustrating given we not only weren't playing Tom Cairney centrally, we started him ON THE LEFT. I've given praise for Ryan Fredericks and Jazz Richards on the right-hand side, but even so- this selection was the one that baffled me this week. There always has to be one. It was far from Tom Cairney's best game for us, but even in the game today he was still performing reasonably well- and crucially causing problems for the defence. As I've said already said with Fredericks, I thought him and Jazz Richards did well from a defensive standpoint on the Right- but going forward I thought Fredericks was pretty ineffective before his eventual substitution.

Moussa Dembele got another goal today, and I thought generally did really well. Dembele's a weird player, in that at this stage of his career- understandably he struggles to create his own chances. That meant, especially in the 1st Half with the game being particularly scrappy he was quite limited in his contribution to the game. Once the game opened up in the 2nd Half Dembele saw more of the ball, obviously got his goal- and were it not for a great last ditch tackle Dembele would have probably gotten another goal when the ball was just taken away from him late on inside the 6 Yard Box. Broken record time, Ross McCormack wasn't in fact at his best. I've been saying that so many times I'm starting to consider lowering my expectations for him. However, even with McCormack not at his best I really liked his performance today. He got the 2 Assists, and he was one of the players for us actually playing like it was a derby. McCormack's the sort of player who'll play with his heart on his sleeve and is always fully committed- and we needed that sort of performance today.

I thought Stuart Gray was supposed to be a defensive manager?! His Subs today definitely didn't have any emphasis on defence. I realise it was a Home game, and it turned out alright- but bringing on Smith, Kacaniklic and Woodrow and basically playing a 4-2-4 with Kacaniklic as one of the two by the end was almost too attacking for my liking. I think given the season we've had so far we're allowed to be pessimistic and generally nervous, but with the Subs we made I was terrified of Brentford hitting us on the Counter.

Heading into the game, if you'd offered me a generally positive 2-2 Draw- especially with Brentford's form at present I'd have definitely taken it. Coming out of the game I'll still take it, but it's one of those weird games where both teams will argue they should have taken all three. I do think today's performance is a step in the right direction though. Of course it's disappointing Stuart Gray didn't start with a win, but there was definite positives from the game that we can hopefully build on. Although, I'm dreading Ipswich given some of the players they've got for set-pieces. In fact I'll predict a Christophe Berra goal on Tuesday right now.

Thanks for reading as always, there's a really quick turnaround of games for pretty much the rest of the month now- so hopefully you're going to keep coming back for all the Previews and Reviews. The Ipswich Preview will be up on Monday, so hopefully you'll stay tuned for that- where as I've already said we can hopefully build on today's game. In the meantime I hope you enjoy the rest of your Weekend. Thanks again for reading, and remember- at least it wasn't 4-1.