Royal Rumble Predictions

Hello! It's been a while. We're here for the Royal Rumble, and with what's been rumoured for tonight, combined with what we've already seen- tonight could potentially be a night that completely re-energises the product on the "Road to Wrestlemania". As I did last year, I'm going to book an entire Royal Rumble Match. So, when I'm inevitably slagging off the Royal Rumble match tomorrow after Vince has won- I can say with proof that I'd have done better. On top of that we've got some really interesting matches on the card tonight, and as previously alluded to- this could turn into one hell of a PPV.

I think it's been pretty obvious that there's been another posting gap, and I can only apologise. For those of you that read these regularly, I'm sorry- but now I'm back and I'm going to be trying my best to stay here. Over the last few months I've been generally feeling like shit and my Chronic Fatigue's been affecting me for the most it has in easily 2-3 Years. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still feeling a bit "off", but I'm definitely going to try my absolute best to get back in the routine of doing these regularly. With that in mind, apologies in advance if there's any typos, spelling errors etc. and lets kick on with the Royal Rumble Predictions.

Pre-Show: The Dudleys v Damien Sandow & Darren Young v The Ascension v Jack Swagger & Mark Henry
It's not necessarily a guarantee, but I can't see anyone other than The Dudleys winning this match. The only other team I could even remotely see happening is The Ascension, and that would only be if they were planning on doing a Stardust Eliminated by Ascension and returns as Cody spot- which as you'll see in my Rumble later I'm not doing. That combined with the obvious rule of the Babyface winning on the Pre-Show and you've got The Dudleys winning this match with a 3D. Most likely on Sandow, because that'll show him.
Winner: The Dudleys

Dean Ambrose v Kevin Owens- IC Title Last Man Standing Match
Firstly, I'll say that this match should be absolutely great. Whether it will or not is another matter entirely, as has been proven time and time again in the WWE. Especially with one idea that I've got in mind for the Rumble, Kevin Owens may or may not be winning. Frankly I don't really care who wins this match, and depending on how much faith they have in Owens- he may or may not lose this match with some sort of shenanigans. Think Cena duct-taping Batista shenanigans. Kevin Owens is going to play a definite role in the Rumble Match- and it basically all depends on how much gas Kevin Owens, or rather how much gas those in charge think Kevin Owens has in the tank. I do definitely think Ambrose is winning though, for the simple fact that Owens' next feud doesn't "need" the Title- but it's for that reason that he still might end up winning.
Winner: Dean Ambrose

Becky Lynch v Charlotte- Divas Title
I haven't been able to quite work out what's triggered my recent bout of illness. With that said, I think the fact there's a well-booked Divas feud may have just sent my whole body into shock. I've loved the Becky Lynch/Charlotte feud, who'd have thought if you gave the Women booking that made sense and played to their strengths they'd get over eh? If you've read my Predictions before, or simply worked out what I'm doing in-terms of layout you'll know I'm predicting Becky to win this. This isn't the only Title switch I'm predicting for tonight, and on the "Road to Wrestlemania" (take a shot every time the Commentators say that tonight) I do think Title changes are the way to go in some cases. As is the case here, if- for no other reason than to keep this feud going for at least another Month.
Winner: Becky Lynch

New Day v The Usos- Tag Titles
I do think New Day's time to drop the Titles is coming pretty soon. I've still loved New Day for the most part over my Posting Break(s), and their funeral for Francesca was just great. However, I am starting to worry about them becoming a bit stale. It's not even necessarily the fact they need to break-up. They just need to freshen up again. In many ways, New Day are a victim of their own success. When they started out being great around May of last year, they didn't have many "parameters" with which they had to play in. Now, New Day are actually successful they're getting "hella merch" as I suspect Big E would say and with more exposure and more merch- the narrower the parameters.

I don't know if they should have New Day "snap" as I thought they were going to do around Summerslam, but they need to do something. With The Usos not as the favourites (at the time of writing), if I were betting on the Rumble- I'd say The Usos were worth a punt. However, for some reason I just don't think New Day are losing the Titles yet. I realise this is usually the type of logic that makes my Predictions fall apart- but still.
Winner: New Day

Kalisto v Alberto Del Rio- US Title
I did make jokes about Kalisto's US Title run, as I'm sure everyone else did. However, upon reflection- depending on tonight's outcome I might be all for it. My whole thing with the Kalisto Title win was within kayfabe it could be written off as a "fluke" win. This is where I believe "lightning doesn't strike twice" or any of those other sayings comes into play. If Kalisto beats Del Rio tonight, he's proven the first win wasn't a fluke. As is shown I'm predicting Kalisto to win tonight, but that's more to do with getting the Title off of Del Rio than putting it on Kalisto heading into Mania season. I do think of the Titles heading into Mania, the US is the one likely to end up on the Pre-Show- but for tonight I won't really care provided Kalisto does in fact win. If Del Rio wins then I'll have just rambled on for no reason.
Winner: Kalisto

Royal Rumble Match
Right then, it's what we all came here for. It's MY (most likely better) Royal Rumble match. As I've already said, I did this last year and I had a lot of fun.- and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be this year. If you don't want to read the whole thing, there's going to be Bullet Points with the key goings on at the end. Without further ado, here's the Entrance Order;

#1- Roman Reigns
#2- Kevin Owens
#3- D-Von
#4- Ryback
#5- R-Truth
#6- Kane
#7- Sami Zayn
#8- Heath Slater
#9- Kofi Kingston
#10- Tye Dllinger
#11- Adam Rose
#12- Stardust
#13- Big Show
#14- Bo Dallas
#15- Luke Harper
#16- Curtis Axel
#17- Rusev
#18- Braun Strowman
#19- Xavier Woods
#20- Bubba Ray
#21- Big E
#22- Chris Jericho
#23- Erick Rowan
#24- Dolph Ziggler
#25- Bray Wyatt
#26- Brock Lesnar
#27- Sheamus
#28- Alberto Del Rio
#29- AJ Styles
#30- Samoa Joe

Let's get into the actual match then. I had to laugh at the fact my prediction for last years Rumble had Daniel Bryan entering at #1 as a result of shenanigans from The Authority- and here we are this year... with Roman Reigns at #1... as a result of shenanigans from The Authority. As I already mentioned I think Kevin Owens is going to have a big role in the Rumble, and he's entering at #2 for a reason.

Let me bring you back to December to Dismember in 2006, I know- I'm sorry. In the build to the match I believe Paul Heyman was pushing for Punk to enter the Extreme Elimination Chamber against The Big Show and beat him early. Guaranteeing a new Champion no matter what else happened in the Chamber. See where I'm going with this? The Royal Rumble during the last two years has just gone to shit because it's been way too predictable. While it's always only ever going to be a handful of people, the last two years have just been SO bad. With that in mind, I've got the hook to keep people invested right from the off.

Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens are squaring off and generally getting each other in various holds for the first 15 or so seconds. Then Triple H's music hits, and he's not in a Suit- he's got "Street Clothes" on and is armed with a Sledgehammer. Triple H is going to attack Roman and between him and Owens, Reigns is going to be overwhelmed and generally killed- and after about 45 Seconds-1 Minute of this Triple H and Owens are going to pick Roman Reigns up. Throw him over the Top Rope, and Eliminate Roman Reigns before the #3 has even come out. (Roman Reigns eliminated by Triple H/Kevin Owens). Then Triple H is going to follow him out and Pedigree him through the Spanish Announce Desk.

I know there's all the rumours about Triple H/Reigns for the Title, and while it's an obvious possibility- I personally don't see Triple H winning the Rumble. Also, Triple H/Reigns doesn't "need" the Title. With all that in mind, we're heading into the #3 Entrant with Roman Reigns already eliminated.

Especially with the number of injuries the WWE currently have, there's going to be notable "lulls" in-terms of Entrants. I've figured (with exceptions) it's best to get them out of the way early and build to a big crescendo. With that in mind, let's give Kevin Owens a Mic. Of course, after he's swiftly dispatched of D-Von. (D-Von eliminated by Kevin Owens). Kevin Owens will be talking about the "Kevin Owens Show" and how he's going to win the WWE Title, Headline Mania and all that stuff for the remainder of the time before #4. Same again when it comes to The Ryback, albeit with him putting up a bit more of a fight. (Ryback eliminated by Kevin Owens). Then we get to the first of a few of the traditional comedy spots in the Rumble. Enter R-Truth at #5. I've seen varied ideas when it comes to Truth, including him coming in at #31 which I have to admit I was considering. However, here's my idea. Truth's going to come out, rapping and dancing and generally... being R-Truth. As soon as he enters the ring he eats a Superkick from Owens and gets thrown over the Top Rope. (R-Truth eliminated by Kevin Owens). That'll all happen in about 25-30 of the 90 Seconds. Truth will get back to the back pretty quickly because he's "dazed" and then just as Kevin Owens is about to talk again "Y'ALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!" and Truth's going to come out rapping and dancing and generally... being R-Truth. Once the Ref's have explained to Truth that he's not in the Rumble any more he'll do the "My Bad" stuff and go back to the back.

This leaves us with Kevin Owens as the only surviving entrant heading into #6, and a bit of a dip in-terms of eliminations. In comes #6, and Kane making his traditional Rumble appearance. Owens and Kane are just going to go back and forth for the majority of their time- but toward the latter stages of this section Owens will catch Kane with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Owens is going to be looking at getting another elimination and generally being smug when the Countdown hits zero and Sami Zayn's music hits.

I don't think this'll be that much of a surprise, but I still think the reaction to his return will be absolutely great. Zayn's obviously going to go straight after Owens, as is tradition and they're going to have a heated brawl with them going back and forth for a while. As the time before the next entrant counts down, Sami will throw Owens over the Top Rope- but not eliminate him. After another brief brawl Owens will put Sami over the Top Rope with him- and they're going to trade punches on the Ring Apron. Sami will get the advantage and Owens will be backed into a Corner with his Head near the Ringpost. Seeing an opportunity Sami lines up the "Helluva Kick" on Owens into the Ringpost, but as Sami hits the Kick- Owens hits a Superkick and they eliminate each other. (Kevin Owens eliminated by Sami Zayn/Sami Zayn eliminated by Kevin Owens). However, it doesn't stop there. With Sami and Owens brawling to the back- and at least for now out of sight.

With one of the main angles of the Rumble out of the way, it's Slater Time Baybay! This is going to be the time period where the ring fills up with jobbers to eventually be killed by others for the most part. As such, nothing much will happen in Slater's Time- other than some kicks aimed at Kane and general show-boating. Then comes Kofi Kingston, who's going to be one of the best participants this year in-terms of time in the Rumble- but as before with Slater nothing much will happen with him yet. Moving onto #10 and- WAIT DID SOMEONE SAY... 10?! It's Tye Dillinger! Tye deserves a throwaway spot in the Rumble with how long he's been around, but just a throwaway. Tye's going to be doing his "10" stuff all the way down the Ramp, he'll get in do more "10" stuff- and if they've timed it right- from the time Dillinger enters the Ring to the time Kane eliminates him (Tye Dillinger eliminated by Kane) Tye would have lasted 10 Seconds.

Now keeping up with the "fill the ring" mentality, Adam Rose enters- to also make it two Social Outcasts in the Ring. However, not much will happen in Rose's time. Then comes Stardust, and the same will happen with him and his time. The favourite for the Royal Rumble, The Big Show is out next- and aside from him chopping everyone in sight, generally being a Giant and squaring off with Kane not much will happen with him. Now to add another Outcast into the mix we get Bo Dallas, but he's going to be doing everything within his power to not engage with Show, Kane, Kofi and Stardust during his time. Next comes Luke Harper, and with so many "monsters" in the ring now, the Outcasts, Stardust and Kofi have become pacifists and are in the Corners watching Harper, Show and Kane all sizing each other up. After a brief three-way brawl Harper's going to Superkick Kane over the Top Rope (Kane eliminated by Luke Harper).

Then out comes the 4th Outcast, for the first of the completed factions and it's Curtis Axel! After RAW, and now the Outcasts have the 4-on-1 they're going to go straight after Big Show. However, instead of getting knocked out by Show- they're going to eventually overwhelm him and eliminate him. (The Big Show eliminated by The Social Outcasts). Not content with just eliminating Big Show, they're going to employ a similar tactic on Stardust and eventually eliminate him as well. (Stardust eliminated by The Social Outcasts). Rusev's out next, and apart from Superkicking Harper after a brief back and forth he's not going to do much- because the Social Outcasts will once again overwhelm him. However, he won't be eliminated by them and he's going to hang on.

During this part of the match, which isn't massively important in the grand scheme of things- they're going to cut backstage to Zayn and Owens still fighting and eventually Owens and Zayn will end up brawling in the Crowd. Owens and Zayn will make their way toward the technical area, think the end of Cena/Wyatt Last Man Standing and Kofi Boom Dropping Orton through a Table at MSG. If it were up to me, I'd have Owens Package Piledriving Sami through a Table here. However, it's WWE- so I'll take a Sit-Out Powerbomb resulting in both guys being completely out and a bit later on when there's a lull in the fighting (which will become obvious) they'll once again do the Split-Screen thing and it'll show Sami and Owens being stretchered out.

Braun Strowman is out next, and if you're been following me on Twitter you'll know I'm predicting big things (emphasis on big) for Strowman in this Rumble. It's going to start with The Outcasts trying to overwhelm him as they did Rusev as soon as he enters. You know the "Roar" spot, "Giants" do when there's a load of people on them at once. I've always wanted it to result in eliminations. So, Strowman's going to do the "Roar" Spot- and he'll have done it with such aggression that all four of the Outcasts will end up going over the Top Rope and being eliminated. (Adam Rose, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater & Bo Dallas eliminated by Braun Strowman). However, Axel is of course still in the 2015 Rumble. So he'll start freaking out shouting "THAT WAS LAST YEARS" before running back in and immediately being Superkicked back over the Top Rope by Harper. Next Harper and Strowman will go after Rusev, and after a brief struggle (Rusev eliminated by Strowman/Harper). Next out is Xavier Woods, and as soon as he enters he's going to look around for Kofi and see him out in the Corner and then see Harper and Strowman and panic and after a very brief struggle Strowman's going to murder and Harper's going to Superkick him out, leaving Xavier dead on the outside (important for later). (Xavier Woods eliminated by Luke Harper). Kofi's still going to hang on for now- and especially because this is his first Rumble as a Heel, he can afford to do various "cheap tactics" e.g. hanging onto the Bottom Rope for dear life. The next entrant, Bubba Ray won't be so lucky. He's going to come out and have a brief flourish- he's going to call for the 3D, look at Kofi hanging onto the Bottom Rope and Kofi's just point blank going to refuse to move. As a result, Bubba's going to turn around, eat a Superkick and get eliminated by Luke Harper as the clock counts down to zero. (Bubba Ray eliminated by Luke Harper).

Next out is Big E, and he's going to put up more of a fight- even to the point of actually taking Harper out and squaring off with Strowman. Now Big E's in, Kofi's a bit more confident in leaving the Bottom Rope as well- and Big E and Kofi are going to briefly get the advantage over Strowman and Kofi's going to Trouble in Paradise Strowman into a Corner so he can take a breather. The reason they won't try and eliminate him is the next entrant, Chris Jericho. Jericho's going to run wild for a bit on Kofi, Big E and Harper- and after a bit of a struggle he's going to eliminate Big E (Big E eliminated by Chris Jericho). However, immediately after Kofi will throw Jericho over the Tope Rope- but not eliminate him yet. After some brief punches it looks like Jericho has the upper-hand. But, Xavier's back on his feet- and he has a new Trombone. Again, as with the Owens/Zayn stuff if it were up to me and it were 10 Years ago I'd have Xavier throw Kofi the Trombone and Jericho take a Trombone to the Head. However, it's 2016 so I'll take Xavier hitting Jericho in the Legs to eliminate him. (Chris Jericho eliminated by Francesca 2). As soon as Jericho hits the Floor Big E will pick him up and give him the Big Ending.

However, as Kofi's celebrating the elimination of the MURDERER- he'll turn around and see Braun Strowman and Luke Harper. I'm not entirely sure how they'd do it, and it could very well go wrong but I want Strowman to press Kofi over the Top Rope- and Kofi to somehow end on the Barrier on the Hard Camera side. Yup, it's the Kofi Spot. With Big E and Xavier still out there, Kofi's going to use them as Stepping Stones to get back on the Ring Apron. As this is happening Erick Rowan's entering and as soon as Kofi's back on the Apron, Rowan will barrel into Big E and Harper will Superkick Kofi eliminating him. (Kofi Kingston eliminated by Luke Harper). Once that's happened we've got 3 of the Wyatts in the ring, with Bray the only one yet to enter- with The Family waiting for the next entrant.

That next entrant comes in the shape of Dolph Ziggler, and it goes without saying he's not going to last long. After a brief struggle he's going to succumb to the Family and be eliminated. (Dolph Ziggler eliminated by The Wyatt Family). Next in is the leader of The Wyatts- and Bray is going to take his time coming in and once he does he'll do his "WE ARE ..." type stuff and how he's going to win the Rumble and it's "his". Basically, it looks like Bray's going to win- and with his whole Family in there with him it's looking pretty good for him. Enter Brock Lesnar. I had Wyatts/Lesnar as a sub-plot in this before RAW, but now it just doesn't look crazy. Brock's going to enter and... be Brock. The goal of the Family is to protect Bray- meaning all three of them will be taking Suplexes regularly. Rowan will be the first to go*

*Quick aside, for the Kofi Spot I had an idea for Brock to German Suplex Kofi over the Top Rope- with Kofi landing on his back with his Legs in the air before transitioning into a Head-Stand Kip-Up back onto the Apron. Then I thought more and realised Brock German Suplexing Kofi over the Top-Rope to the floor would be 99% likely to kill him.

(Erick Rowan eliminated by Brock Lesnar), next on the Chopping Block is Luke Harper who won't last much longer- but as you've seen I reckon he'll have a good showing tonight. (Luke Harper eliminated by Brock Lesnar). What we get next might be the foreshadowing of a Mania match, although I still doubt it quite a bit. With Strowman and Brock squaring off. All of this with Bray laughing in the Corner, because he fucking loves this sort of chaos. Just as they're about to actually fight each other, the Countdown hits zero and Sheamus enters. Sheamus will come in and it's Brogue Kick City. Hitting Strowman with one to knock him into a Corner, before hitting Brock with one- but with that not knocking him down he goes for another one and as he's running back for it Bray will do the thing where he basically just runs into someone. Apart from that not much will happen, as we now build to the "big finish". After Sheamus, we get his League of Nations comrade Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio will run wild for a bit with Enzuigiri's and Superkicks on everyone before doing the thing where they just start kicking someone in a corner for a while, most likely Brock to "keep him down".

Next, in the moment we're all anticipating tonight- AJ Styles will enter at #29. I've seen a lot of talk about the Styles Clash- a lot of I'm assuming is joking. However, there has been some people legitimately saying that the WWE won't let AJ use the Styles Clash- to which I point out Joe is still using the Muscle Buster after Tyson Kidd. Anyway, STYLES CLASH'S FOR EVERYONE! Well, not everyone. AJ will gives Styles Clash's to Del Rio and Sheamus, and not long after eliminate Del Rio. (Alberto Del Rio eliminated by AJ Styles). With everyone down, and Del Rio just eliminated- AJ will do the Glove Pose to the Hard Camera. Just as he's got his Hands up, the timer hits zero and Samoa Joe's Music hits. This whole angle depends on the Commentators, and it's for that reason that I might even prefer it not to happen. However, Joe and AJ have a history that can't be ignored- and heading into a Mania with so many injuries an entirely new feud (in WWE) is something they shouldn't pass up. What we'll then get is a Mini-Match of sorts with both AJ and Joe attempting various "high impact" moves on each other. Until Bray and Strowman intervene and attack both into different corners.

There we have it, that's the 30 Entries- and after the 30 we're left with Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar, Sheamus, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe to fight it out. With Strowman and Bray back in control of the match, it's time to change that- with Brock returning to the action. He'll give Bray a German Suplex and then Strowman an F5 before eliminating Strowman. (Braun Strowman eliminated by Brock Lesnar). Next to go is Sheamus, also by Brock (Sheamus eliminated by Brock Lesnar) leaving us with the Final Four of Brock, Bray, Joe and AJ.

You could probably get really good Odds on this being the Final Four, looking at Paddy Power individually it's 1/25 for Brock, 4/11 for Bray, 13/5 for AJ and 18/1 for Joe. Unfortunately I can't do an Accumulator, thanks Paddy Power. Anyway, I genuinely believe this should be the Final Four. This years Mania is going to be huge in-terms of the landscape of the WWE going forward, so having three of the Final Four of the Rumble be relatively "new" stars who can play a big part in the WWE over the next 2-3 years- and in Bray's case even longer.

Right then, the Final Four has to become a Final Three- and the first to go will be Bray Wyatt at the hands of Brock after a bit of a fight. (Bray Wyatt eliminated by Brock Lesnar). My logic for putting Bray Wyatt out first is that we've already had Lesnar/Wyatts teased this week and in the match. On the other hand, I'd have Joe kicking and punching AJ in the Corner while Brock is eliminating Bray- before turning around. *gasp* It's Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe facing each other. This is a fucking dream match, at least for me. If they do end up teasing this tonight, regardless of position in the match I'll mark out. Anyway, after a stiff as anything brawl Brock will F5 Joe and throw him over the Top Rope. (Samoa Joe eliminated by Brock Lesnar).

This leaves us with Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles. Another Dream Match, and the best bit? It's a no-lose situation in-terms of the winner. The crowd will not give a fuck if Brock or AJ win, because either way he's one of "their guys". The result,? A crowd actually invested in what's happening in the ring. After we get some back and forth, I'd have AJ setting Brock up for the Styles Clash- but Brock fights out of it and German Suplexes AJ. Brock goes for the F5, AJ fights out and eventually hits the Styles Clash on Brock.

Then we get the thing where the person who is about to be eliminated weighs 1 Million lbs and AJ struggles to get Brock up and over the Top Rope. Just as AJ is about to win, Brock comes around like the Beast he is, F5's AJ and then throws him over the Top Rope.
Winner: Brock Lesnar

Key Parts
- Sami Zayn debuts & he and Owens eliminate each other and brawl all over the Arena
- Social Outcasts eliminate The Big Show
- Braun Strowman eliminates all 4 Social Outcasts at once
- The "Kofi Spot" is Kofi using Big E & Xavier as Stepping Stones back to the Ring
- Brock/Wyatts is one of the main angles in the Rumble
- Final Four is Brock, Bray, AJ Styles & Samoa Joe
- Final Two is Brock & AJ

I've said this throughout, and I still believe it now. Brock Lesnar is winning the Royal Rumble. After this Rumble there's so many potential matches for Mania, and just off the back of this match you could easily get;

Roman Reigns v Triple H
Brock Lesnar v Bray Wyatt- WWE Title (or The Rock if they could work something out)
Sami Zayn v Kevin Owens
New Day v Chris Jericho & The Usos
Samoa Joe v AJ Styles

That's 5 matches on the card right there, 4 of which would be absolutely great.

If you're interested in stats, or if you've got a "Most Eliminations" Bet here you go;
Most Eliminations- Brock Lesnar (7)

I could be completely wrong with this, and Triple H might end up winning the Rumble as the Bookies seem to indicate. However, I just don't see it happening for some reason- and I think putting the Title on Triple H, only for him to drop it back to Roman at Mania is a waste. You'll have also noticed I didn't do any "Legend" returns, for the simple fact that I wasn't sure where to fit them in and who they would be. Although, Barrett's absence may or may not be down to Papa Shango.

Thanks for reading as always, I hope you had fun reading my Rumble. At around 4am tonight, we can come back here and re-read my Rumble and realise what could have been. As I said, I hope you liked it- and even if you didn't/completely disagree with with my Predictions feel free to tell me. Thanks again for reading, let's hope that at the very least tonight is a lot of fun- and the Rumble match is actually good. Which, after the last two years may not be a guarantee. Just remember folks, tonight we're going to witness Heath Slater Main-Eventing a PPV for the WWE Title.

RAW Review: 4th January

Hello! Right then, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way LAST NIGHT WAS THE BEST RAW OF THE YEAR! Now we can move on. I'm not even quite sure why, but I was genuinely quite hopeful for last night's RAW and the Royal Rumble build. I'll discuss the big Royal Rumble match news a bit later on, but it's definitely shaken things up- and will definitely have divided opinions and gotten people talking. I won't say I "enjoyed" RAW last night, but at the same time I did like a lot of what they did last night so in that respect it was a successful night for the WWE. Let's look at exactly what I enjoyed then eh? THE FIRST RAW REVIEW OF 2016 BEGINS!

OH FUCK, STEPHANIE WAS IN THE FIRST SEGMENT OF 2016.
Roman Reigns & Stephanie McMahon Promo
"The Morgue" why couldn't Roman have told Stephanie she'd be picking Vince up from "The Morgue". I realise it's PG, but come on. I think that little adjustment can sort of sum up Roman Reigns at the moment. In that, there's a lot of potential- that I don't think many people are disputing he has. But, at the same time- he's just not quite "there" yet. In my posting break, Roman did of course win the WWE Title. I was in two minds over whether I wanted Roman to win the Title, but after his TLC showing I was willing to give it a go. I'm yet to make my mind up when it comes to Roman as WWE Champion. The main problem for me is the fact they're making EVERYTHING about Roman, as I'll discuss later. As we've seen a million times in the WWE, if the WWE try and push something down our throats- the fans will push back. I didn't mind this segment, without ever "liking" it at any point.

Kevin Owens v Neville
I really liked this match. It was never going to be "Match of the Year" fare. However, for what it was- it was really enjoyable. Neville looked great in defeat last night, and provided they keep Neville on his current path I do have some hope for his future. Neville isn't going to be Main Eventing any time soon, however he's definitely getting pretty consistent pops at present- and if he keeps doing stuff like he did in the match last night those pops will only continue and grow. Ambrose was fine on Commentary, apart from at one point when he got completely lost. The stuff with Ambrose and Owens after was really good, and overall this segment did its job really well.

Vince McMahon Backstage Promo
The stuff Vince said was fine, but I think it would have been infinitely better had he entered in the Limo shouting "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" and his entire Interview with JoJo just consisted of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!".

Titus O'Neil v Stardust
I'm pretty sure they got the scripts mixed up, and this was in fact supposed to be on Superstars. Everything they did was perfectly acceptable, and the match was decent in a very "standard" way. I suppose that's all that you could really expect from the match in all honesty. So, fair play to both guys.

Becky Lynch & Charlotte Backstage Promo
I liked this segment, and it set-up what followed nicely. It's not a good sign that I can barely remember what's happen with Charlotte over the last two months, but this segment definitely worked.

Becky Lynch v Charlotte
I just need to write this down to make it a lot clearer in my head. Becky Lynch and Charlotte had a decent match, they told a good "story", Becky won with shenanigans after Charlotte attempted to do so making it "fair game", Charlotte then snapped at Becky and fully turned on Becky by killing her. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE DIVAS DIVISION?! ACTUAL STORIES?! CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS THAT MAKE SENSE?! After this match last night, I legitimately want to see Becky go after Charlotte for the Title. This was one of the best Divas Segments we've had in recent memory, and we can only hope we get 51 (or more) more of them this year.

Vince McMahon & Sheamus Backstage Promo
Apparently the bloke Vince was belittling as they cut to him backstage was the Head Writer of NXT. This segment was pretty standard stuff, which would have been made better had Vince simply told Sheamus HAPPY NEW YEAR over and over.

Ryback v The Big Show
At leas the actual match was mercifully short. Before the announcement after the Main Event, I was convinced Braun Strowman was going to fuck shit up in the Rumble Match. While he still might, Roman's involvement as well as Brock, Cena, Owens, Ambrose- it all dilutes Strowman's potential impact on the match. I am still looking forward to The Wyatts in the Rumble match however, because chances are we'd be getting The Wyatts/Brock at some point during.

Alberto Del Rio & Rusev v The Usos
I've been a big critic of Del Rio's return, but I legitimately think this was the best match of Del Rio's return. With the only other contender being his match with Roman at Survivor Series. It wasn't perfect by any means, but a lot of what happened just "worked" last night. We actually got a great false finish for once, with the Uso Splash after a Superkick on Del Rio- and for the first time since his match with Cena I've actually liked Del Rio's finish. Why did I like it? BECAUSE IT FUCKING MADE SENSE! The problem, among others with the Corner Stomp is the fact Del Rio's opponent literally has to hold themselves up for Del Rio to hit it. That wasn't a problem last night with Jey draped over the Second Rope. So overall, I really enjoyed this match. MORE PLEASE!

Heath Slater v Dolph Ziggler
The match was nothing really. I thought Dolph looked a bit "off", but that may well be down to the fact he was losing to Heath Slater- albeit with interference. I genuinely, all joking aside love the "Social Outcasts" idea. I have no doubt it'll be dead by at the latest the Royal Rumble, but on the off chance it isn't- I'm really looking forward to what these four can do. I know there'll be 4MB Jokes, JOB Squad jokes and more, but I can legitimately see myself getting behind the "Social Outcasts" concept. I'm not getting my hopes too high for them, because there's a reason they're- well Outcasts in the WWE landscape. However, for now- LET ME DREAM!

Vince McMahon & Roman Reigns Backstage Promo
As with the Sheamus stuff it was pretty standard. HAPPY NEW YEAR, ROMAN! HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Chris Jericho meets The New Day
For once, and I mean once- I didn't really like The New Day's individual Promo Segment. I'm not even really sure why, it may have been the absence of a Gong they previewed in their little Backstage Segment beforehand. Then New Day's Countdown was interrupted by Jericho's and some stuff happened. Firstly, New Day's gift they were counting down to was a fully healthy Daniel Bryan ready to wrestle- so you can thank Jericho for Bryan not wrestling at Mania. I realise the crowd wasn't great last night, but the pop for Jericho was kind of depressing. It wasn't silent by any means, but still.

Remember, this all my personal opinion. I'm getting bored of "Happy, Smiley, Catchphrase" Jericho returning for a Month, leaving and then just repeating that cycle. Especially with the lack of one of the Top Heels in the Company for Mania in Seth Rollins, when I heard the Jericho rumours I thought we'd be getting Heel Jericho this time around. We still might, but I think it's unlikely- and that's annoying. The stuff with Jericho last night was especially annoying to me, because HE WAS BURYING ONE OF THE VERY FEW THINGS ON RAW THAT'S ACTUALLY CONSISTENTLY GOOD! So, overall this could have gone better. I'd also like to hear from anyone who would argue that Jericho's return in the Rumble wouldn't have been better as a surprise.

The New Day v Kalisto & The Dudleys
This match was pretty standard stuff on the whole, with some good individual moments scattered throughout the match. I know it's Wrasslin, but Bubba literally running away from D-Von- leaving him at the mercy of Kofi and Big E in order to chase XAVIER! THE WEAKEST MEMBER OF THE NEW DAY just blew my mind with its stupidity. There's bigger things to worry about in the world, but for some reason this really annoyed me.

Roman Reigns v Sheamus w/Vince McMahon as Special Guest Ref- WWE Title
There's a number of different angles to cover after this match, so I'll go through them all chronologically. The actual match itself was weird. I can't say good- but at the same time they didn't do an awful lot wrong from a match perspective. However, from an angle perspective WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK WERE THEY DOING IN THIS MATCH?! I know they were doing the whole "Corrupt Ref" gimmick, but there's a limit to what the Slow Counts should be for. Judging by this match, among other things Sheamus would have been pinned by a SAMOAN DROP! SHEAMUS, THE #1 CONTENDER FOR THE WWE TITLE WOULD HAVE BEEN PINNED BY A SAMOAN DROP!

The finish really pissed me off. Roman wasn't losing, I think that was an accepted fact. However, when they did the Double Brogue Kick spot there was an inkling of doubt. Especially with Vince STARING DIRECTLY AT WHAT WAS GOING ON. I know they were trying to sell Vince as being "dazed" but give me a break. I have to assume Vince was at the very least out of position. The finish would have been infinitely better had Vince not have been looking directly at Sheamus pinning Reigns in an apparent "daze". All of this after Roman Superman Punched Vince, and then when pinning Sheamus he was confused as to the lack of a Referee there to count.

Right then, the Royal Rumble match news. There's so many different angles to cover- that I can't cover them all. I will say, the Royal Rumble match being for the WWE Title is a good move in the sense that having people return/debut going after the WWE Title makes sense. It also makes sense in-terms of Brock going into the Rumble match. If as rumoured AJ Styles is showing up in the Rumble match it makes sense in that regard as well given anyone would want to go for the WWE Title.

I've seen a lot of people complaining that the Rumble match has been made too predictable for the third year running- to which I'd argue it was predictable beforehand, and is less so now. Before the announcement last night- at least to me it was common sense that Brock was winning the Rumble. Now, it's Roman or Brock. Brock can win and then we get the Rematch at Mania- or Roman can win and Brock can still go after Roman. I do still have reasonable hopes for the Rumble Match, and especially with Brock in the Match it should definitely be fun.

Overall, I did enjoy parts of last night's RAW- which is better than what could have been said about some of the Episodes. We had Divas Segments that made sense, some decent matches and crucially stuff that would make me want to tune in next week.

Thanks for reading as always, after my break toward the end of December- these Reviews are now officially back for the new year. I don't think we can get a much worse year than 2015, but I do have reasonably high hopes for 2016- it at least on paper has a lot of potential. Thanks again for reading, and remember- after last night we're one step closer to Heath Slater as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Fulham v Sheffield Wednesday Review: Wet, Wallace & More Wet

Let's just get the two obvious and most likely overused jokes out of the way early. JOKANOVIC OUT! and WE HAVEN'T WON A GAME ALL YEAR! Great, now we can move on. That's right the Reviews are finally back after a bit of a gap. To be blunt, it just got too depressing as December went on. I was feeling just really drained when it came to Fulham- and that combined with me being affected by my Chronic Fatigue was the cause of the break. I was tempted to do a Rotherham Review, but I just thought I'd leave 2015 as it was and bring them back today.

Right then, I got quite wet today. When the Clothes you're wearing are visibly darker by the time you've left the game- you know it was a wet one. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot in the way of good performances on the pitch to take minds off of the awful conditions. With that said, we also didn't do an awful lot wrong on the whole today. Today's game was, to me- a 0-0 game all over. Unfortunately for us, Ross Wallace produced the only bit of proper quality from an attacking perspective in the game and it cost us.

Ross Wallace has been a nightmare for us this season, and I can only hope Carvalhal shows some mercy and rests him in the Cup next week. He got all three Assists in the Away game back in September, and then he goes and does that today. It was just such a quality goal. You can possibly make an argument that we should have closed down Nuhiu and Wallace quicker/better in the build, but sometimes you just have to acknowledge a quality goal when you see it. I'd be surprised if it's not a Goal of the Season Contender for Sheffield Wednesday, and it'll likely be in the Goal of the Day Poll on Sky Sports News- so #SSNHQWallace.

Andy Lonergan, despite conceding, really was quality today. He could do absolutely nothing for the Wallace goal, and throughout the game he made a number of really important saves to keep us in the game. It's going to take a lot of defensive work on the Training Ground, but if Jokanovic can get us completely together as a defensive unit I've got faith that Andy Lonergan can hold up his end of the bargain in goal- and Clean Sheets will follow. Even in the Rotherham game, I thought Andy Lonergan should have been one of the MOTM Contenders on the Vote. Now, after today- and especially with no Matilla on the Vote there's only really one winner for the Award today.

It wasn't perfect today from a defensive standpoint, and there were times when our obvious defensive problems flared up- however I do think there's been some improvement. There were times when we were carved open and had to be bailed out by Lonergan- one in particular in the 2nd Half with Gary Hooper, but on the whole we looked okay in my opinion. You know, in the pouring rain in January- what we all want to see is two Trees wrestle each other. That's essentially what we had with Nuhiu and Dan Burn today. Before anyone accuses me of bias, Dan Burn did perform really well against Derby and Rotherham- fair play to him. Burn just didn't reach the same level today. I'm not saying he played badly today, but Burn managing to get turned by Atdhe Nuhiu simply isn't good enough.

The Transfer Embargo will have an obvious effect on our January dealings, however if Jokanovic/Rigg/Whomever else has a say in Transfers can find a Centre-Back to sign on Loan with a view to a permanent deal in the Summer then we need to jump at the chance. We already need to have one eye on next season, and the right Loan signing in this Window could go a long way to preparing for it. I'm not saying Stearman's immune from being dropped, but in my opinion we need 3 proper Championship quality Centre-Backs in the Squad- and we have (at a push) one at present. Speaking of Stearman, I thought he- as with Burn was far from perfect today, but definitely looked better on the whole.

Tim Ream and Jazz Richards definitely had their hands full today, and Ream in particular looked quite shaky at times. However, as with Burn and Stearman- while looking quite fragile at times today I do think there was signs of life in them. The problem for us with the Full-Backs today was the fact neither Richards or Ream are exactly "attacking" Full-Backs. With that in mind, playing effectively a 4-3-3 wasn't ideal.

In my Posts before Christmas, I was pushing for two things- for us to play a 4-3-3 and for Sakari Matilla to be brought in as a "proper" DM. I got both today, although it wasn't exactly what I wanted from the formation standpoint. I thought Matilla was really good today. Matilla isn't going to be everyone's favourite player- and chances are he'll be overlooked (including by me) in some games where we've scored/won. However, in a game like today with not many genuine positives- Matilla stood out to me. Especially with our defence being as it is at present, Matilla could (albeit briefly) turn into a key player for us both in-terms of protecting the Back Four, but also the balance of the Team. He just needs to leave the Long-Shots to other people.

In my Posting break, Emerson Hyndman's come back into the Team- and become a real positive point. I thought he was great against Rotherham, and while he didn't reach the same level today- he still did quite well. Sheffield Wednesday did well in suffocating our Midfield today, in that it was rare we'd get a clear chance created- and Hyndman did suffer from that to an extent. Jamie O'Hara was a weird one today. I wouldn't say he was "bad", but at the same time he needed to do a lot more to make a proper impact on the game. O'Hara is a good option to have in the Squad, in an ideal world with a 4-3-3 Cairney would come in for O'Hara- but I just have to assume Cairney was left out as a result of carrying a knock today. We just missed Cairney today, especially his creativity. Hyndman and O'Hara just can't quite create like Cairney can- and in tight games like today's Cairney could have made the difference.

In a genuinely rare occasion, we ended up looking quite toothless up-front. My "ideal" 4-3-3 is a somewhat rotating one, meaning at any given time the two opposing Centre-Backs will be dealing with McCormack, Dembele and Kacaniklic. All three are entirely different propositions, and at least on paper would cause a lot of problems. What we got today was a "fixed" 4-3-3, and as a result in my opinion Ross McCormack was wasted in the game. It wasn't quite Stuart Gray putting McCormack at Centre-Mid, but McCormack playing on the Left wasn't a good move today. Especially with Sheffield Wednesday being as defensively sound as they were, McCormack was just suffocated today. On another day, McCormack would have scored one of the two or three Free-Kicks he had today- but we can't bank on McCormack scoring a Free-Kick to bail us out in every game.

I can only assume Moussa Dembele is still carrying the Hamstring problem he had that meant he was left out on Tuesday. He just didn't look "right" today, and on a day up against a well set-up Sheffield Wednesday it meant he rarely had any sort of meaningful possession. There was some good link-up play with McCormack at times, but on the whole there won't be anything added to the YouTube Compilations that no doubt Man Utd, Spurs and a Half a Dozen other Clubs' fans will be watching when they're linked with him in this Window. Alex Kacaniklic is not the perfect player, but he does offer something different than the majority of the Squad. He's without a doubt a good option to have in the Team, and causes defences problems. As evidenced particularly in the Bolton game he lacks some composure with finishing off chances, but he's definitely worth his spot in the team at present.

I actually thought we looked worse after Jokanovic's Subs today. Scott Parker just didn't look up to it today. I don't doubt Parker still has some value to the Squad, but he's definitely winding down this season- and I'm not going to be at all surprised if Parker hangs up the boots come May. Personally I wouldn't have taken off Matilla for Garbutt. I realise we were pushing for a Goal, but a straight-swap isn't always a bad thing as we would have done with Ream going off for Garbutt. That would have allowed everyone else to push further forward, and Matilla would have been covering them. As it was, Garbutt came on for Matilla and didn't really do much. Not today, but I do think we've started to see signs of Luke Garbutt and the player he can be over the Christmas Period- so it would be a shame if Jokanovic doesn't use him in a more prominent role going forward. Unfortunately Woodrow couldn't repeat his Rotherham performance when he came on. Without question, Dembele when fit is better than Woodrow. However, if Dembele is still carrying a knock as I suspect- I'd rather we just started with a fully-fit Woodrow.

Today's game, and result in particular of course wasn't an ideal start to Jokanovic's reign. However, the massive positive for me was that everything Jokanovic said after today's game made absolutely perfect sense. Jokanovic clearly has a vision for the team, and although we saw signs of it today- it would have been impossible for him to implement said vision fully in less than a week. One positive for Jokanovic on that front is (assuming there's no FA Cup Replays) we only have two Saturday-Tuesday/Wednesday-Saturday weeks in January and February. This of course means Jokanovic doesn't have to "rush" preparations for many games and he gets time to work on the team on the Training Ground.

The sad fact of today's game, is the simple fact we've lost to an absolutely sublime goal. All we can do is look at the game in that respect and move on quickly.

Thanks for reading as always, even with the result today- I do genuinely believe that under Jokanovic 2016 will be a really positive year for Fulham and in-turn there'll be more positive Reviews. Next up is the FA Cup and of course Sheffield Wednesday, and the Previews will be back for that game on Friday so stay tuned for that. Thanks again for reading, and despite today's result let's just keep positive for now. We can start to get miserable again around Mid-February/March.

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-