This is the next chapter of a year by year retrospective from my viewpoint as a wrestling fan. What did I watch, what was good, what was bad, which men and women were the best and what matches and moments stood out.
After being back in the game for a year what would come for me next? 2012 laid down some good building blocks for the future, now where would we go next? The roster was in transition; a real purge began in late 2011 and kept going through 2012. This year and the next dealt had a smaller cast of characters save for a few additions from NXT that were still getting their feet wet on the main roster. We went into the year with CM Punk still riding high as WWE Champion, Team Hell No entertaining us weekly as Tag Champs and the Shield running roughshod over anyone who got in their way. Everything else was uhh……well………yeah……. Alberto Del Rio’s milquetoast face run and World Title Reign was begging to be ended ASAP, the midcard titles had nothing going on with them and the already on life support Diva’s division would be dealt another hit when Eve Torres left the company after losing the title on the 20th anniversary episode of RAW that January.
The year started with the home stretch of the Rock’s two year return to WWE, culminating in the big rematch with John Cena at WrestleMania 29. And then the last four months were all about the Yes movement and Daniel Bryan vs The Authority. In between there was the 14th title reign for John Cena, and we got a full 12 months of the Shield running all things tag team and six man tag related.
What was good? What was bad? Was anything great?
The Good
Cena would get another run in as WWE Champion and had some good showings against Ryback and Mark Henry before losing to Daniel Bryan in a 5 star Summerslam main event. The salmon jacket Mark Henry promo and turn on Cena was one of the most memorable TV moments of the last 15 years. Punk continued to do great work, having two of the best matches of the year with Taker at Mania and Brock Lesnar at Summerslam.
The Shield had nonstop bangers all year, be it on TV or PPV, six man or regular tag team matches. The Shield’s future enemies the Wyatt Family would make their debut on WWE television, giving us the first look at the spooky brilliance of the late Bray Wyatt. And in the Fall they would have an emotionally charged feud with Cody and Dustin Rhodes in what would be the last WWE hurrah for their Dad, the American Dream Dusty Rhodes.
The Bad
WrestleMania was a relative dud with only one match worth talking about later, CM Punk vs the Undertaker. The other major title, the World Championship, was cursed. First there was the lackluster babyface title reign of Alberto Del Rio, and then when Dolph Ziggler cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase to save us from it he would get concussed a month later and have to drop it back to Del Rio who would get mercy killed again, this time by Cena, at Hell in a Cell. That wasn’t all; Damien Sandow would have maybe the worst run with a Money in the Bank briefcase ever when after winning, he challenged Cena on a random episode of RAW for the World Title and just got beat flat, 1-2-3.
As hot as the Bryan vs Authority storyline was, the PPV scene after Summerslam was just yikes. Outside of the Shield stuff and a couple of Bryan matches there was little to write home about. After that outstanding match vs Lesnar at Summerslam Punk got stuck fighting with Paul Heyman’s underlings for 3 months. AJ Lee took over the Divas Division after Eve Torres but her main opponent, Kaitlyn, would depart from WWE just a few months after Torres did. You can really stop after Summerslam and cherry pick a few matches but otherwise skip ahead to 2014. On the TV side the Bryan/Authority stuff and the Shield/Rhodes family feuds were the only things that mattered.
Anything special happen?
The main event of Summerslam and aftermath, where Randy Orton cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase on Daniel Bryan after his victory over John Cena, was one of the biggest moments and the beginning of one the best storylines in WWE history. And as previously mentioned the Mark Henry promo and Shield feud with the Rhodes were special things to see.
Awards – Who was the best?
Top 5 (WWE) Wrestlers: 1. John Cena, 2. Daniel Bryan, 3. CM Punk, 4. The Shield 5. Randy Orton
Cena and Bryan were great all year long. Punk was right with them through Summerslam, but then got shuffled off to fighting B teamers for three months. The Shield’s run of tag team matches might be the best 12 months of ring work any team or faction has ever had in the company. Orton is basically a default pick for number five. He was there all year and he was good the whole time, and he was in some important things from Summerslam forward.
Honorable Mentions: Cody & Dustin Rhodes, the Wyatt Family
Standout Matches
- The Royal Rumble Match
- CM Punk vs Undertaker, WrestleMania
- Punk vs Brock Lesnar, Summerslam
- John Cena vs Daniel Bryan, Summerslam
- Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns vs Cody and Dustin Rhodes, Battleground
Others worth your time: Rollins and Reigns vs Bryan and Kane, Extreme Rules and vs the Usos at Money in the Bank, Cena vs Mark Henry at Money in the Bank, The Shield + Cesaro and Jack Swagger vs The Rhodes, the Usos, and Rey Mysterio at Survivor Series
Match of the Year
John Cena vs Daniel Bryan, Summerslam
Show of the Year
Summerslam
Final Verdict
I give 2013 a C. WrestleMania was a big letdown from the previous year. The ring work was solid to great all year, but there was a lot of uninteresting stuff going on for long stretches. The bright spots – Bryan, Cena, Punk, the Shield – kept things afloat but this was a year where a greatest hits compilation could cover everything you need to see. I wasn’t as engaged with everything as I was in 2012, but I was all in on the Shield, Cena, and Bryan. As a result after Summerslam I skipped all but one PPV because the best stuff was mostly happening on TV. It became clear to me at this point that the overall ring work in WWE had improved to the point where only a few matches were truly awful, but there were still plenty that were just so so and with RAW being 3 hours and Smackdown being taped that made for some struggle watching every week.
Stroke of Genius 