My Wrestling Yearbook – 2014

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.

2013 ended like a wrestling version of The Empire Strikes Back, with the Authority standing triumphant as the HHH and Stephaine McMahon backed Randy Orton unified the WWE and World titles by defeating John Cena, and Daniel Bryan’s challenge seemingly waylaid with him being pulled into a feud with the Wyatt Family.  Would Bryan find a way to get back in line to take down Orton and finally win the title he’d been screwed out of? As simple and obvious a pathway as that was, it weirdly did not look like that’s where they would be going.

The news dropped the Batista was returning after 4 years away and I was….whelmed.  I missed his entire first run so I had no opinion of him really; I was here for the ride and would call it as I saw it.  But I was in the minority here.  Batista’s return and Royal Rumble victory, which got booed heavily in the arena, appeared to be a set in stone precursor to a Mania main event and title victory. The whole thing just seemed like a bad idea to me, setting up Bryan as an uber sympathetic figure for a big win and then not doing it, and the Rumble reception verified it. Batista got booed against Alberto Del Rio at the next PPV for crying out loud; people were not here for it at all.

And on top of that The Shield, who had become my favorite thing there, looked to be breaking up. Yeah, January was a rough time.

But it got better! Whether it was the plan all along or some kind of swerve we would get the crowning achievement we wanted at WrestleMania 30, and the Shield would hang on for another few months while treating us to a couple of banger encounters with the Wyatt Family and the re-formed Evolution. Speaking of evolution, 2014 was when we would get something a lot closer to the full formed Brock Lesnar as he finally overcame the scourge of 50/50 booking and took his place on the throne.

It was also the year that NXT began to make its presence more well known. With the weekly episodes now being shown on the Network it allowed all of us to get a look at what was brewing down there and the future stars of the company. This was the year that a lot of us got our first looks at Sami Zayn, the Four Horsewomen, Finn Balor, and several others. To call this a big year would be a massive understatement.

So what was good? What was bad? Was anything special?

The Good

Once things got rolling towards what would be the WrestleMania card we were cooking with gas. After the Elimination Chamber dust settled the run up to WrestleMania was a lot of fun and the show itself was a major home run. The Shield closed out their run together in outstanding fashion, and their breakup where Seth Rollins turned and not Dean Ambrose or Roman Reigns as suspected was a moment that still gets replayed 10 years later. When Bryan’s title reign had to end prematurely John Cena stepped in filled the vacancy while giving us one more Hall of Fame performance against Brock Lesnar at Summerslam.

The women’s division also began to show some signs of life when Paige came up from NXT and began the first legit title feud in years with AJ Lee, Nikki and Brie Bella feuded with each other, and the women’s division in NXT began to take shape. The Bellas feud wasn’t anything great but it did lead to Nikki Bella’s turn into a serious wrestler and the best in ring run of her career. And speaking of NXT the emergence of the yellow brand was a welcome addition, and was sometimes a needed option when things took a turn later in the year.

And even when Bryan had to vacate the title John Cena came to the rescue with his 15th title win and the unselfish act of putting over Brock Lesnar in such a fashion that it cemented him as the new man to beat.

The Bad

Injuries both real and kayfabe wreaked havoc on the roster after WrestleMania. Bryan’s shoulder took him out after Extreme Rules and Roman Reigns missed four months with a hernia. Ambrose and Orton were written off TV to film some WWE movies, leaving two more holes on the roster through the Fall and Winter. And now that Brock Lesnar was WWE World Champion, there was a new albatross in the form of his limited schedule. After his rematch with Cena at Night of Champions Lesnar would be gone until January 2015 leaving the company without a World Champion on any of their shows for the last three months of the year, which combined with the injuries made for some frightening PPV cards. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the departure of all departures when CM Punk went home in January after the Royal Rumble and was subsequently terminated a few months later. 

And lastly there was TLC 2014, a God awful PPV with one of the worst main events ever.  It’s rare that you come away from a PPV main doubting everyone involved but brother this was one.  Seriously, you can probably trace any future decisions to waffle on either Ambrose or Bray Wyatt to this match right here.

Anything special happen?

Oh there was a lot! WrestleMania 30 didn’t just see the big payoff for the Yes Movement but also the end of the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak at the hands of Lesnar. Then there was the previously mentioned Shield breakup and Lesnar’s historic decimation of Cena to win the title. But the last one was a total surprise when Sting showed up at the end of Survivor Series to turn the tide for John Cena’s team against the Authority. That’s 5 all time WWE moments all in one year.

Out of that group, the Shield breakup and Sting appearing meant the most to me. I had become a die hard Shield mark during their run and while we all knew it was coming, it still hurt like hell when it happened and that it was Seth Rollins and not Roman or Dean turning was the big shocker. Dean being the eternal hothead and Roman being the guy who was obviously pegged to be a leading man made both of them the ones we thought would do it but instead it was Rollins, the guy who had always been the bridge to hold the egos together in the group. That’s a shot heard around the wrestling world that still has ripple effects 10 years later.

And what can I say about Sting? I was a NWA/WCW loyalist until it closed down and Sting was the man who stuck with it until the end. Then when everyone else went to over to WWE to keep the money rolling in he stayed away and went to TNA, then stayed loyal to them for over a decade. So for him to finally make the move and show up on a WWE event and get active was like the greatest thing in the world for me. And the way he came in, saving the day for the good guys at Survivor Series, was 10/10 no notes. For a few minutes I was back watching Nitro again, and it was awesome.

As for the rest, I was riding the wave for Yes Movement and appreciated everyone’s enthusiasm but it’s not what drove me emotionally. Same with Brock and Cena; I saw the vision and respected the hell out of all involved for taking that bold action but it’s not what moved me the most. Brock beating Taker at Mania absolutely did, though. I remember going in thinking ‘ok, who’s winning this?’ because they surely couldn’t continue to keep Brock going at a 50/50 clip but he was facing the 21-0 Undertaker and no way was he gonna lose. So when that last F5 hit I was expecting him to kick out again……and then he didn’t and I froze up just like everyone in the arena did:

That match ending has been hotly debated ever since, and for the millionth time let me reiterate that it was 100 percent the right thing to do.  Brock is the only guy on the roster at the time who could take that win and turn it into what he did, and he badly need a big clean win in a big spot or else the shine would have started to fade on his return.  I don’t care who you think could have used it, no one could have run with it in 2014 like Brock did.

The main roster wasn’t the only place that some special things happened. The Sami Zayn NXT title chase was the first great storyline on that brand, with an all time great payoff and a shocking aftermath where the NXT show credits tragedy made its debut. And on the women’s side the first steps towards the women’s evolution would take place with the tournament to crown a new NXT women’s champion that was capped off with the first great NXT women’s match of the new era between Charlotte and Natalya.

The Zayn title chase and women’s movement got me hooked into watching NXT.  Seeing Zayn go on the heroes journey throughout 2014 was truly riveting stuff, and as an 80s NWA fan I was drawn in to watching the daughter of one of the greatest of all time become great in her own right and carry on the legacy of the guy I watched take on all my favorites when I was a kid. 

Oh, there was one more thing!  While it sure didn’t look special at the time it was towards the end of the year that three men – Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston – would come together to form the New Day.

Awards – Who was the best?

Top 5 (WWE) Male Wrestlers: 1. John Cena, 2. Daniel Bryan , 3. Seth Rollins, 4. Neville, 5. Sami Zayn

Cena was the rock that held everything together amidst all the absences and departures. Bryan, despite his year being cut short, did so much great work while he was active that he can’t be discounted for it. Rollins started his road to becoming one of the in ring aces of the company. As for Zayn and Neville, they were both really good all year in NXT and unlike many of the bigger names on the main roster they were there all year. Availability matters, which will always particularly pertain to one Brock Lesnar. Had Lesnar worked the same kind of schedule as everyone else beating Taker at Mania and Cena at Summerslam would have qualified him for number one. But he literally worked like two other matches all year, so that’s a no for me.

Honorable Mentions: Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Brock Lesnar, Luke Harper, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro & Tyson Kidd

Top 5 Women Wrestlers: 1. AJ Lee, 2. Paige, 3. Nikki Bella, 4. Charlotte Flair, 5. Sasha Banks

This was the first time that there was enough action on the women’s side to warrant picking out a top 5. AJ held the fort down through WrestleMania then started the winds of change feuding with Paige, fresh up from NXT. Nikki Bella went through her Attitude Era-esque feud with sister Brie and emerged as a serious wrestler and won the Diva’s title in November. And down in NXT Charlotte became the first NXT women’s champion of the new era with a big win over Natalya in the first big women’s match in NXT then with Banks embarked on the first big women’s feud down there as well.

Honorable Mentions: Natalya

Standout Matches

• Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt, Royal Rumble
• Shield vs Wyatt Family, Elimination Chamber
• Daniel Bryan vs HHH, WrestleMania
• Daniel Bryan vs Batista vs Randy Orton, WrestleMania
• The Shield vs Evolution, Extreme Rules
• Charlotte Flair vs Natalya, NXT Takeover
• John Cena vs Brock Lesnar, Summerslam
• Neville vs Sami Zayn vs Tyler Breeze vs Tyson Kidd, NXT Takeover Fatal 4 Way
• Sami Zayn vs Neville, NXT Takeover Revolution

Others worth your time: 6 man WWE World Title Ladder match at Money in the Bank, Money in the Bank Ladder Match, Fatal Four Way WWE World Title Match at Battleground, Five man elimination match at Survivor Series, Charlotte Flair vs Sasha Banks at NXT Takeover Revolution

Match of the Year

John Cena vs Brock Lesnar, Summerslam; had Bryan finished the year I would have gone with his match vs HHH at WrestleMania. But Cena and Lesnar may be the most significant WWE match of the last 10 years in that it certified Lesnar’s position after beating Taker at Mania earlier in the year and set the tone for the next 8 years in WWE as Lesnar became THE man to beat in order to prove yourself as a top level player.

Show of the Year

WrestleMania 30 – A great opening segment featuring the Rock, Steve Austin, and Hulk Hogan (yeah, I know), the opening match was one of the best ones ever, a great main event with a storybook ending, an ‘oh my God!’ moment with the streak ending, and another big match from Cena and Bray Wyatt. And the inaugural Andre the Giant Battle Royal.

Final Verdict

2014 was a tale of two years. Had everything ended at Summerslam I’d give it an unquestioned A. But unfortunately it didn’t and just like in 2013 the main roster product fell off afterwards, albeit for different reasons. By the Fall they were minus Punk, Lesnar, Reigns, and Bryan and then Orton was written off of TV. There was no way things were going to stay up without those guys there, and the ones who remained did the best they could and kept things respectable but the bottom really fell out in December with the worst PPV of the year and the worst PPV main event I’d seen in some time at TLC. Had it not been for the WWE Network and the $10 monthly fee I would have probably skipped every PPV after Summerslam; that alone made the creation of the Network a genius move on their part, because there wasn’t a single show after August that was worth $50.

All that being said, 2014 had one of the best WrestleManias ever with maybe the best ending ever, and a bunch of other magical moments that will go down in history. There were lots of great matches, the newer talent in the Shield and the Wyatt Family began to assert themselves, NXT began it’s new era and Brock Lesnar finally began to realize his potential as a dominant force in wrestling on a run that would last almost a decade. I’m giving it a A- with an asterisk; the last four months on the main roster weren’t very good but NXT did pick up the slack and we did see Sting on WWE programming for the first time ever.

The grade tally so far – 2012: B, 2013: C, 2014: A-