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.
2015 started out as a bit of a crossroads. The Shield, now all pursuing singles pursuits, were poised to take over the main event scene but on January 1 I honestly didn’t think any of them were ready. From where I was sitting Seth Rollins was still a midcard guy trying to punch up, Dean Ambrose was getting exposed as a so so ring worker at times and Roman Reigns had all the tools but still hadn’t gotten there in the ring. So when it became clear that they were gonna ‘do it live!’ with Roman I was hopeful but wary. I’d seen more than a few guys who had all the tools but were still green given that kind of push, and for every Sting there are several who wash out of the business entirely. Pushing Reigns to the top at that point in 2015 was a big risk for sure.
And brother let me tell you, they took a risky situation and did everything they could to make it much riskier. The last thing you should do if you’re about to push a guy who was a ‘Vince Guy’ in every way possible is to bring back the quintessential ultimate underdog who never lost the World title that he’d won at one of the best feelgood WrestleManias ever, and yet that’s exactly what they did. Daniel Bryan would return in January and the Yes Movement was alive again, only to run into the guy that Vince had slotted to be his guy in Reigns. There was a vocal element that wanted Bryan placed right back where he was before he got injured, and when they didn’t get it the revolt was on.
Vince would ultimately take the best way out with Rollins cashing in the briefcase, thus sidestepping Reigns getting booed at WrestleMania, and beginning his first run with the title and in the Main Event as a solo act.
So as always, what was good, what was bad, and what was special?
The Good
WrestleMania 31 was another home run. The main event was an all timer and was capped by one the biggest WrestleMania Moments in history. But it also had a great opener and several good and/or noteworthy matches in between, with the first appearance by Sting in a WWE ring to boot. And Rusev rode to the ring on a tank. But wait, there was more!
The women’s division came alive in full force. The Four Horsewomen asserted themselves in both NXT and on the main roster as the Women’s Revolution began. In the words of Sheamus they put on banger after banger in NXT, the apex being the iconic NXT Takeover Brooklyn match between Sasha Banks and Bayley. And then they brought the party to RAW and Smackdown when Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Banks would move up and go after the Bellas for supremacy of the division and to lead it into a new era.
Not to be outdone, the former Shield members began to take over the main event scene on the men’s side. Starting with WresteMania 31 a Shield member was either defending or challenging for either the World or Universal Title all the way through Fastlane 2017, an almost two year stretch, and would face each other in some form or fashion for the World Title five times between Mania 31 and Battleground 2016 almost a year and a half later. While that was going on Kevin Owens who speed through NXT in less than a year, win that title, and challenge John Cena on the main roster in May.
And lastly the New Day would find their footing as a tag team and begin the historic run that would see them become the longest reigning tag team champions in history.
The Bad
And now the bad news. The Road to WrestleMania was pretty bad. The revolt over Reigns victory and looming main event challenge for the title was poo poohed by a very vocal part of the audience, to the point where even the Rock couldn’t save him at the Royal Rumble. Some wanted Bryan to continue on his unfinished quest, some thought Reigns wasn’t ready, and some rebelled against the revelation that Reigns had been chosen by management (you know, like every wrestler who gets a big push towards the main event) to be the next number one guy. It made for a nasty scene on television and at the WWE PPVs for several months. And it got really ugly as some people went as far as to take their vitriol out on Joe Anoai and not the character he plays on TV.
Vince sure could have handled it better. Bringing Bryan back right before the Rumble just to push him aside and relegate him to the midcard felt like a slap in the face to a lot of people, and to do it while you’re starting the big push for your chosen guy didn’t help matters any. Bryan could have been kept out until after Mania and brought back to go after a heel champion Rollins to pave the way for Reigns ascension, and kept in the mix afterwards. Instead we got a truncated, pointless return for Bryan and the worst kind of setup imaginable for Reigns while he was entering the biggest spot of his career.
If that wasn’t enough the injury bug reared it’s ugly head again in devastating fashion. Bryan’s concussion would reveal head trauma that would lead him to retire in 2016 and stay out until 2018. But then in October Rollins would blow his knee out and go on the shelf until June of 2016, John Cena would hurt his ankle in December and miss six months, and Randy Orton would go down in the fall and not return until Summerslam 2016. Losing those four guys at different points along the way would devastate the card going down the stretch, but to make matters worse Sting would suffer a seemingly career ending injury at Night of Champions in September as well. Even the NXT roster wasn’t safe as Sami Zayn would blow out his shoulder during the summer in a match on RAW against Cena. Just a bad time all around.
Anything special happen?
Even though the match didn’t end way anyone but Vince McMahon had in mind it was really cool to see Sting in a WWE ring. I mentioned in 2014 how cool it was to see him come in, but seeing him in action meant so much more. And while the match was overbooked as all get out the copious run ins gave us the first and only ever DX vs NWO faceoff with HHH, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Hollywood Hogan, X-Pac, and the New Age Outlaws all together in one place. If you’re like me and you go all the way back to the Monday Night Wars and beyond that was an all time great image to see.
And on a personal note, 2015 marked the first time in 16 years that I would take in a live wrestling show. And not just one, mind you. I went to Payback 2015, then RAW that summer and then took my son to a house show that September and another in December. There is no bigger sign of being back in full time as a fan than actually leaving the house to go to the shows. It felt good to be back, and especially with my son in tow.
Awards – Who was the best?
Top 5 (WWE) Male Wrestlers: 1. John Cena, 2. Seth Rollins, 3. Roman Reigns, 4. Dean Ambrose, 5. Kevin Owens
Why Cena at number one? While so many things were changing he remained the rock of stability until he got injured in December. His run as US Champion is one of the best ones ever with that title in WWE and got a spotlight on a several people including Zayn and Kevin Owens. He also shared the ring with Rollins three different times on PPV and on the road several times, helping better establish him as a top guy. Rollins started the year with a bang with a 5 star performance in a triple threat match with Cena and Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, won the World Title at Mania and was the top heel in the company until he went down in October.
Honorable Mentions: Bray Wyatt, Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, Brock Lesnar, Sheamus
Top 5 Women Wrestlers: 1. Sasha Banks, 2. Bayley, 3. Nikki Bella, 4. Charlotte Flair, 5. Becky Lynch
Banks was THE star of WWE women’s wrestling in 2015, and everyone else was trying to keep up or catch up. At the point in time only the Bellas had more star power, and for most of the year no one was there with her when the bell ring. She and Bayley had the best women’s story of the year when they took their rivalry to Brooklyn and were the first women to main event an NXT Takeover in their rematch at Takeover Respect. Nikki Bella became the longest reigning Divas champion in 2015 but had also become a legit in ring worker and the right person to pass the torch to the Horsewomen on the main roster. Charlotte and Becky rounded out the top 5 based on the former holding the NXT title at the start of the year and winning the Diva’s title later, and the latter’s great showing against Banks in May at NXT Takeover Unstoppable and overall good work thereafter.
Standout Matches
- Brock Lesnar vs John Cena vs Seth Rollins, Royal Rumble
- Six man ladder match, WrestleMania 31
- Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania 31
- Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch, NXT Takeover Unstoppable
- John Cena vs Kevin Owens, Money in the Bank
- Bayley vs Sasha Banks, NXT Takeover Brooklyn
- Seth Rollins vs John Cena, Summerslam
- Bayley vs Banks, Takeover Respect
- New Day vs The Usos vs The Lucha Dragons, TLC
- Roman Reigns vs Sheamus, TLC
Others worth your time: Charlotte vs Becky vs Sasha vs Bayley at NXT Takeover Rival, Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton at WrestleMania 31, John Cena vs Rusev at Mania 31, Sting vs HHH at Mania 31, John Cena vs Cesaro on Monday Night RAW, Banks vs Charlotte Flair on NXT TV, Rollins vs Reigns vs Randy Orton vs Dean Ambrose at Payback, Finn Balor vs Kevin Ownes at Takeover Brooklyn, Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar at Summerslam, Rollins vs Sting at Night of Champions, Flair vs Nikki Bella at Hell in a Cell, Brock Lesnar vs Undertaker at Hell in a Cell, Ambrose vs Kevin Owens at TLC
Match of the Year
Mens: Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31
Womens: Sasha Banks vs Bayley, NXT Takeover Brooklyn
Show of the Year
WrestleMania 31 – All time great main event, great opener and several good ones in between. And topped by arguably the most consequential Money in the Bank briefcase cash-in ever. There were some other good shows (I recommend Hell in a Cell 2015 and TLC 2015) bothing else in WWE was as good start to finish.
Final Verdict
From my own seat on the couch 2015 was a really great year. It was the year they got me going to shows again, I found a new favorite wrestler in Roman Reigns, I got to carry on the tradition that my Dad started with me back in 1986, and a lot of new stars took their place on the stage. And I got to see Sting wrestle in the WWE. Whatever bumpiness happened along the way did not derail or negate all of that. My own personal grade for the year is an A.
More objectively speaking 2015 started bad, really bad. And it got bad again between Survivor Series and TLC. But the time between Mania 31 and Survivor Series, and post TLC was full of mostly good stuff. The women’s side finally getting some real respect and creative attention alone makes this a good year, but the men’s side had plenty of great things going on too. Cena’s US Title reign was great, the Shield guys all did great work in their own right, and Brock Lesnar closed his rivalry with the Undertaker in great fashion. Owens’ arrival on the main roster is one of the most consequential call ups in NXT history. And NXT served as a nice stopgap for when things may have been lacking on the main roster. Despite the lulls and lags here and there this was a very good and pivotal year. Objectively I’d give it a B. Let’s split the difference and call it an A-.
The grade tally so far – 2012: B, 2013: C, 2014: A-, 2015: A-
Stroke of Genius 