Post by SUPES on Feb 3, 2015 0:47:15 GMT -5
THE ROAD HITS A STORMY PATH
Royal Rumble 2014: The Good Shit
Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan
Definitely a candidate for best non-MITB opener in PPV history. D-Bry started the match dominating with his aggression and superior technical wrestling, including working on the left knee of Wyatt. After several minutes, Wyatt gained the advantage when he twisted D-Bry's left arm and slammed it on the apron. Wyatt then showed his aggressive side that we had only seen bits and pieces of, physically decimating D-Bry. However, because this is a match that features a total pro like Bryan Danielson, D-Bry would make sure to keep the crowd engaged and give them hope with his occasional strikes.
Wyatt was quite unorthodox, but D-Bry was so pissed off on this night that he would regain the advantage. My favorite spot of the night is when he dropped Wyatt with a curb stomp to epitomize how livid he was after being harassed for three months by the Wyatt Family, and showing that he had not forgotten his roots on the independent scene. But with the plans for both characters going forward, Wyatt had to go over here. He didn't sell the leg down the stretch as much as I hoped, but it can be argued that enough time had gone by in this instant classic for him to heal during the match. Or maybe, just maybe, these two held back a little bit for a much bigger rematch down the line for the company's top prize should they both go on to achieve their goals at WrestleMania XXX. ****
WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. John Cena
Crowd never gave this match a chance, making it clear they want D-Bry to get this position, to be the centerpiece of the promotion. But these two professionals had a good, fun match. The pacing was good and action was solid, and eventually the crowd would get into the match during the finisher fest nearfall extravaganza at the end. Orton did a great job of playing off the crowd to enhance his insecure, high-maintenance gimmick. Of course, because Randy Orton is no Daniel Bryan, he isn't quite special enough to beat John Cena clean right now. As Cena was likely about to win the title, the lights went out and the Wyatt Family appeared, with Orton taking advantage of the distraction for the pin. ***1/4
Post-match, the Wyatt Family decimates Cena and leaves him laying.
The 2014 Royal Rumble Match - CM Punk's Last Match
While coming nowhere near the MOTYC of the previous Royal Rumble match, this one was sure quite interesting. For someone who started the match and got to the final four, CM Punk did very little and seemed like a second-rate background character in this match. I actually wonder if that was intentional on his part and even the company's part. Just seemed too convenient to see him take a backseat and let numerous other participants shine.
There were some definite fun moments in this match. Kofi Kingston had TWO dramatic escapes from near-elimination. JBL was a surprise entrant and was immediately eliminated by Roman Reigns. Sheamus returned from injury to the surprise of nobody. C'mon, Sheamus is a f***ing worker like everyone else, so there was no reason to believe him when he said he wouldn't be ready for this show.
I'm gonna take a separate paragraph to mention Kevin Nash's nostalgic appearance. Sure, he did nothing, but that's not my focus. WHY THE f*** WAS HE ELIMINATED RIGHT BEFORE THE GREAT KHALI WAS THE NEXT ENTRANT SECONDS LATER? They BETTER f***ing collide in the WrestleMania XXX battle royale, I want to see them lock horns in a true Showcase of the Immortals. NOLA OR BUST GOD f***ING DAMMIT.
The most featured act in the match was the Shield, with Seth Rollins starting the match, Dean Ambrose coming in several spots later, and Reigns entering in the middle of the match. They worked together as promised, but the unpredictable, egomaniacal, and hot-tempered Ambrose attempted to eliminate Reigns, which Rollins stopped and questioned. Just fed up for the moment, Reigns eliminated both as well as Cesaro. Speaking of Cesaro, he shined in this match also with numerous giant swings (that's ultimately why he's connecting with the crowd btw), particularly on Rollins. Man Cesaro vs. Rollins is gonna steal a show at some point for WWE.
The last participants of note were Batista and Rey Mysterio. Batista was booed mercilessly, as the crowd sensed he was gonna be in the top spot of the year, which they viewed as belonging to D-Bry. Mysterio was #30 and the crowd became severely agitated, idiotically assuming D-Bry would somehow be in this match. Newsflash: NONE of the six individuals in the singles matches earlier on the card were advertised for this match, nor were any of them gonna participate in it.
The final four came down to Batista, Reigns, Sheamus, and Punk. Punk was taken out by Kane and choke-slammed through a table. Sheamus was eliminated, leaving the Batista vs. Reigns dream collision in a battle of past vs. present. Pretty interesting little preview of what could be a $$$ match in the future, and the crowd got behind Reigns, which is a good sign for his future. There was one disjointed spot, but as Reigns improves (which he has done so well at since TLC 2012 btw) and Batista works off his ring rust, I believe these two could have quite a spectacle. Batista of course won to one of the harshest crowd reactions to close out a PPV in WWE history. ***1/4
I'll just get this out of the way now: Punk stopped working for WWE the next day, not even appearing on Raw. I'm not going to jump to any conclusions. What I saw in his performances the last two months in WWE were not up to par with the standard that he set not only for the audience, but for himself. In particular, his first and to date only singles match against Seth Rollins, a legitimate dream match for fans of independent wrestling, was very sloppy and disappointing, which he noted on Twitter with a blunt "it sucked." He lost the fire in his eyes and had made it crystal-clear that he was burned out, even contemplating retirement later this year. I'm not going to speculate on any behind-the-scenes reasons on why he's not working for WWE right now.
Based on how much Punk put into the business, that he hasn't made a commitment to returning or retirement, and that so many top stars have rekindled their relationships with WWE after going through some hard times, I do not believe that CM Punk is done wrestling. As time goes by, the idea that he would retire with that lackluster performance in the 2014 Royal Rumble match as his unadvertised finale does not compute to me. In the meantime, I look forward to rewatching and catching up to see how WWE's creative and the roster has stepped up in Punk's absence during such an important time for WWE.
Royal Rumble 2014: The Good Shit
Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan
Definitely a candidate for best non-MITB opener in PPV history. D-Bry started the match dominating with his aggression and superior technical wrestling, including working on the left knee of Wyatt. After several minutes, Wyatt gained the advantage when he twisted D-Bry's left arm and slammed it on the apron. Wyatt then showed his aggressive side that we had only seen bits and pieces of, physically decimating D-Bry. However, because this is a match that features a total pro like Bryan Danielson, D-Bry would make sure to keep the crowd engaged and give them hope with his occasional strikes.
Wyatt was quite unorthodox, but D-Bry was so pissed off on this night that he would regain the advantage. My favorite spot of the night is when he dropped Wyatt with a curb stomp to epitomize how livid he was after being harassed for three months by the Wyatt Family, and showing that he had not forgotten his roots on the independent scene. But with the plans for both characters going forward, Wyatt had to go over here. He didn't sell the leg down the stretch as much as I hoped, but it can be argued that enough time had gone by in this instant classic for him to heal during the match. Or maybe, just maybe, these two held back a little bit for a much bigger rematch down the line for the company's top prize should they both go on to achieve their goals at WrestleMania XXX. ****
WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. John Cena
Crowd never gave this match a chance, making it clear they want D-Bry to get this position, to be the centerpiece of the promotion. But these two professionals had a good, fun match. The pacing was good and action was solid, and eventually the crowd would get into the match during the finisher fest nearfall extravaganza at the end. Orton did a great job of playing off the crowd to enhance his insecure, high-maintenance gimmick. Of course, because Randy Orton is no Daniel Bryan, he isn't quite special enough to beat John Cena clean right now. As Cena was likely about to win the title, the lights went out and the Wyatt Family appeared, with Orton taking advantage of the distraction for the pin. ***1/4
Post-match, the Wyatt Family decimates Cena and leaves him laying.
The 2014 Royal Rumble Match - CM Punk's Last Match
While coming nowhere near the MOTYC of the previous Royal Rumble match, this one was sure quite interesting. For someone who started the match and got to the final four, CM Punk did very little and seemed like a second-rate background character in this match. I actually wonder if that was intentional on his part and even the company's part. Just seemed too convenient to see him take a backseat and let numerous other participants shine.
There were some definite fun moments in this match. Kofi Kingston had TWO dramatic escapes from near-elimination. JBL was a surprise entrant and was immediately eliminated by Roman Reigns. Sheamus returned from injury to the surprise of nobody. C'mon, Sheamus is a f***ing worker like everyone else, so there was no reason to believe him when he said he wouldn't be ready for this show.
I'm gonna take a separate paragraph to mention Kevin Nash's nostalgic appearance. Sure, he did nothing, but that's not my focus. WHY THE f*** WAS HE ELIMINATED RIGHT BEFORE THE GREAT KHALI WAS THE NEXT ENTRANT SECONDS LATER? They BETTER f***ing collide in the WrestleMania XXX battle royale, I want to see them lock horns in a true Showcase of the Immortals. NOLA OR BUST GOD f***ING DAMMIT.
The most featured act in the match was the Shield, with Seth Rollins starting the match, Dean Ambrose coming in several spots later, and Reigns entering in the middle of the match. They worked together as promised, but the unpredictable, egomaniacal, and hot-tempered Ambrose attempted to eliminate Reigns, which Rollins stopped and questioned. Just fed up for the moment, Reigns eliminated both as well as Cesaro. Speaking of Cesaro, he shined in this match also with numerous giant swings (that's ultimately why he's connecting with the crowd btw), particularly on Rollins. Man Cesaro vs. Rollins is gonna steal a show at some point for WWE.
The last participants of note were Batista and Rey Mysterio. Batista was booed mercilessly, as the crowd sensed he was gonna be in the top spot of the year, which they viewed as belonging to D-Bry. Mysterio was #30 and the crowd became severely agitated, idiotically assuming D-Bry would somehow be in this match. Newsflash: NONE of the six individuals in the singles matches earlier on the card were advertised for this match, nor were any of them gonna participate in it.
The final four came down to Batista, Reigns, Sheamus, and Punk. Punk was taken out by Kane and choke-slammed through a table. Sheamus was eliminated, leaving the Batista vs. Reigns dream collision in a battle of past vs. present. Pretty interesting little preview of what could be a $$$ match in the future, and the crowd got behind Reigns, which is a good sign for his future. There was one disjointed spot, but as Reigns improves (which he has done so well at since TLC 2012 btw) and Batista works off his ring rust, I believe these two could have quite a spectacle. Batista of course won to one of the harshest crowd reactions to close out a PPV in WWE history. ***1/4
I'll just get this out of the way now: Punk stopped working for WWE the next day, not even appearing on Raw. I'm not going to jump to any conclusions. What I saw in his performances the last two months in WWE were not up to par with the standard that he set not only for the audience, but for himself. In particular, his first and to date only singles match against Seth Rollins, a legitimate dream match for fans of independent wrestling, was very sloppy and disappointing, which he noted on Twitter with a blunt "it sucked." He lost the fire in his eyes and had made it crystal-clear that he was burned out, even contemplating retirement later this year. I'm not going to speculate on any behind-the-scenes reasons on why he's not working for WWE right now.
Based on how much Punk put into the business, that he hasn't made a commitment to returning or retirement, and that so many top stars have rekindled their relationships with WWE after going through some hard times, I do not believe that CM Punk is done wrestling. As time goes by, the idea that he would retire with that lackluster performance in the 2014 Royal Rumble match as his unadvertised finale does not compute to me. In the meantime, I look forward to rewatching and catching up to see how WWE's creative and the roster has stepped up in Punk's absence during such an important time for WWE.