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We’ll start with a guy that has quickly become one of my favorites: The Celtic Warrior: Sheamus. He came into the year as the first-ever Irish born WWE champion, having defeated John Cena in December of 2009. Not everyone was sold on him as a champion, at first (myself included). Yet, after a solid first two months of the year – during which time he lost the WWE title in the Elimination Chamber – Sheamus went on to show that he belonged. His in-ring work has come along steadily as the year has progressed, culminating in CMV1’s 2010 TV Match of the Year: Sheamus vs. John Morrison in the King of the Ring Finals (CMV1 rating - ***1/2) (CMV1 note – Absolutely awesome TV match that kept you guessing the entire time. Never before has Morrison had the fans behind him more than he did in this losing effort and a lot of credit needs to go to Sheamus. The Celtic Warrior is a big part of the WWE’s present, but this was the kind of match that showed that John Morrison could be a big part of the future) One of the biggest improvements we’ve seen from Sheamus throughout the year has been his mic work. He seemingly got more and more comfortable with each passing month, but I thought it was during his feud with Triple H leading to Mania that we began to see that he could hold up his end on the microphone and in the charisma department. And it was also his match with Triple H at Wrestlemania that made me see how potentially good he could be in the ring. Sheamus vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania XXVI) (CMV1 rating - ***) (CMV1 note – I always like it when there’s a legit competition for match of the night from the start to the finish of a Mania. I think Trips and Sheamus set the bar for the rest of the guys to have to overcome. They didn’t get the time to have a great match, but what they did do was quite good and got the crowd amped up a notch. Sheamus looked right at home on the big stage and will likely be having similar major matches at future Manias) The Celtic Warrior’s second title reign legitimized him as a top tier talent that would be a mainstay and not just a flash in the pan. His improvement from January to June – when he won back the title at Fatal Four Way – was marked. He immediately rekindled his feud with John Cena heading toward the Money in the Bank PPV, but instead of having a standard match, they were placed inside the confines of a steel cage…which brings us to the next match on our countdown. Sheamus and Cena can work a really entertaining main-event match within multiple gimmicks, as proved by the following… John Cena vs. Sheamus in a Steel Cage Match (Money in the Bank) (CMV1 rating - ***3/4) (CMV1 note – Like a lot of the lengthier main-event matches in the current era, this bout started off with a very slow and deliberate pace, but picked up toward the middle and finished with a flurry of very nice high risk spots and a few key false finishes that put it close to four-stars. The thing that kept it from 4-stars was the Nexus involvement which, while interesting, was not the definitive finish you look for in a cage match) After getting by John Cena, Sheamus engaged in a feud with Randy Orton, who had spent the year gaining a lot of momentum as a newly turned babyface. Playing a similar character to the heel “Viper” that made him so hated, Orton won the crowd over. There comes a time when a guy like that simply gains the respect of the crowd no matter what he does. He was really picking up steam and drawing comparisons to Steve Austin’s “anti-authority” gimmick by the time Summerslam rolled around. Orton didn’t win the title that night, but received a rematch as part of a 6 Pack Challenge at Night of Champions. Orton won the WWE title, but Sheamus received a rematch the following month inside Hell in a Cell. Sheamus vs. John Cena vs. Wade Barrett vs. Edge vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho in a Six Pack Challenge Elimination Match (Night of Champions) (CMV1 rating - ***3/4) (CMV1 note – The WWE does a very nice job of booking multi-man main-event matches and this was no exception. It lacked the multiple near falls necessary to reach the four-star level, but it contained enough to get just close to it. Once the early elimination of Y2J occurred, they settled into a nice series of decisive falls. The Nexus interference was handled well to further one current storyline while leaving another major storyline to finish off the final moments of the match and get the title back on Orton) Randy Orton vs. Sheamus in a Hell in a Cell Match (Hell in a Cell) (CMV1 rating - ****) (CMV1 note - Out of all of the opponents that Sheamus had in 2010, I think my favorite was Randy Orton. They each have very similar styles; very psychological is what I'd call that style...and I like it. They tell really good stories in their matches and the HIAC was the best of their series. Orton has become quite good inside this gimmick and Sheamus never seems to disappoint no matter the new stipulation he has to work in) Sheamus and Orton both seem poised to continue their great years in 2010 and I expect they’ll be featured performers on the Wrestlemania 27 card. Who knows what will become of Sheamus, as he’s a rumored potential opponent for Undertaker. However, Orton’s path looks a little more clearly defined. Having just lost the WWE title to The Miz, I suspect he’ll be chasing the title heading toward Mania. Now, let’s back track a little bit to the beginning of the year. January 4, 2010 was a huge day for me, personally. It’s when I opened my private office. Yet, it was also a huge day in wrestling thanks to Bret Hart coming back to the WWE on the first Raw of the year. As a long time fan of the Hitman, it was a great moment to see him make his return to Raw and settle things with HBK. I think it’s important to both their lives to no longer have to carry that animosity toward each other. Ultimately, Bret’s feud with Vince McMahon that lead to a match at Wrestlemania was somewhat disappointing. It was a solid feud that told a good story, but the payoff match was just so poor that it ended it on a sour note. The same might also be said about Edge’s return to win the Royal Rumble and begin a run as a babyface. I don’t think basing your new character around getting the crowd to chant “Spear” was really all that great of an idea and began the trend of a lot silly storylines being written by the SD writers. Nevertheless, Edge did wrestle in his 3rd consecutive Wrestlemania championship match, this time against Chris Jericho – who won the world title at Elimination Chamber. Jericho and Edge had a very good match that garnered a lot more criticism than I think it deserved. That match is the next on our list... Chris Jericho vs. Edge (Wrestlemania XXVI) (CMV1 rating - ***3/4) (CMV1 note – I thought that this was the second best match on the Mania 26 card, despite the lackluster crowd involvement and the weak feud that led up to it. Jericho and Edge displayed good chemistry and built interest in their match as it went along with strong work and some nice false finishes. The spot where Jericho counters the Spear with a Codebreaker, but cannot get the three count was very well done, as were the closing moments when the World title belt came into play) The week after Wrestlemania, another of the biggest stories of the year developed when Jack Swagger – winner of the 2010 Money in the Bank ladder match at Mania – cashed in by defeating Jericho to win the world title. It began a very successful few months for Swagger, who really grew into a legitimate candidate for a long-term, top tier player. He showed an ability to really get the crowd against him with some brilliantly arrogant heel promos. His matches were of better quality, as well. He ditched a lot of the goofy side of his mid-card character and became more serious and aggressive. Eventually, Swagger lost the title to Rey Mysterio, who quickly lost the title to the winner of the first non-Wrestlemania MITB ladder match, Kane. The Big Red Monster was rechristened The Devil’s Favorite Demon, as he turned heel by re-igniting his 13-year feud with his brother, the Undertaker. It was a feud where Kane really shone bright and made a rehash of a battle done to death over the years more interesting than it had any right to be. Surprisingly, Kane still holds the World title to this day. He deserved a lengthy run with a world title before he retired. He may even be able to make it to Mania as champ. But it all started back at Money in the Bank in July. Our next match is the SD MITB ladder match from the inaugural PPV of that name. SD Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Money in the Bank) (CMV1 rating - ****1/4) (CMV1 note – We’re in an era where you constantly have to wonder what can the WWE come up with to make a ladder match seem new and fresh. It takes some doing, considering the sheer number of ladder matches in the last 10 years or so. I thought this match had just about everything you could ask for from a ladder match of this sort, including the very innovative story of Big Show climbing a specially made ladder. The participants – Kingston, Show, Kane, Ziggler, McIntyre, Rhodes, Hardy, and Christian – deserve a lot of credit for their execution of the bout. Having two ladder match veterans certainly helped) The Miz won the Raw version of the MITB ladder match that same night and went on to cash in on Raw. Few stars had a more stellar year than the former Real World guest. He continued building on the foundation he laid in 2009 by becoming arguably the most entertaining microphone man in the company. A lot of Miz’s early work in the year was as a “Pro” on the first season of the short-lived (wwe.com doesn’t count) reality style show, NXT. His “Rookie” was internet wrestling hero, Daniel Bryan. The rise of these two stars is arguably the story of the year. The dynamic between the two was excellent. Their story lasted far past NXT and eventually culminated in a US title match at Night of Champions. At that event, Bryan made his singles match debut on WWE PPV and started a run of excellent matches in the mid-card. He really won me over with that kind of work in the ring. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a guy that could produce like that in the ring with such consistency, despite not getting the kind of time normally required in the modern era to have great matches. In honor of his stellar mid-card performances, the next several matches on our countdown are Bryan’s first four singles PPV matches, the highlight being CMV1’s Mid-Card MOTY vs. The Miz… Daniel Bryan vs. Ted Dibiase (CMV1 rating - ***) (CMV1 note – It took just under 10-minutes for Bryan to carry Dibiase to his finest WWE match. He made Ted look like a million dollars. I’m really beginning to like Bryan. He has rare in-ring abilities and just seems to get how to work a match) Daniel Bryan vs. John Morrison vs. The Miz in a Triple Threat Submissions Count Anywhere Match (Hell in a Cell) (CMV1 rating - ***1/2) (CMV1 note - This is one of the most underrated matches of the year. These three guys worked their tales off to give the main-event guys something to try and top. Miz worked great as a heel, showing why he could be a main-event guy at Wrestlemania. Morrison continues to fly under the radar) Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler (Bragging Rights) (CMV1 rating - ***1/2) (CMV1 note – Another very good performance from Bryan in the mid-card. He has added an element to the non-main-events that has been missing since Benoit and Guerrero passed away. He’s a guy who can have a well-rounded match with just about anyone. Ziggler also showed his ability to step up his game when given the chance to shine. I was quite impressed with both, but Bryan is developing a knack for shining bright amongst his peers) Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz (Night of Champions) (CMV1 rating - ***1/2) (CMV1 note – A stellar mid-card performance. Miz needed a match of this caliber to get me to believe that he was ready for the next step up to the main-event, while Bryan showed me why everyone who saw his work in ROH thinks he’s the lord of the ring. I was quite impressed by both, and this could ultimately be a star-making performance for the both of them) I’d always had Bryan pegged as a guy that the IWC and maybe even the wrestlers themselves loved, but that management would never get behind because of his slight stature and mediocre mic skills, but when he was introduced as the 7th member of Team WWE at Summerslam – and when he proceeded to have a starring role – I changed my tune. He’s turned out to be a guy who will at least have a strong career carrying the mid-card. Future Benoit or Guerrero? Anyhow, the guy that introduced Bryan at Summerslam as the final team member was John Cena, who was the primary target in said match against an upstart group of former NXT contestants that took the WWE by storm in the summer. In a fresh, new story, these men – led by NXT season 1 winner, Wade Barrett – made Cena their target in an effort to dominate the WWE. The Rise of the Nexus. Nexus vs. Team WWE (Summerslam) (CMV1 rating – ***3/4) (CMV1 note – This was a very good main-event for Summerslam with the WWE booking it well throughout. Bret Hart had a nice showing, as did Daniel Bryan and Justin Gabriel. At the end, it expectedly came down to Cena standing alone – he played his role well and helped send the crowd home happy with his Superman comeback) After months of attacking Cena and rarely failing to relinquish the upper hand, Wade Barrett challenged Cena to a match at Hell in a Cell. If Cena won, then the Nexus had to disband. If Barrett won, then Cena had to join Nexus. It was the first opportunity to see what Barrett could do in a major singles match and he performed admirably well. The bout began what has essentially become the most intriguing Cena angle in a long time. His vulnerability makes him uncharacteristically sympathetic. The story will likely last through the months leading up to Wrestlemania. Wade Barrett vs. John Cena (Hell in a Cell) (CMV1 rating – ***1/2) (CMV1 note – The WWE had the element of surprise on their hands with this one, as the stipulations made it so that an easily predictable outcome wasn’t easy to think of. Cena got a really nice match out of Wade, who proved that he could at least be carried in a major singles match. If he can ever get his ring skills to the level of his mic skills, then he’ll be a mainstay at the top of the card for years to come. It’s been quite a year for Wade Barrett) Despite the fact that Cena’s most intriguing storyline is the one that is currently ongoing with Barrett, my personal favorite feud of the year involving Cena was earlier in the year when he went head-to-head with Dave Batista. When you put two of the biggest stars of an era against each other, good things are bound to happen…and they certainly did. Batista played a great heel character during the final months of his WWE career. I don’t care to see him return, as it’s time to move on, but I do think what he accomplished with Cena was noteworthy; such is why I rank Cena vs. Batista as the #2 story of the year. Batista vs. John Cena (Wrestlemania XXVI) (CMV1 rating - ***3/4) (CMV1 note – A really good performance by both guys, with unusually good commentary by Michael Cole. The presentation of the match was nicely handled, as they made it feel like a big deal. Batista did his best work in the final three months of his WWE career, so it’s a shame that he’s gone in that respect. Cena understands the importance of Mania and always steps up his game appropriately in the big match environment on the grandest stage) The #1 story for 2010 – to this long-time HBK fan – was the retirement of Shawn Michaels. Way back in September 2009, I wrote a guest column for LOP talking about the legacy of HBK and how I thought Wrestlemania XXVI would be the perfect time for him to retire. I was happy that he made that decision, albeit sad to see him go. More should follow his lead, though. Michaels, in my opinion, is the greatest WWE performer of all-time, so it was fitting that he would go out with a great storyline that featured his rare ability to act out a dramatic scenario. After failing the win the Royal Rumble and earn another shot at Taker’s undefeated streak at Mania, HBK disappeared for a couple of weeks. Yet, at the Elimination Chamber PPV during Taker’s title defense inside the confines of 2 miles of chain, HBK made his return and cost the Deadman the World Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker vs. CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio vs. John Morrison in an Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) (CMV1 rating - ****) (CMV1 note – Excellent version of this gimmick. Morrison looked like a million bucks with his performance. Jericho’s work with Mysterio, Morrison, and Taker was stellar and built momentum for the eventual HBK appearance and subsequent world title switch nicely) The loss of the world title infuriated Taker to the point that he granted HBK the Wrestlemania rematch he so coveted, but not before including an extra stipulation that if HBK lost again, he’d have to retire. People wondered how they could make the rematch big enough in comparison to the original. The Streak vs. Career stipulation was the answer to our queries. What followed was a month of growing anticipation. We wondered if the match quality could be anywhere near that of the previous year. We pondered if they could really have HBK retire when he was still going at such a high level. We dreamed up scenarios that prolong HBK’s career by giving him an excuse to lose. In the end, though, the outcome was simple. HBK gave it his all in his final match, but lost to the Deadman for a second straight year. Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker (Wrestlemania XXVI) (CMV1 rating - ****1/4) (CMV1 note – This was not a 5-star affair like their match from 2009, but it was a storyline-driven piece of well painted artwork on the wrestling canvas. It was never going to be last year’s masterpiece, but it was still a fitting rematch that put a nice final stamp on the career of HBK. One big difference ended up being the commentary. Whereas Jim Ross called one of the best matches of his commentating life the year prior, Michael Cole and the gang continually seemed lost and out of touch. There was great drama in the near falls toward the end and an emotional final few moments) And that's it, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed taking this trip down memory lane for 2010. I guess my closing thoughts would be to say that I thought 2010, from an in-ring perspective, was a little down from a year ago. However, I think the mid-card got a lot better and that there are some guys on the brink of becoming great wrestlers. I thought that the clamoring for new stars in the main-event was answered in a big way, while guys like Cena and Orton are just beginning the primes of their careers...and it shows. Heading into 2011, I think we'll see the solidification of a lot of the newer talent at the top of the card as guys who will be there for years to come.
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