Posted in: Doctor's Orders
Doctor's Orders: WWE Month in Review (February 2016) (Engaging TV Product a Must On The Road WM, Wrestler and Match of the Month, March Predictions)
By The Doc
Feb 26, 2016 - 11:04:40 AM

”The Doc” Chad Matthews has been a featured writer for LOP since 2004. Initially offering detailed recaps and reviews for WWE's top programs, he transitioned to writing columns in 2010. In addition to his discussion-provoking current event pieces, he has written many acclaimed series about WrestleMania, as well as a popular short story chronicle. The Doc has also penned a book, The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment, published in 2013. It has been called “the best wrestling book I have ever read” and holds a 5-star rating on Amazon, where it peaked at #3 on the wrestling charts.



QUESTION OF THE DAY: How are you currently feeling about WrestleMania 32 with Reigns vs. HHH, Shane vs. Taker, and Ambrose vs. Lesnar as the three main-events?

The following is a case study of WWE’s product for the month of February 2016.

The Spotlight Is Back On WWE's Television Product For The Next 5 Weeks


Through eight weeks of 2016’s WWE television product, I must admit I’m quite satisfied. After a stellar 2014, last year’s creative effort left a lot to be desired. As cyclical as such things can be in modern times, perhaps it’s not a huge surprise that the momentum from the eventful last two weeks of 2015 carried over when the calendar flipped to the New Year.

Granted, you won’t find me watching Raw from 8 to 11 PM ET, but for my current viewing strategy – starting the DVR episode roughly 90 minutes in and catching up to the live main-event – the presentation of the storylines and matches has been quite engaging. As mentioned a month ago, I was on-board with how each of the matches at Royal Rumble were hyped on TV. Though Fast Lane was not quite as well-rounded in the quality feud department, the top matches continued January’s trend of engaging booking. Dean Ambrose was on fire this month and WWE did well to present a triple threat on PPV that, obvious as the result seemed on paper, was anything but based on the plot devices installed on Raw.

I bring up the increased quality of the television product primarily because WWE is going to need to fire on all cylinders to accomplish their lofty WrestleMania attendance and viewership goals. Like it or not, The Show of Shows is on a different level than other wrestling events; there’s an aura around it that is typically fueled by star power. WWE has a lot of depth right now in its mid-to-upper mid-card, but the injury bug bit the main-event scene hard over the last four or five months; they will, therefore, have to rely heavily on building highly anticipated matches through TV in their attempt to make up the difference. Mania usually sells itself, but when the goal is to break into the six figures for the number of butts in seats without some of the key players on the marquee, WWE will need to go the extra mile.

Encouraging it was, then, that last Monday’s Raw was one of the best in quite awhile. Shane McMahon’s return sparked interest in a segment that had people buzzing. Roman Reigns was dramatically bloodied and beaten in Triple H’s retaliatory onslaught from the beatdown he received last December. For those diehard fans uninspired by those two feuds, Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar was confirmed for WrestleMania. Three very different stories all well-hyped in three very different segments, all three of which were designed to attract three different parts of the fanbase.

Here’s hoping February 22 was not the peak, but just the beginning of a wild and fun ride for the next several weeks. WWE hasn't needed TV to sell Mania this badly in a long time.

WWE Fast Lane Review

Match of the Month: Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at Fast Lane

There were only two contenders for Match of the Month and the choice between them was fairly obvious. Lesnar vs. Ambrose vs. Reigns was the perfect triple threat for the Beast-style of match that Brock has made famous since Summerslam 2014. Essentially, Lesnar’s matches are all glorified squashes. He throws everyone around and no sells what his opponents do unless he’s hit with a bunch of finishers, busted open, clobbered with chairs, or put through tables. To a traditionalist, there’s a fine line between that style being fascinating and it being something between overkill and boring. Personally, I think it works best in a shorter time span.

A brilliant story can be told if Lesnar mauls his opposition, as their resilience shines in the face of near certain decimation. That story is pretty easy to tell and doesn’t need epic length to achieve great critical heights. Hence, I’d put Lesnar vs. Ambrose vs. Reigns right at the top of the list of Brock’s best outings utilizing his unique style. The Ambrose-Reigns chemistry, both as friends and foes, added a compelling dynamic to Lesnar's usual schtick. WWE has gotten really good at presenting matches that feel epic using a lot less screen time than in years past.

AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho was a strong second banana in February.

Previous MOTM winners: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens at Royal Rumble (Jan)

Wrestler of the Month: Dean Ambrose

Dean Ambrose has surged through the first two months of 2016 to become the leading candidate for Wrestler of the Year. He has been outstanding in the ring, capturing the Match of the Month in both January and February. (Note – January was retroactively changed due to WWE’s failure to follow through on some of the stories that seemed to be building from the Royal Rumble match, which I said last month would cause Ambrose vs. Owens to ascend to January’s top spot). The Lunatic Fringe has also been the most interesting character two months running. Everyone else in the main-event picture seems to be running in place. Triple H hasn’t changed since 2013, Brock Lesnar hasn’t changed since 2014, and Roman Reigns is still trying to find the balance between Cena 2.0 and Diesel 2K16. Ambrose is injecting life into the party, poignantly getting his points across in backstage segments and capturing the audience’s attention in longer in-ring promos. He’s just on fire right now. Kudos to WWE for recognizing that another WrestleMania without Ambrose in one of the top three matches was just not going to be a good idea. He has earned his place at the roundtable.

Previous WOTM winners: Dean Ambrose (Jan)

March Predictions

Based on this column's opening discussion, March is going to be an intriguing month for WWE on the Road to WrestleMania. WWE often seems to book their TV shows on the fly. However, their present situation calls for careful planning mixed with an attitude of "let's go get this thing done," speaking specifically of breaking the Mania attendance record and genuinely exciting the fanbase to fever pitch levels ahead of the biggest show of the year. They need not to play it safe, but to find a way to adopt a gunslinger mentality while also rolling out calculated swerves that keep the audience wanting to tune into Raw (and to a lesser extent Smackdown) every week. This cannot be a year in which WWE announce their Mania card and let everyone build anticipation for themselves (i.e. last year). No resting on laurels this year. By the time we reach March 31st, we need to be teeming with anticipation.

I foresee a rollercoaster of a few weeks. Undertaker's response to being used as Vince McMahon's instrument of destruction could be compelling. Taker only has a few more of these opportunities to sink his teeth into his persona's actions; I suspect he'll make the most of this unique scenario. I do not think his match with Shane will be altered by the way. Cena's out. It'll be interesting to see if WWE finds a way to make possible an Undertaker loss so that Shane at least temporarily takes over Raw. It's time to make a change and transition out of the Authority's regime, but is Shane the catalyst for that change?

It's also going to be very interesting to see how WWE books Roman Reigns. The Rock, Steve Austin, and Shawn Michaels have all been rumored to get involved in the main-event's presentation, perhaps in hopes of preventing another Chicago 2006 situation for the Reigns vs. Triple H match. At this point, I think it's impossible for Reigns to get over like they want him to, so bank on WWE having already decided that he's going to simply continue the Cena act of the last decade and be the top face to one part of the audience and the top heel to others. 'Tis the wrestling world in which we live, folks.

Ambrose vs. Lesnar could wind up being the main-event to a lot of the LOP Universe. It's currently sitting atop my list of most anticipated WrestleMania matches. What is Ambrose going to do that he hasn't already done to incite Brock and Paul Heyman and get them mad enough to make mistakes? I think that's the story of the next month for the Lunatic vs. Beast hype.

On paper, the top three line-up is not nearly as strong as we've grown accustomed to for modern WrestleManias, so I think we're going to see a heavy concentration on a card that maximizes the depth of the mid-card. The Diva's Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the Tag Team Championships could all get the spotlight. I'm thinking a triple threat between Sasha, Becky, and Charlotte and a Fatal Four-way TLC match between the New Day, the League of Nations, the Usos, and the Dudleys. As for Kevin Owens? Your guess is as good as mine for, as logical as Owens vs. AJ Styles would be, Chris Jericho turning heel and having another match with the Phenomenal One makes a lot of sense too.