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Follow @TheDocLOP QUESTION OF THE DAY: What did you think was the best match of October 2015 in WWE or NXT? The following is a case study of WWE’s product for the month of October 2015. Hell in a Cell Review Match of the Month: Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker at Hell in a Cell It was a three match race between Reigns vs. Wyatt, Taker vs. Lesnar, and Sasha vs. Bayley. Three distinctly unique stories, each with its own strengths that, by comparison, made it better than the others. Reigns vs. Wyatt, much like in their Battleground match, let each segment of their Hell in a Cell bout breathe; they were in no hurry to get in as many spots as possible as many matches have formed the habit of doing (as entertaining as it can be). Nitpicking as I found it necessary to do in this circumstance, they really telegraphed the Spear through the table and couldn't have made it more obvious to the trained eye what they were about to do. Thus, it's down to the other two matches. Sasha vs. Bayley featured truly outstanding character work that I'd argue trumped the work of the males, especially in Sasha's case. Hyperanalyzing, there were a few spots in the Ironwoman match that weren't particularly crisp in their execution. Lesnar vs. Undertaker was a truly brutal battle and was the match that I think most of us hoped we'd see from the pair at WrestleMania and Summerslam respectively. It was a little chaotic, but that was clearly by design. The blood added an intangible quality that felt fresh to the modern era and the creativity on display, while no better than what we saw in Wyatt vs. Reigns, was the kind of element that you always hope you'll see from two cagey veterans whose every move we've seen hundreds of times before. Taker vs. Lesnar ended up being the one match of the three in which nothing stood out to criticize, so they get the nod for October Match of the Month. Previous MOTM winners: Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena at Royal Rumble (Jan), Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns at Fast Lane (Feb), Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (vs. Seth Rollins) at WrestleMania (Mar), Big Show vs. Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules (Apr), John Cena vs. Kevin Owens at Elimination Chamber (May), John Cena vs. Kevin Owens at Money in the Bank (Jun), John Cena vs. Kevin Owens at Battleground (Jul), Sasha Banks vs. Bayley at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn (Aug), and John Cena vs. Seth Rollins at Night of Champions (Sept) NXT Takeover: Respect Review Wrestler of the Month: Roman Reigns I've felt that most months in 2015 had clear cut Wrestler of the Month winners. In October, however, we wound up with a situation not terribly unlike April of this year, in which nobody particularly stood out, leaving the race wide open and prompting me to place a heavy emphasis on the details to choose a viable winner. Seth Rollins was just OK. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman didn't add much in the way of fresh material to the Undertaker feud. John Cena was a shell of his spring and summer, US Champion self. Kane might've made the strongest case of anyone, as his exploits were amusing in his duel personality role, but he came up just short of Roman Reigns. I had been pleading on my podcast for months to see Reigns get the chance to cut a promo that might emotionally resonate with the audience. Since Bray Wyatt attacked him in June, Roman had done little more than fight the odds, hang out backstage with Ambrose, and tell the New Face of Fear how he was going to kick his butt; this, of course, after Wyatt had personally attacked his position in WWE and even took a fleeting and not so subtle shot at Double R's kid. Where was the passion? The fire? The logical and understandably emotional RESPONSE!? In October, as the current feud with Wyatt reached its conclusion, Reigns issued his retort. WWE did him no favors by booking it in front of a smarky Chicago crowd, but there was finally some substance to a Roman Reigns promo (for the first time, honestly, since WrestleMania season). I loved the line in the go-home Raw interview where he said to Wyatt that, once they were in the Cell, he'd wish that he was locked in there with anyone but him. The Cell match was excellent to boot. I personally feel that their matches are the best of 2015 that nobody is talking about and look forward to re-watching them in the future as much as I look forward to any 2015 match re-watches. Previous WOTM winners: Brock Lesnar (Jan), Daniel Bryan (Feb), Seth Rollins (Mar), Sheamus (Apr), Dean Ambrose (May), Kevin Owens (Jun), John Cena (Jul), Seth Rollins (Aug), and Seth Rollins (Sept) November Predictions Survivor Series, as I've made perfectly clear is my opinion for years, should always be booked around a logical 5-on-5 match that binds much of the roster into a broad conflict. Last year was the best example not just in years, but perhaps ever. It seems pretty obvious that WWE is going back to the recently standard formula of booking Survivor Series 2015 around a World Championship match instead. If it were just about any other WWE Title match but Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, I'd probably be disappointed right now. However, I have been anticipating the first PPV singles match between these guys for well over a year. Call it a blessing in disguise, but Roman Reigns getting injured and preventing the Rollins-Reigns encounter at last year's Night of Champions has done nothing but build anticipation for what surely is the first of a dozen future PPV showdowns featuring the two former Shield mates. I am extremely excited for it. Admittedly, Reigns got a nice boost in the race for October WOTM by winning over a little bit more of the crowd by month's end. Did you hear the pop and sustained reaction that he received when won the #1 contendership and came face-to-face with the Architect? He's come a long way to regaining his footing after some serious struggles in that department during the first eight months of the year. Consistency is key, but credit is due to Roman for working his tail off to establish his fanbase. Is the time right for a title change or is this just the first stop on Roman's Road to WrestleMania 32? I could definitely see the championship switch at Survivor Series; I've not felt that way once since Rollins won the title (not even when he faced Brock in July). The timing didn't seem right before, but I get the sense that now might be the time. I'd like to see the story drag out until Mania. If they pull the trigger in November, I'd be OK with that too. The Traditional Elimination match seems reserved for the Wyatt Family. Taker, Kane, and Ryback have been set up as three guys to challenge them, with the Deadman's 25th Anniversary as one of the major selling points of the show (which I think is cool). I'd like to see Ambrose get into that mix to stay in the spotlight. One thing I don't want to see is another month of WWE putting the Lunatic Fringe on the back burner. It's time, in my view, to start ramping up Ambrose as we approach the New Year.
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