wrestling / Columns

411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Was TLC the Worst WWE PPV of 2014?

December 18, 2014 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week: First up is the one and only Len Archibald! He battles Shawn Lealos!

  • Questions were sent out Monday.
  • Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals and hydroponics.

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    1. The NXT Takeover: R Evolution show was the best major WWE show of 2014.

    Shawn Lealos: FACT – From top to bottom, the R Evolution show was easily the best wrestling show of the year, and maybe the best in a few years. There have been some good WWE pay-per-views earlier this year and it hasn’t been a bad year at all in wrestling, but the NXT show just entertained on a completely different level. The Kevin Owens debut actually felt special and felt like a big deal and you could tell the fans loved him and he was happy to be there. The women’s match was the best women’s wrestling match I have seen in the WWE in a very long time. Finn Balor’s entrance was one for the ages and I am glad they are keeping it to only special occasions (Undertaker’s special entrances is what it reminded me of). Hideo almost pulling out the GTS was a mark out moment as well. That main event was amazing and both Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville deserve all the credit in the world. The WWE has always had trouble making new stars and Sami Zayn showed through the last year the exact way to build a new star. I don’t think anyone was disappointed when he won. It was a HUGE moment. The Kevin Owens turn just sealed the deal. R Evolution felt like a special event and a very big deal. Nothing else this year, outside of Daniel Bryan winning the world title, felt this important.

    Len Archibald: FACT – Yeah, for me this is an easy Fact. As great as WrestleMania XXX was, and I believe that was a truly great show, the fourth edition of NXT’s specials pretty much blew everything else out of the water. I won’t go so far as to say it was the best pro wrestling show of the year, but man – a case can certainly be made. Kevin Owens made a debut that if his career lives up to the hype will be considered one of the greatest of all time; The Vaudvillians and Lucha Dragons had a PAWM (perfectly acceptable wrestling match); Charlotte and Sasha Banks put on a female wrestling clinic that one usually would see from SHIMMER (and even then, I am sure those girls probably freaked out at the notion that WWE-signed women had a chance to display their craft in the manner Charlotte and Banks did); The Ascension went up against Hideo Itami and Finn Balor and got their asses handed to them in a match that pretty much dared WWE to screw Balor up because he is as close to ready to leap into WWE and make an impact as anyone; and Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville made a case for MOTY. This show was pretty much a perfect mix of old-school booking with modern characters and as close to a perfect wrestling show I have seen in a long time. I have watched this show FOUR TIMES already – because I am a nerd, but because I want to bask in the glory of this event as much as I can. This show defines every single reason why I write, study and believe in the art of pro wrestling. MORE! MORE!

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    2. Destination America setting TNA Impact up on Friday night’s is actually a good thing.

    Shawn Lealos: FACT – Impact Wrestling moving to Destination America is – in the long run – a good thing. Sure, they got into more households on Spike TV, but I think the people who watched it on Spike will watch it on Destination America (if they get it). I personally haven’t decided yet if I will continue watching because I will have to upgrade my cable plan to the next tier to get the channel and I will have to see the price difference and decide if Impact is worth that price difference. However, Destination America is really pulling out all the stops to make Impact Wrestling seem important. Smackdown has been on Friday nights forever, and it still got decent numbers on SyFy of all networks. With DVRs a lot more important than they used to be, the night of the week doesn’t really matter for a wrestling show because people can DVR it and then watch it whenever they want. Plus, they get the extra show on Saturday mornings. With Smackdown moving to Thursdays and (I think) NXT moving to Wednesdays, Impact Wrestling won’t have to compete with the WWE on Friday nights. It’s not the best deal, but it isn’t as bad as doom and gloomers (and Impact haters) will have you believe.

    Len Archibald: FACT – I know…Friday is a death spot. It is, and I even admit that. This would have been a Fiction from me, if not for a crazy invention called DVR. I have made this point once before and will reiterate: the ratings system is a screwed up mixed bag right now because a good chunk of North America rarely watch live television anymore. Nearly everyone in my family is unplugged and binge-watch either through TiVo, their Roku or catch up through their DVR system set up from cable or satellite. Yes, TNA moving to Destination America is enough to eradicate their core audience compared to Spike, but if there is one thing I know, TNA fans are stubborn. If they want to support their favorite fed, they will find a way to watch. Also, it is not exactly the worse idea in the world to fill the wrestling void for those who do stay at home and will no longer watch SmackDown as it has moved back to Thursdays. Now, if Impact wound up in the ECW death slot of 1:30am, then perhaps we could talk. Let’s at least wait until the first numbers come in from DA and if they are happy with them before we all declare TNA dead for the 100th time.

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    3. Kane has been completely useless in 2014.

    Shawn Lealos: FICTION – Kane has been perfectly fine as The Authority’s muscle all year. In that role, he has done what he is supposed to do and did it well. No, he isn’t as awesome as he was as the Big Red Monster, but fans proved after WrestleMania that they didn’t care about that character anymore anyway when he went after Daniel Bryan and the WWE title. As for that, I disagree with everyone and thought Kane being the first contender to Bryan’s title was perfect. Kane is a former champion and one of the longest tenured WWE wrestlers. He was Bryan’s former tag team partner and that gave them a built in story. They had worked together for over a year, so it was a perfect matchup to kick off what should have been a nice title reign for Bryan. They even had Kane become a monster again to appease people who didn’t want to see him as Corporate Kane (but those same fans are wishy washy and didn’t like it either – although WWE booking of the “scary” scenes didn’t help because they came off as goofy in 2014). Kane is at the point in his career where he should be putting over younger stars and that is exactly what he is doing (except for the Adam Rose squash this week). He isn’t putting on 5-star matches, but he never has. He is doing what a wrestler at his age is supposed to do – losing to the wrestlers getting pushed.

    Len Archibald: FACT – Is this where I do the whole “No explanation needed” thing that’s apparently popular around here? Because for this question, it would fit tremendously. Our fearless leader has declared that “Kane ruins everything in pro wrestling”. He can’t be more right. I have not remembered one single solitary memorable thing The Big Red machine has done this year, much less anything actually useful he has accomplished in his role as directionless monster to Authority crony. Yeah. No explanation needed, indeed.

    SWITCH!

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    4. The WWE TLC PPV was the worst major WWE show of 2014.

    Len Archibald: FACT – What is it with WWE and their throwaway December PPV’s? It’s like the creative minds have all gone on Christmas vacation. Remember December to Dismember? I didn’t either, but that memory entered my brain and I had to share my absolute misery with the rest of you. Sorry. *shudders* In all seriousness, thank flying spaghetti monster for Luke Harper and Dolph Ziggler bringing the goods or TLC 2014 may have walked away with the dubious honor of being one of the worst WWE Pay Per Views in two or three years. It’s not the work of the performers, though – it’s the absolute lack of urgency the show provided. I am still trying to figure out why half these people were competing against each other. I wound up folding laundry with my wife during the event and barely woke back up to see Dean Ambrose encounter his christening into WrestleCrap. Welcome, The Lunatic Fringe. TLC 2014 may be a good watch again on a MST3K bad acid trip.

    Shawn Lealos: FICTION – This is hard, so I looked at all the major shows. Everythi9ng from Royal Rumble to Money in the Bank was actually pretty good and proved the WWE was off to a good start in 2014. Then Battleground happened.

    The Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose match never happened thanks to Triple H banning Ambrose from the building, which really pissed off the fans and made me glad I have the WWE Network instead of paying for PPVs anymore. They brawled some, but it wasn’t a match. Jack Swagger was molten hot in the Rusev feud, and I liked how he passed out instead of tapping out, but this killed his heat. Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt had a serviceable match that Jericho won out of nowhere. That was just a strange call and it kind of killed their feud, which was finished off on a Raw instead of a PPV. Miz won the IC title (seriously?) Then, the main event saw a fatale four way that included Randy Orton, John Cena, Kane and Roman Reigns. That was easily the worst show of the year to that point.

    SummerSlam, Night of Champions, Hell in a Cell and The Survivor Series all had matches that raised them above Battleground.

    So, that means this is between TLC and Battleground for the worst event of the year. I thought Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper in the ladder match was a very nice match while John Cena vs. Seth Rollins was overbooked. I personally loved Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose until the stupid ending. Honestly, I think Battleground was worse because at least I enjoyed two of the TLC matches and the Cena vs. Rollins wasn’t horrible.

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    5. Matt Striker is not a good choice for Jim Ross’ announcing partner at Wrestle Kingdom 9.

    Len Archibald: FICTION – I understand that Striker fell into some weird self-parody on his way out from WWE, but in his initial run as a WWE commentator YOUR professor was a damn good commentator. He understood the story that was being told in the ring, but could also provide context as to why a wrestler encompassed a particular physical strategy or let the audience in on any past history between combatants. At some point when he reached his peak as a commentator it’s almost like he was told to either stop that entirely or to push the absolute more annoying aspects of his on screen persona. I don’t know how many nicknames he gave Randy Orton, but it was somewhere in the line of a thousand. I do not think we are getting that Matt Striker. I think he understands the brevity of the event; being one half of the voices to introduce North American fans to New Japan – and sitting beside Jim Ross could only serve for Striker to bring his A-game. Striker’s commentary has been one of the great things about Lucha Underground’s time on television so far, so I hope for his momentum to continue.

    Shawn Lealos: FICTION – I like Matt Striker. He would be a horrible play-by-play man, but he is a great color commentator and I like how much wrestling knowledge he has. Sure, the WWE Universe doesn’t care about the history that he adds into his commentary (and that is always made clear when Michael Cole makes fun of JBL for using historical references because Cole believes the WWE Universe is too stupid to know history). But, this is Japan and I think that Striker will be a perfect addition because American wrestling fans who order this will want some history to really invest in characters they may have never seen or heard of. Jim Ross will call play-by-play the way it is supposed to be called and Striker will be there to add the tidbits of information to fill in the backstories. I love the choice.

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    6. You have no desire to see the Undertaker wrestle at WrestleMania 31.

    Len Archibald: FICTION – I will always – ALWAYS desire to see The Undertaker at WrestleMania. 1) because he is my wife’s favorite superstar and 2) you have not lived life as a full on wrestling fan until you see The Undertaker’s entrance live – it is akin to stepping into another dimension and we are just visitors. Past that, I feel that for someone who has done so much to create the mystique and aura he has, to leave the way he did –quietly and on his back (the time honored tradition), is so…unlike The Deadman. The Undertaker is a mythological harbinger of justice; an omnipotent character that somehow hovers outside the WWE Universe and acts as Deus Ex Machina if necessary to those who upset the balance. If it’s Sting or Bray Wyatt, I would enjoy seeing the Demon of Death Valley return one last time to at least somehow avenge the cosmos that blemished his undefeated WrestleMania streak. After that, ride off into the sunset and allow a new character to take over his mantle.

    Shawn Lealos: FICTION – I always want to see Undertaker at WrestleMania. His match against Brock Lesnar was not good but that has to be expected because Lesnar is just a powerhouse who throws his opponents all over the ring and that is not what Undertaker is all about. Undertaker is just one year removed from putting on a great match with CM Punk and four straight fantastic matches with Triple H and Shawn Michaels. What Undertaker needs is someone who can move and go in the ring to put on a good match. Look, Undertaker is an attraction at this point in his career, and as long as his opponent is someone he can actually match up with, he won’t stink up the place. If they want him to fight Bray Wyatt, I have some fears about the quality of the match, but I think it could really elevate Wyatt with a strong showing and should help him more than the Cena loss at WrestleMania XXX.