Posted in: Doctor's Orders
Doctor's Orders: WWE Month in Review (January 2016) - Wrestler and Match of the Month, February Predictions, and A Message For The Rock
By The Doc
Jan 29, 2016 - 7:30:14 PM

”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: What are the odds that WWE pulls a swerve and puts Dean Ambrose into the WrestleMania 32 World Title match with Triple H instead of Roman Reigns?

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


Will The Rock Get Back In The Ring?


Let's rewind the clock to the January 25, 2016 Monday Night Raw.

It was about the third time that The Rock paused in the middle of the ring to absorb the crowd's energy (or to prompt a further swell of fan enthusiasm...or both) that I found myself having the same feeling that I had momentarily experienced during The Great One's appearance at WrestleMania last year: I was a little annoyed. I'll readily admit that Rock was my favorite wrestler during the Attitude Era and that I have been thrilled to have him back in the fold since February 2011; I heaped more praise on his first match with John Cena than anyone and heaped reasonable amounts of praise on his other three matches too. However, that was three years ago. The Rock has made at least one cameo appearance each year since and I'd call them all enjoyable, but wrestling is inherently built on talking segments and brief physical altercations leading to matches that people will pay to watch. Thus, I've seen about all I care to see of Rock showing up, cutting up, beating people up, and then up and leaving without any chance for a match.

So, it is with all due respect to the highest grossing actor in Hollywood, who certainly never has to come back to WWE unless he wants to, that I state my desire to see nothing more of The People's Champion unless he plans to take on a much more significant role than providing his latest fleeting reminder that he's not around very often. I honestly don't care if it's a corner man role to back up his cousin, a 6-man tag team match where he teams with his other cousins, or a monumental match for the ages against another legendary figure in pro wrestling lore; I just want to see more from him than we have gotten since his last in-ring outing.

WWE Royal Rumble Review

Match of the Month: (Amended 2/26/16) Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose in a Last Man Standing match at the Royal Rumble

For most, this would probably be an easy decision: it’s Ambrose vs. Owens Last Man Standing. However, I thought very, very highly of the 2016 Royal Rumble Match. After a second viewing, I hold firm on my stance that it was one of the greatest ever. While telling its own thoroughly enjoyable story, I thought it did well to integrate a lot of the Rumble themes that have worked so well in years past. AJ Styles debuting and being one of the anchors for the first half of the match, Chris Jericho’s Ironman run from entry #6, the first of potentially many titanic clashes between Brock Lesnar and the Wyatt Family, the unannounced return of Triple H in the 30th position, and the extension of the tried-and-true climactic method from a few to several prominent superstars slugging it out to the end; all of those elements stayed true to successful formulas previously created.

The criticism about the Roman Reigns part of the story was something I honestly zeroed in on while replaying the match and, I have to say, I don’t see what the big deal is. The mid-match assault on the now former champion added an element of emotional depth similar to Austin being attacked in 1999 but, unlike in ’99, Roman’s temporary departure gave space for other stories to become the primary focus. Every Rumble with the exception of 2004 – my choice for best ever – is a mixed bag of strengths and weaknesses. In my opinion, the vast majority have more positives than negatives and are, thus, very rewatchable. The best versions find the pendulum swinging far more toward the good than the bad and end up in the Match of the Year conversation; 2016 is the first Rumble of the decade to deliver on that level.

Why, then, ahead of Ambrose vs. Owens? It’s a judgment call at this point with an important qualifier. For my tastes, WrestleMania continuity is one of the factors that drives long-lasting memories from Royal Rumbles. Part of the reason that I love 2004 is that most of the major WrestleMania storylines were advanced to some degree in the Rumble Match. So, the caveat to 2016’s Rumble getting the nod over the potential blueprint for all future Last Man Standing matches is that, in the event that Lesnar vs. Wyatt and Reigns vs. Triple H (and to a lesser extent Jericho vs. Ambrose) end up fizzling out before Mania 32, then I will change the January 2016 Match of the Month to Owens vs. Ambrose.

Wrestler of the Month: Dean Ambrose

Now, this one was rather easy. It’s the Lunatic Fringe and there was really no other option. Roman Reigns had a solid month, continuing the improvements in the character (and booking) department that prompted his 12/2015 WOTM award. Ambrose’s primary January rival, Kevin Owens, certainly had a very good start to 2016 as well. Honorable mentions to Charlotte and Becky Lynch for the development of their personas too. However, nobody took full ownership of their on-screen extensions quite like Dean Ambrose. January 2016 was the best month of his entire career.

The Wrestler of the Month is given to the superstar that had the best combination of in-ring performances, engaging television segments, and kayfabe accolades, but sometimes the difference between one wrestler and the next is which one best exemplifies the phrase, “maximizing minutes.” Ambrose was on point all month. In the ring, he tore it up in a pair of Intercontinental Championship matches, one of which is a legitimate early MOTY contender. On the microphone, he exhibited mastery of the Lunatic Fringe, never failing to entertain or get his feud-enhancing points across. He maximized every minute he was on camera, a point evidenced by his two appearances at the Royal Rumble, which included a non-stop, all-out brawl for 20-minutes that may have redefined the expectation for the Last Man Standing gimmick and an outstanding runner-up routine in the Rumble Match. He ends the month having carried the Intercontinental Title to heights reminiscent of John Cena’s United States Championship reign post-WM31 and right in the thick of things to earn a WrestleMania 32 headlining spot.

February Predictions

I sense that the WrestleMania 32 card is still very much up in the air because of John Cena’s injury and the internal debate that it likely created about Undertaker’s match for the Show of Shows. It would make a lot of sense if we saw February build further the three match line-up of Jericho vs. Ambrose (lightly hinted it on now two different occasions), Wyatt vs. Lesnar (strongly suggested), and Reigns vs. Triple H (all but confirmed). However, Undertaker’s match is the wild card. We don’t know if The Rock will wrestle, so that’s another wild card, but Taker’s match assuredly figures to be one of the primary selling points and it likely needs to be huge. To be frank, a rundown of the cards that I’ve seen predicted read like really good Summerslams and not the biggest WrestleMania of all-time. I think we’ll need something to emerge like Rock vs. Taker or Rock vs. Brock to create the kind of intangible, dream-like scenario that separates Mania from all other events. If it was Rock vs. Taker or Cena could make it back to do the Taker match once rumored, then we’re all set and those other matches mentioned are elevated by the presence of that other-worldly, special contest.

It will be interesting to see if the next few weeks leading up to Fast Lane hint at more definitive decisions on the direction for April 3rd. By itself, Fast Lane already looks intriguing with a potential barnburner of a triple threat match between Ambrose, Reigns, and Lesnar as its main-event. Last year, the February PPV was no throwaway; a lot of key moments for the WrestleMania feuds took place that night. It has been said that WWE wishes Fast Lane to feel like an important stop on the Road to WrestleMania rather than a speed bump. How they accomplish that may be the story of the month and, if it isn't, I suspect the top narrative hook will be how quickly key injuries can potentially heal (here's look at you, Golden Boy).

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The next All-Time WWE PPV Countdown special of "The Doc Says" will air this Sunday at 2PM ET. Mazza from The Right Side of the Pond will join me as we discuss events that cracked the Top 100.