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Follow @TheDocLOP QUESTION OF THE DAY: How are you feeling about the WWE product as we embark on the summer months? The following is a case study of WWE’s product for the month of May 2015. Elimination Chamber Review I'll start by stating clearly that I thought that this was a great PPV and that I, perhaps, benefited from watching it in fits and starts. My wife and I welcomed a baby boy to our family last Friday and the first few days of baby craziness kept me from watching all of Elimination Chamber on Sunday. Thus, I'm going to focus on what I really liked and, if you want to know the rest of my thoughts (plus additional thoughts on the overall show), please check out "The Doc Says" podcast available tomorrow at 5PM. The Tag Team Elimination Chamber match was about everything that I hoped it would be; mainly, a showcase for often poorly utilized talents. It's all about the follow-up, but WWE could easily use this match as a springboard to launch the tag division to the next highest level of its rebuilding process. Giving a main-event gimmick - this was the first time in its history where a World title or a World title shot wasn't up for grabs - to a group of mid-carders was like using a forklift to raise the entire division. They already had a solid foundation in the red hot New Day, who only furthered their heat with a cheap, 3-2-advantage-prompted victory. Now, there are viable, interesting challengers; there is depth. Last year, The Usos basically carried the whole scene. Matches like Sunday night's ensure that, when Jimmy and Jey are ready to roll again, they'll be coming back to an altered, better landscape. The Prime Time Players looked great. The Ascension looked very good. The Lucha Dragons (what a stunt from Kalisto!) were put on the map. It's no longer just New Day, Cesaro, Kidd, and everyone else. (****) John Cena vs. Kevin Owens was the first legitimate Match of the Year candidate I've seen since the triple threat for the title at Royal Rumble (all due respect to a lot of honorable mentions, but Rollins-Cena-Lesnar jumped out far ahead of the pack). Unfortunately, I knew the result ahead of time, but that should only strengthen the case that I'm making. Part of the allure to any match, game, film, or show is the unpredictability of not knowing what's going to happen in the end. It was not intentional for me to see that Owens had won, but that's the way it went. So, when I did watch the match, part of the basic premise of what helps a match garner knee-jerk praise was taken off the table. The near falls can't be as impactful if you know the result. It makes you watch the match on a completely different level; it makes you watch it as "performance art" - as my pal Samuel Plan would say about WWE, in general. Cena vs. Owens was a great work of performance art - a combat drama of the highest order that proved that you don't need 8 months of build-up to execute a fulfilling story if you have characters that know how to establish themselves to an audience. One of the advantages that we're seeing from WWE hiring the best pro-wrestlers in the world from outside of WWE to become part of the WWE Universe is that they come already knowing how to get over. All they have to do is prove that they can do it to Vince and Co and the sky is the limit. Owens just beat Cena clean, put his vast array of skills on display, and was presented throughout as a dominant bully that finally caught his WWE break. I loved JBL's line about "Dr. J in ABA coming to the NBA." Perfect analogy; but one we really haven't heard much from WWE announcers throughout the years. Times are changing, people. Keep fighting, Kevin Owens; keep fighting. (**** 1/2) Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins gave Cena and Owens a run for their money for Match of the Night. The finish is going to create controversy - both critically and purely - but I thought it was great. If you're going to make Rollins a hated man by making him a cowardly champion, then let him do it the way he did on Sunday - by earning a ridiculously tainted victory after an excellent match. The Kane element in previous PPVs directed attention at the wrong guy and simultaneously limited the quality of the performances. What they did with the classic "Dusty" finish at EC was put the focus on Rollins in a manner that casual fans will hate and that diehard fans will abhor; and the result will be great heat for the young champion, a stronger desire to get behind Ambrose as challenger, and - big picture - a reputation for the Architect that he's vulnerable enough to potentially lose at any point, but credible enough and with strong enough corporate backing that he's just as likely to win by any means. It's the Ric Flair approach from the NWA in the 80s. Few pairings in WWE today have the chemistry that Rollins and Ambrose do. They make it look so easy that, if you give them 20-minutes, it seems almost impossible for them not to deliver a 4-star effort. Their title match was my favorite of their series dating back to last year, even eclipsing Hell in a Cell simply because it was less about creating a moment within the confines of a gimmick and more about telling a story while exhibiting their considerable arsenals. I enjoy seeing them mix it up in a standard format like I have many of the great rivalries of the past. What a great match! (**** 1/4) Wrestler of the Month: Dean Ambrose It's quite tempting to say Kevin Owens and call it a day after the quality of his WWE TV appearances and his outstanding debut PPV match, but the answer is Dean Ambrose. We may reflect back to this month and see that it was the beginning of a substantial career for KO, but Ambrose did well to regain much of the momentum that he had in the fall of 2014 with a surprise victory to put himself in WWE title contention, a respectable performance at Payback, and two moments destined to end up on the year-end highlight reel on Raw last week (police officer) and at Elimination Chamber (winning/being stripped of the title). If Owens had four weeks of quality appearances instead of just two, then he might've gotten the nod because of how much he owned the Golden Boy (and since Ambrose continued to lose). As it stands, the Lunatic Fringe is back at the top in a major way, hopefully quieting a lot of the doubters who were beginning to (or already had started to) panic about his lack of a main-event push. Previous WOTM winners: Brock Lesnar (Jan), Daniel Bryan (Feb), Seth Rollins (Mar), and Sheamus (Apr) Match of the Month: John Cena vs. Kevin Owens at Elimination Chamber May was a great month for WWE! You had the frontrunner for TV Match of the Year in Ambrose vs. Rollins earlier on and then the NXT and 2nd May WWE PPV provided several great additions to the best of the month conversation in the last week or so. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch rightfully earned the first legitimate candidacy for a women's match in my history as a member of the critical community. If the Elimination Chamber outings had not delivered to maximum capability, then I would've given the ladies the nod over Ambrose and Rollins from Raw. Alas, Match of the Month really came down to the Match of the Night on May 31st: Rollins vs. Ambrose or Cena vs. Owens. While I could certainly understand anyone making a different decision than I, to me it was pretty obvious - Rollins vs. Ambrose was a great match destined to be discussed as top 10 for 2015, but Cena vs. Owens was a frontrunner for overall Match of the Year. 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), and Roman Reigns vs. Big Show at Extreme Rules (Apr) June Predictions Money in the Bank is shaping up to be similar in quality to Elimination Chamber, but the biggest question should end up being "Who will win the Money in the Bank Ladder match"? I think the answer seems pretty clear: Roman Reigns. I would've bet, prior to Ambrose getting back so quickly into the main-event, that the Lunatic Fringe would've won the briefcase and taunted Rollins all year with it. Now, it appears that role may be destined for Reigns. Given the WrestleMania 31 happenings, it does make sense. I expect Rollins to defeat Ambrose in their rematch and for the Authority to continue to stack the deck against the babyface former Shield members. I do not see either Reigns or Ambrose turning heel, though I know that's been rumored. Their duo's dynamic works really well. I suggest leaving well enough alone and letting them build sympathy and support for their quest to bring down Rollins and his backers. Here's hoping Brock Lesnar returns, too. May was a good month for WWE. If you add back to the fold the hottest player in the game, I foresee a second straight must-see month.
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