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”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. Follow @TheDocLOP QUESTION OF THE DAY: I'm going to factor in a fan voting component to my 2015 WWE Year End Awards. So, if you are so inclined, name your winner for each of the following categories: Wrestler of the Year Match of the Year TV Match of the Year PPV of the Year Feud of the Year Most Memorable Moment of the Year The following is a case study of WWE’s product for the month of November 2015. Survivor Series Review Match of the Month: Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro (Monday Night Raw October 16th) November was a mixed bag. Seth Rollins going down with a nasty knee injury, necessitating a change to the Survivor Series main-event, did create intrigue as the vacancy of the WWE Championship took center stage creatively. In the end, the booking decisions justifiably came under fire for their lack of creativity. I thought there were excellent matches scattered about the tournament, however; most notably during the quarterfinals on October 16th and the semi-finals on PPV. Kevin Owens vs. Neville and Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler offered TV Match of the Year candidates that arguably exceeded the quality of Ambrose-Owens and Reigns-Del Rio from 6 nights later, but all four of those matches were topped by Cesaro vs. Roman Reigns. I find it fascinating that WWE seems somewhat intent on pushing Roman as the next John Cena because, the more it becomes apparent that Reigns is not going to be able to win over the part of the crowd that feels he's the true corporate champion of WWE, the more that the reactions he generates from that part of the audience seem to mirror Cena's; an assertion that is only amplified when Reigns is put in the ring opposite a favorite of the once-termed vocal minority. It's an emotional frenzy every time. 'Tis a shame that Cesaro is now out for several months with a shoulder injury, as he was getting quite obviously comfortable in his own skin on the off chance that a segment was dedicated to his character beyond the wrestling ring. What an awesome match between Reigns and Cesaro! 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), John Cena vs. Seth Rollins at Night of Champions (Sept), and Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at Hell in a Cell (Oct) Wrestlers of the Month: The New Day What made this award challenging this month is that, as a reminder, it is a composite of both a wrestler's in-ring performances and the quality of his/her persona. I was hoping that somebody fresh would step up to the plate in the character department and blow me away. The absence of Rollins left a hole in Raw programming that hasn't yet been filled by anyone new. Triple H stepped in and delivered an excellent promo on a couple of occasions as the Authority's role ramped back up, but no one new took advantage of their increased television time. Paige might've been November's best, frankly; perhaps someday the women will earn / be given the chance to get the kind of segment time to shine brightly above their male counterparts - I just don't that they are there yet. Reigns had the best opportunity to take this award. He just doesn't have that babyface act down on the microphone; for every one time he seems confident, there are two times when he seems uneasy and/or forced. Last month, I thought Reigns did just enough to narrowly edge out his peers for WOTM. When I named October's winner, someone responded "New Day should've won easily." I thought a lot about that; it stuck in my craw. I'll admit that my Wrestler of the Month award is generally reserved for the headliners because it is the main-event talents whose television and PPV prospects are most pronounced. Yet, I think an exception is in order - given the circumstances of the month - that rewards sustained excellence in the mid-card during an era in which excellence of any kind in the mid-card is uncommon. There has been no more entertaining a trio in 2015 than the New Day. I haven't allowed enough time to compliment their efforts. Kofi Kingston has found something within himself that I never thought was there; I honestly believe that there is a spot in the main-event for him if New Day continues its upward ascent. Big E could someday join him or outright stake a claim to that spot before any of his stablemates. I mentioned on my podcast that he could be a Top 5 WWE star at some point if he can channel the potential that he has shown into something more tangible. Xavier Woods has a bright future too. All three of them are entertaining, but he is the most entertaining member of the faction. 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), Seth Rollins (Sept), and Roman Reigns (Oct) December Predictions December should be an interesting month. I'm finding that most months that feature an NXT special are generally more intriguing than others. It was last year's December special which saw Sami Zayn capture the NXT Championship from Neville that firmly placed NXT Takeover onto my must-watch live list. The London spectacular looks poised to live up to the reputation established by its predecessors. Finn Balor losing the NXT Title feels like a long way off to me, so I don't think Samoa Joe is much of a threat to become the new champion; however, I do sense that we're in for another Match of the Year candidate from the so-called developmental promotion of WWE. I'm curious to see what Joe can bring to the table in this kind of situation; I said when he debuted that I greatly appreciated his contributions to TNA's past, but that I questioned how much he could offer to NXT since said past is so distant at this point. He has been rock solid thus far in 10-minute singles matches and tag team efforts. I remember Joe for his stellar work in feature length classics a decade ago. Can he conjure some of that magic against a game Balor? Balor vs. Joe certainly has the feel of a big-time main-event for NXT. Thanks to the booking of Sheamus from August until his Money in the Bank cash-in at Survivor Series, the Celtic Warrior's defense against Roman Reigns doesn't carry that same aura. There's still plenty of time to change that. On paper, Sheamus vs. Reigns in a TLC match looks like a high quality performance waiting to happen. Reigns has been excellent on PPV this year. The WWE Champion is in a similar position as Joe; he has shown that he's very capable against top flight competition in the past, but his opportunities to remind of us his highest level have been few and far between in the last several years. So, can he too make the most of his chance? In this case, I actually feel like a title change is imminent. Many have suggested Sheamus will go into WrestleMania as champion. I don't see it that way. I think Reigns goes into 2016 with the title around his waist and the Sheamus cash-in was merely a temporary set-back to the start of the Roman Empire. The main roster feud that most intrigues me is actually Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens. Their match at Survivor Series was one of the night's top highlights. Owens spent the WWE Title tournament reminding us why his supporters so ardently feel he should already be in WWE's main-event. It's not often that a mid-card storyline inspires confidence of upward mobility for just one of its combatants - much less both - and I don't want to jump the gun and get overly enthusiastic about Owens vs. Ambrose before any real meat has been put on that angle's bones, but I like it in theory as we enter the final month of 2015. --------------------- "The Doc Says" podcast is counting down every WWE PPV in history and continues on Sunday, November 29th at 2PM ET. It will be a very creative edition that will feature the recreation of a dream I had in which Macho Man, Ultimate Warrior, and other legends joined the show.
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