Posted in: Doctor's Orders
Doctor's Orders: WWE Month in Review (September 2015) - Match of the Month and October Predictions
By The Doc
Sep 30, 2015 - 8:29:59 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 is your current frontrunner for Match of the Year?

The following is a case study of WWE’s product for the month of September 2015.


Wrestler of the Month: Seth Rollins

Match of the Month: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins at Night of Champions


John Cena has perfected the style of match that he wrestled with Seth Rollins at Night of Champions. That style is heavy on content and utilizes the false finish driven by high spots as the primary vehicle that drives the emotion of the match. He wrestled that style against Kevin Owens three times on PPV to Match of the Month honors each time and wrestling it against Rollins has earned him yet another Match of the Month award; that's not to mention the numerous times he has utilized that style to critical success on TV. It begs the question: has anyone ever wrestled that style better? The only one who comes to mind that rivals Cena's 2015 is Kurt Angle in 2002. Edge, Chris Jericho, and The Rock are others who expertly employed the style.

The key to the false finish-high spot heavy wrestling match is having a finish move that could just easily be kicked out of / escaped three times as it could end a match in three seconds. Cena's Attitude Adjustment and STF have not always met that criteria. It's been a multi-year progression, but that's where his finishing moves stand at present time. Cena also brings certain intangible qualities to the table that the others did not because he has been the undisputed top guy in the business for so long and he's come to embody such a split in the audience. On that latter point, if someone like Rollins or Owens or Ambrose (or Punk and Bryan before them) faces Cena, then even if that first AA or STF almost assuredly will not end the match, people tend to feel like it might because they so badly want Cena not to squash the up-and-coming top star. Thus, a dynamic is created that maintains the aura of Cena's finishers despite the downgrade in their effectiveness from recent years. Neither Angle, Edge, nor Jericho ever had that problem. Maybe Rock did, but he was quite possibly the least selfish top star ever (he'd put over your sister).

Somewhere along the line, Cena recognized that he could have this kind of match with pretty much anyone and, judging by the popular reception to his US Open Challenge – which gave us that style of match on a near weekly basis – combined with his series against Kevin Owens, the majority haven't grown tired of it. There's still gas in that tank; still more opponents for Cena to wrestle in that style. I needed to see that kind of match from Cena and Rollins. They had a genre-defining Tables Match last December and they had some good singles matches on TV – the best of the lot being the nose-breaking match in early August – but we had yet to see the balls-to-the-wall, move set-emptying match until Night of Champions. So, I now feel satisfied with their feud.

We're inching closer to year's end. If Cena keeps up the level of performance that he has set for himself throughout 2015, he'll have been involved in over half of the year's Matches of the Month, setting himself up for overall Wrestler of the Year. At this point, Seth Rollins is his only real competition. There's definitely some parity in WWE right now across the board, but it's a lonely world at the top of the mountain. As of right now, without having dissected the data, but to borrow a little Top Gun dialogue, the trophy is still up for grabs; first place Rollins, second place Cena, just two points behind; it's the bottom of the ninth and the score is tied. You up for this one Cena? Just a walk in the park, Rollins. Tally ho, right three o'clock. Time in? Time in...

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), and Sasha Banks vs. Bayley at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn (Aug)

WWE Night of Champions Review

October Predictions

October should be an interesting month. We're going to be seeing a lot of Brock Lesnar, which I consider to be a very good thing. His presence raises the stakes. If someone can rise up to the Taker vs. Brock level at Hell in a Cell, then it will be very impressive. Some intriguing questions can be asked of Taker-Brock III, mainly can Taker still wrestle a feature length match and what will the result be as we start our long road trip toward Dallas and WrestleMania 32. A lot of the focus is going to be on Rollins and Kane when it's not on Taker and Brock and I'll be curious to see if there's any sort of special stipulation added to the Kane-Rollins title match; not just Hell in a Cell mind you, but something that may raise the stakes even higher (like Kane's long-rumored retirement). I also want to see Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt wrap things up in a significant way. As a big fan of their Battleground match, I'd like to see them return to singles action against each other on PPV. I'd love the Cell to be added to their situation and I'd love even more if Roman Reigns would step up his game on the microphone and emote some sort of passionate counter to all of Wyatt's verbal bombs; Double R's failure to deliver a memorable promo has stripped away a lot of the enthusiasm that I once held for this feud.

Aside from those three Hell in a Cell scenarios for the PPV, I have very high expectations for the Sasha Banks vs. Bayley Iron Woman Match next week. I caution us all to be realistic, though; that's a difficult gimmick to work and will be what I'd consider the greatest challenge for females in WWE over the last decade. If they can maximize their potential, Banks and Bayley could yet again earn Match of the Month. And, is it just me, or is The Boss the frontrunner for NXT Superstar of the Year?


"The Doc Says" podcast can be found on iTunes or by clicking here for the latest episode of my special All-Time WWE PPV Countdown with Mizfan (of Global Impact: The Revolution).