Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Fave Five 3/23/15-3/29/15

1) Seth Rollins: I apologize for the delay, things were hectic with Mania weekend. Honestly, after WrestleMania, could there be any other choice? I was pleasantly surprised by how wise the booking was for the Brock Lesnar/Roman Reigns match but what we got was the very best possible outcome. Seth Rollins, the most consistently great performer the WWE had on the main roster in 2014, swooped in and finally cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase. He did it at the perfect time and left WrestleMania 31 with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. During the Evolution/Shield feud, he was excellent and since turning heel, he has been untouchable. The guy gave us the most interesting result of the main event and came off looking like a genius. Let's not forget that he had a damn good match with Randy Orton earlier in the show and took quite possibly the best RKO in history. Some of the results of the matches at WrestleMania left a lot to be desired and the Reigns/Lesnar match would either see the title disappear for a long time or Reigns win it when he wasn't ready. Seth Rollins is absolutely ready and to be honest, as upset as I was that Daniel Bryan didn't get the main event spot, seeing Seth leave with the belt was honestly even better. Here's to hoping Seth gets a great run with the title because he damn sure deserves it.

2) Daniel Bryan: One of the best matches at WrestleMania was the opening Intercontinental Championship match. Granted, I felt that Dean Ambrose needed this win more than anyone, but it was Daniel Bryan who captured the title. It's fitting actually since it's the only title he hasn't held and allows him to join the elusive Triple Crown group. They tried hard to make it seem like a big deal and even had legendary former IC Champions congratulate him. I feel like Bryan can be booked well with the title, hopefully on a Shinsuke Nakamura level. Regardless, it's another win in a line of successful moments for Bryan.

3) Roman Reigns/Brock Lesnar: Yea, I'm cheating with this pick and I don't care. I can't separate these two. Brock Lesnar looked like an absolute monster and Roman Reigns was booked perfectly. Instead of being in a cheesy role where he was given too much to do, he took a beating from Brock Lesnar and liked it, while also busting Brock open and hitting him hard. It was well executed and helped Reigns earn my respect at least. Plus, now he doesn't get the title and can chase it, which is even better. Both men gave it their all and deserve a ton of credit for their efforts.

4) John Cena: A guy who has won 15 World Championships is back with the US Title. And you know what? It works perfectly. Instead of putting him back in the top spotlight, guys like Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns get the chance. Meanwhile, Cena can make the United States Title a more prominent part of the show. He defeated Rusev in a solid match to win the belt. I liked their first bout at Fast Lane much more, but this was still alright. The more important thing is that Cena won and ended Rusev's year long undefeated streak, while capturing another United States Title. I'm very interested in where this is going and seeing just how important the belt becomes around Cena's waist.

5) Drew Galloway: The only non-WWE guy to make my list and he did so because he did one of the biggest things you can possibly do on the indies. Galloway holds both the Evolve and Dragon Gate Open the Freedom Gate Titles. That's not all though. During WrestleMania weekend itself, he retained the Evolve Title against PJ Black (the former Justin Gabriel), then beat Uhaa Nation in a non-title match, before completing his run by defeating Johnny Gargano to win the Open the Freedom Gate belt. Galloway became only the fifth man to hold the title since its inception in 2009, joining Gargano, BxB Hulk,Yamato and Ricochet. Life after WWE is suiting Galloway perfectly and the man is finding tons of success now.