Thursday, December 8, 2016

Fave Five 11/28/16-12/4/16

1) AJ Styles: Man, that was one eventful week. So much so that people like Sasha Banks (third Women's Title win), Marty Scurll (retained the ROH TV Title in a strong match), Rosemary (captured the TNA Knockouts Title) and several others missed out. In the end, I went with AJ Styles as the number one pick. He retained the most important title in all of wrestling in the main event of TLC. Not only that but it was another in a string of great matches for Styles. Seriously, his worst PPV matches this year have been the really good ones with Chris Jericho. That says something. Sure he had help from James Ellsworth but at the end of the day, AJ Styles added another notch to his "Wrestler of the Year" belt.

2) Alexa Bliss: There were a fair amount of firsts this week and Alexa Bliss is at the very top of that list. In a move that came as a surprise to many, Alexa Bliss captured her first ever championship by defeating Becky Lynch in a tables match at TLC. I would have kept the title on Becky for a bit longer but Alexa has been one of the best post-draft stars. She has delivered since her callup and deserves the title. The match itself proved to be better than a lot of tables matches and both women performed in a big moment. Alexa should be near the top of the women's division for a long time.

3) Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton: Speaking of people winning their first ever titles, we have Bray Wyatt. It's kind of mind boggling that he hadn't before this. Bray and Randy Orton defeated Heath Slater and Rhyno to become the second ever Smackdown Tag Team Champions. For a long time, Wyatt and Orton were incredibly stale but this has rejuvenated both men. Orton didn't even have to change his look or mannerisms but this new role feels so fresh. It is remarkably refreshing and another home run hit by the blue brand. They make things work that otherwise shouldn't. It's also really cool that Luke Harper seems to also be a champion under the freebird rule.

4) Kyle O'Reilly: It was yet another first ever title win this week at Ring of Honor's Final Battle Pay-Per-View. Kyle O'Reilly defeated former tag team partner and rival Adam Cole to win the ROH World Title. The match itself was quite lackluster to me (their Final Battle 2015 and Supercard of Honor matches were much better) and Kyle's victory was unfortunately met with a lukewarm reaction. It was another in a long line of moments where ROH made the title change too late (see McGuinness, Nigel and Black, Tyler for example). Kyle should have dethroned Jay Lethal earlier this year and Cole didn't exactly need a second reign. Still, props to O'Reilly for the arguably the biggest win of his career.

5) Rich Swann: Rich Swann defeated The Brian Kendrick in the main event of the debut episode of 205Live to win the Cruiserweight Championship.