by Saule Wright
Favorite Wrestler of 2014: Dean Ambrose
This one is tough. I’ve been “Team Bray” for the bulk of 2014, but what became painfully apparent is that Bray only really works with a formidable foil. So Bray’s awesome storytelling and promo work fell amazingly short without a viable retort from people like Cena, Ambrose, Jericho, etc. I’m also not naive enough to say Bray always adds something to the match. Yes, I’m stalling.
I have to go with Ambrose. His work with The Shield was dope, and you could see that he was working out this persona, this loose cannon (a la Brian Pillman). Of the three, I think he most distinctly carved out his niche and we knew exactly who he was. His promos were equal part insane and brilliant, often riding that fine line perfectly. His matches were lessons in how to sell and his recklessness reminded me of a LOT of guys before him (Chris Benoit, Terry Funk, Pillman, to name a few). Towards the end of the year, Kreative made some questionable decisions with his booking but he was already solid by then.
Favorite PPV of 2014: NXT Takeover: R Evolution (December 11, 2014)
I will openly admit that I may be a victim of the moment as this was one of the last few events for the year, however, with only 6 matches this is an example of quality over quantity. They packed a LOT into these 2 hours. Owens debut and eventual heel turn, Graves cursing on live tV, The Lucha Dragons and Villains made me say “Ascension who?”. There was Finn transcending (at least for the night), a Divas match that didn’t suck….well, I’ll be real, that shit was pretty damn dope, and as if that wasn’t enough…the aforementioned heel turn by Owens to steal Zayn’s moment. There was nothing I disliked about this show. From the moment it started until the moment it ended.
Favorite Match of 2014: The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (Elimination Chamber)
Rarely do we get matches that match the hype. Both groups went into this match looking really strong and had been putting in some great work. I remember when they hit the ring, the tension, the crowd, this shit was HUGE. You could tell that everyone wanted to be sure they left it all in the ring, flying from everywhere. I can’t verify this, but this may have been when the #PushLuke started. It was also when it was pretty evident that Reigns was going to be shoved down our throats. It may have also been the last time we really got to see Bray be awesome.