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With another week of WWE television behind us, here’s the top 5 performances of the week.
WWE offers up plenty of programming over the course of a week. Even when there’s no pay per view, there’s at least seven hours of original programming. With Raw and SmackDown Live on USA, plus 205 Live and NXT on the WWE Network, it’s a lot to focus on at times.
But for those of us who can make it through the marathon, there’s usually quite a bit to keep our interest. Regardless of what some people say about the quality of programming, as far as in-ring talent goes this is one of the golden periods for WWE. Sure, storylines may be stale, boring, and ridiculous – even nonsensical – but the matches themselves are rarely terrible across the board.
To try and keep track of who stood out on a week to week basis, here at Daily DDT we’ll be taking a look at the top five performers in a given week. Since WWE is a wrestling company (despite what Vince McMahon may try and tell us), we’re going to focus on wrestling performances. After all, you can’t have a wrestling show without wrestling, right?
So, in no particular order, here is the best of the best of this past week of WWE action.
5. Andrade “Cien” Almas
Honorable mention goes to Roderick Strong here, because the two NXT superstars put on a great main event this week. However, all else being equal, the victor gets the nod.
For the past several weeks, Andrade Almas has been on absolute fire. The “losing streak” gimmick he was working earlier this years seems to have been the best thing for him. During that run of poor luck and “excessive partying,” Almas introduced the NXT Universe to Zelina Vega.
As the business manager for Almas, Vega has been invaluable. Her presence has led to Almas picking up victories in high profile matches. El Idolo defeated Johnny Gargano in a fantastic match, plus Roderick Strong this week. It’s not solely because of Vega, but she is the missing piece Almas has sorely needed since his debut, really.
The match against Strong this week was top to bottom a great affair. Giving it away on a “free” episode of television is a bit odd, but both superstars have other, more pressing rivals in line for the next TakeOver event.
After his victory here, Almas seems certain to move on to a match for the NXT Championship. Win or lose, it’s the biggest match for Almas yet in WWE/NXT. It may be too soon for Drew McIntyre to lose the title, but he and El Idolo should have a crazy good match at TakeOver: Houston.
4. Cedric Alexander
Between TLC, Raw, and 205 Live, Cedric Alexander took WWE by storm this week. He’s not the only one to have pulled a kind of triple duty this week. But over the course of three tag team matches, Cedric showed the whole WWE Universe what made him such a big part of the Cruiserweight Classic last summer.
At TLC, Alexander teamed with Rich Swann to defeat The Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher. After a quick paced affair, both Cedric and Swann utilized their speed advantage to put their opponents away for the three count – after a Lumbar Check from Cedric.
The next night on Raw, Alexander was part of a ten man tag match, teaming with Swann, Kalisto, Gran Metalik, and Mustafa Ali on Team Lucha Lucha. They defeated Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore, Drew Gulak, Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, and Noam Dar. Some high flying moves by Cedric helped spur his team on to victory.
And on 205 Live, not only did Alexander and Swann win again, but there seems to be a story brewing. With Cedric in line to pick up a victory, he was distracted by Kendrick and Gallagher on the ramp. He was able to overcome the sudden appearance of his rivals, who are noew trying to split Cedric and Swann up.
3. Becky Lynch
The Irish Lass Kicker headlined a great bunch of performers in the women’s divisions across all of WWE. Pretty much everyone on NXT was a part of the big battle royal, which was pretty good as far as battle royals are concerned. Asuka had a solid debut at TLC and follow-up on Raw, and Alicia Fox earned the right to captain the Raw squad at Survivor Series.
But Becky Lynch seemed to take things to a new level for her all week. First, she was a big part of the “siege” that Shane McMahon leveled against Kurt Angle and his roster. I know this list is supposed to be based on in-ring competition, but marching into your “rival” show and annihilating everyone in your path has to earn you bonus points.
On SmackDown Live the next night, Becky was part of a fatal five way match in which the winner would become the Blue Team captain for Survivor Series. Lynch was able to outsmart, outwork, and outlast Naomi, Tamina, and Charlotte Flair before making Carmella submit to the Dis-Arm-Her.
After watching what Becky accomplished in the fatal five way, it’s obvious making her the captain was the right choice. She’s a perfect leader for the SmackDown squad. And she’s a great counterpart to Raw captain Alicia Fox.
2. Cesaro
With the Raw roster decimated by illness, the spotlight is pretty clearly focused on The Shield, The Bar, and The Miz. After main eventing TLC, they kicked off Raw and had – again – a match worthy of being considered Match of the Night.
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But picking just one superstar out of that group seems very unfair. It’s like trying to pick the perfect can out of a six-pack – they’re all chilled to the perfect temperature, they’re all going to quench your thirst, and so on. Still, if the day is hot enough, that one particular can is going to seem like it was sent from the gods.
That was Cesaro this week. In the TLC main event, the Swiss Cyborg may have come up on the losing end of things. But he shined in the midst of a convoluted fun as all hell mess. Cesaro’s unique mix of power and speed helped him to stand out in the eight man match.
The next night on Raw, Cesaro again got to tie up with The Shield. But instead of Kurt Angle suiting up this time, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins teamed with AJ Styles. And if the prospect of the Phenomenal One throwing down with Cesaro doesn’t make you excited, you may want to consult a physician. And speaking of Styles…
1. AJ Styles
The Phenomenal One pulled triple duty this week as well, having matches at TLC, Raw, and SmackDown Live. However, Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann competed in three tag team matches, while Styles had a pair of singles matches in addition to his six man tag on Raw. And perhaps the final match was no more than a minute or so long, but a match is still a match.
To start off the week, Styles was a last minute replacement for Bray Wyatt, who had to miss the show due to illness. Wyatt was scheduled to meet The Demon side of Finn Balor, so that’s who was across the ring when Styles joined the Raw brand for what was assumed to be one night. And all the two former Bullet club leaders did was have the match of the night, which was won by Balor. It was just too sweet to watch.
The next night, we learned that Styles stuck around for Raw. Later we would learn he was basically Shane McMahon’s Trojan horse, but he got to have another match of the night when he, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins defeated The Miz and The Bar. Seeing AJ and Cesaro clash was a sight for sore eyes, as well.
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Finally, Styles made incredibly short work of Sunil Singh on SmackDown Live. Singh was doing the bidding of WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, who is in the midst of ducking AJ’s challenges for a championship match. Styles finished the week with a second victory, and found he would meet Sameer Singh next week.