Quick Thoughts on Roadblock will be up Saturday or Sunday. But with TV this week coming to an end, here’s the WWE TV Match of the Week.
This week had three matches I found to be tremendous. Neville and Owens opened up RAW with another fantastic match, and Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe had a very long but very good 2/3 Falls match that took up an entire episode of NXT.
But let’s talk about The New Day.
Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods – three dudes who took the brass ring and ran with it. They are consistently the most entertaining part of WWE today, from their in-ring promos to their backstage skits to their social media output to their in-ring nuttiness, from Xavier Woods’ trumpet solos to the epic three-man dance numbers. Sometimes they’re the only redeeming part of the show, a breath of fresh air no matter how stale or boring the show has been. They’re like Raul Julia in Street Fighter or Nicholas Cage in any movie he’s been in since 2004 (Knowing aside).
All three of these guys have had a LOT of good matches, but not a ton I’d call great. Kofi Kingston is a great hand and super athletic, but hasn’t had a ton of high-end stuff in his career. Big E has all the tools, but is still relatively new, and doesn’t always mesh with his opponents. Woods can move and meshes well with most guys on the roster, but isn’t really taken seriously enough in a WWE ring to really know how good he is.
But that’s not the point. They have really solid matches and then they make you smile and laugh and it’s the greatest thing in wrestling. And it also somehow seems culturally relevant, which for professional wrestling is something that, like, never happens. Ever.
As a team, they have a formula that typically works. They run your standard WWE-style tag match with their signature tag spots (the trumpet, the dance, etc). And it’s fun. But their promos an craziness are usually more memorable than their matches.
Then there’s the recently departed Y2AJ. I don’t know if I need to write much about Chris Jericho and AJ Styles. If you’re taking the time to read this, you probably know these guys. Jericho’s best years may be behind him, but he’s still an absolute pro with the expertise that comes with wrestling all over the world and then coming to WWE and having a near-20 year career (my God, it is nearing 20 years) of WWE main event wrestling. AJ Styles has been running around for the last 20 years as one of the most spectacular guys in wrestling, and now he’s in WWE being basically the same spectacular guy and it’s been a lot of fun to watch.
And so this is a New Day formula match. But, when they plug that formula in with two really talented guys that can surround their shtick with a fast pace, spectacular moved, and great timing, they can have something that’s really awesome. Their first tag title win against Cesaro and Tyson Kidd was an example of this.
And this match was perhaps the peak example, as it was not only the best New Day match ever but may be the best WWE tag team match since The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family at Battleground.
The New Day formula did its’ thing for the first five minutes of this match and it was a lot of fun, but then the last five minutes happen and it’s just incredible. Big E was an absolute beast here; this may’ve been the best he’s ever looked. Jericho and Styles used his strength for some spectacular spots. There were some great false finishes here too – Kofi in the Walls, Styles hitting the springboard 450 for the first time in WWE.
This was a great mix of sports entertainment and high-end wrestling. Bonus points for the sweet Chris Jericho turning on AJ Styles angle post-match.
Goodnight, sweet Y2AJ. Thank you for this match.
