Brothers of Discussion – Multi-Person Match of the Year
By Matthew Klink (@klinkmatt)
December 28, 2018
The Brothers of Discussion are awarding a few different “Match of the Year Awards.” We’re awarding a Multi-Person Match of the Year award, which takes into consideration Royal Rumbles, Money in the Bank, Elimination Chamber, Triple Threats, Fatal Four-Ways.
Mostly, it’s an opportunity to acknowledge all of these great matches that will (honestly) never measure up to the beauty of a one-on-one contest.
We are also awarding a Weekday Match of the Year. This is an award that can’t be won on a Pay-Per-View or a TakeOver event. These are usually a surprise when they happen, but we do get quite a few contenders with 52 weeks of programming.
We’ll also be awarding an NXT Match of the Year. This is important because there is a unique atmosphere and distinct vibe at NXT shows that RAW, SmackDown Live and Pay-Per-View will never be able to live up to.
Main Roster Match of the Year is also an important distinction, due to the differences in direction and programming. This includes every match on the main roster. There are no qualifiers. If you did it on RAW, SmackDown Live, 205 Live, or a Pay-Per-View then you can win this award.
With that, let’s get down to it!
Multi-Person Match of the Year
There’s always been one match that I would never miss. No matter how bogged down my life got, how far away I got from pro wrestling, or how frustrated I’ve been with the product. No matter what was going on with my life, I will never miss the Royal Rumble.
The Rumble is such a perfect idea. It helps the business get its main event in order (regardless of the past year’s outcomes). It creates mid-card feuds. It gives us more surprises than a wrestling match should be able to deliver. The fans get to make this particular connection every couple of minutes when we all demonstrate that we can count.
And then there’s all of the speculation and possibilities that come from this single match. So much so, that is dwarfs the same options in every other match over the entire year. As someone who broadcasts on a weekly basis, its wrestling gold.
AND WE GOT TWO OF THOSE MATCHES IN 2018! And we will continue to get two Royal Rumbles…every year…forever!
So it only makes sense, that with two opportunities to make memories and find number one contenders in the male and female divisions and double the chance of having a fantastic Royal Rumble…that we would have one of the greatest Royal Rumbles of all time!
That’s right! And if it was one of the greatest of all time, it surely had to be considered for Multi-Person Match of the Year, right?
The inaugural Multi-Person Match of the Year is the 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble.
The Surprises
As I mentioned, the Rumble is known for their surprises, but the WWE finally focused their shocks on pro wrestling instead of nostalgia.
The inclusion of Andrade “Cien” Almas and Adam Cole in this Rumble was excellent for two reasons: 1. They both deserved it. 2. Now we know that ANYONE is a possibility for being an entrant. Going into the 2019 Royal Rumble, could we see the Dream? The greatest Sports Entertainer of All Time? The One and Only?
God, I hope so.
If anything, it’s a whole new way for the wrestling community to connect in this match and to show our appreciation for GREAT PRO WRESTLING!
Oh yeah…and Rey Mysterio was there…
Four Faces in Final Four
For the first time in a while, the WWE placed four certain face characters into the final 4 of the Royal Rumble. Finn Balor, John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Shinsuke Nakamura. Sure, the “You Both Suck” chants, for Reigns and Cena, drew a clear line for who the fans preferred, but this was a race for top face.
And don’t get me started with how devastating a victory for John Cena or Roman Reigns would have felt. We here at Brothers of Discussion HQ do not hate either of these men. But the Royal Rumble is not the place for these two to shine. The last time the Rumble was in Philly was a clear indication of such.
But even in their inclusion, the rub to Finn Balor and Nakamura was in motion. Also if these two were eliminated, it would only serve the ongoing storylines of how unbeatable Cena and Reigns are, when it comes to getting that central spotlight. Storyline wise, it would make sense.
That being said, Finn Balor was the first to be knocked out, and it was done by Mr. Cena.
A beautiful choice, when you think about it. How many times had Cena been placed as a tag partner with the likes of Balor (an Uber fan-favorite) only to be booed mercilessly anyways? Roman doing it would have heard the long-game of the “Pro Roman Agenda.” And Naks needn’t absorb any ire from the WWE Universe. While it was a minor detail, I applaud the writers for getting this elimination correct.
Nakamura vs. Cena and Reigns
You might think I wrote that title incorrectly, but the odds have never been more stacked against a fan favorite. It really did feel like it was Nakamura vs. the World. Cena and Reigns represented (at the time) everything wrong with the WWE and their booking tendencies. Nakamura (at the time) served a hopeful change to a more progressive trend.
But therein lies the beauty of this match. The groan-inducing possibilities are coming from he fact that we feel the WWE is so far removed from what works. Removed from what the fans want. Removed from the right way to book a match…so the fans actually cheer at the end.
For us as Wrestling fans, this “final-three” couldn’t have been more poetic, terrifying, or redeeming. The final three was an accidental mirror of what the WWE had pulled when Roman won in Philly in 2015. Roman Reigns vs. the Big Show and Kane. The corporate agenda was looking to make their stamp on pro wrestling and we were supposed to believe that Roman was the protagonist.
The storyline backfired, back in 2015, because we could all see right through it, but it was accidentally resurrected in 2018. While Roman and Cena aren’t direct representatives of evil, they are a clear representation of who the WWE wants as their poster-boys. With that choice comes an inherent need for the fans to go against big business. Might not be right. Might not be wrong. But we will do nonetheless.
And with all of that being said…Nakamura toppled the established forbearers of WWE’s Top-Guys.
Nakamura Wins
Nakamura winning was everything to the WWE Universe (at the time). Nakamura was one of our guys. We chose to love, despite what we were told to do or directed to root for.
He lasted for 45 minutes in that match and took Attitude Adjustments, Spears, RKO’s…AND STILL! He stood tall. Everything about the ins and outs of this match, to the trained eye, told a story of how our beloved hero would get close, but eventually would lose. To give us the win, with all of the usual hints and nods of his demise, made this truly special.
I wrote an article in February about how this could be a sign for change in the WWE. Asuka won that night too. If anything, this was an indication of the WWE learning from their past mistakes and wanting to correct them.
While everything didn’t go according to plan, the small steps are appreciated.
Nakamura seems to be headed out the door. I hope the WWE Universe never forgets this fantastic night and this great match. I know I’ve watched it enough in the past 12 months that I could pretty much retell the entire thing from start to finish. But I also know it’ll be a great match to come back to, year after year after year.
