Top 15 Superstars of May
15) Prime Time Players
Kicking off this month's top fifteen superstars of the month is the first tag team to feature in the list, the Prime Time Players. Over the past year I haven't spoken all that much about the Prime Time Players both here on my blog and on twitter and that's mainly because I haven't really had anything to say about them to be totally honest because they haven't been up to that much at all. Last year Darren Young was out of action for quite some time due to an injury and Titus fell into the background massively because there was simply nothing going for him. However, when Young returned to action the little feud between the two before he left was all gone and out of the window and it was time for them to start a fresh. The WWE spent months building them with little promos they would show on the titron throughout weekly RAW and Smackdown shows and it worked greatly. They come across extremely funny and entertaining and it did draw a lot of attention to them. They would then start working some basic tag team matches on Superstars and Main Event and once again it was a great way to build them up and the matches weren't all that bad at all and I did find myself enjoying some of the matches they put on. It became clear very early on that they had great chemistry and worked amazingly well together. Young and O'Neil spent a great deal of time improving and you could literally see the improvements week after week. They would then be announced as one of six teams to compete in the first ever tag team elimination chamber match. On the night they were announced they cleared the ring, being left the last tag team standing on the night. Then on the last night of the month at the Elimination Chamber network special they were the last tag team to be eliminated after facing off with the New Day for the tag team championships. They had a stand out performance on the night and things are only looking to be going up for the prime time players as they remain in the tag team championship picture heading into June.
14) Becky Lynch
Up next at number fourteen this month is NXT Diva, Becky Lynch. This month we saw Becky Lynch become as a star as she proved she is not here to fill spot she's here to take over. At the start of the month we saw her build momentum ad popularity as she took on Bayley and former NXT Women's champion Charlotte in a triple threat match to become the number one contender for Sasha Banks NXT Women's championship. Becky was facing two of the biggest female names in NXT history, two women who have had an amazing career so far in NXT and have proven to be two of the best of the best in the NXT Women's division. She went into this match as the underdog and the one viewed as the weakest of the three but left surprising us all by getting a sneaky pin fall victory over Charlotte to earn a shot at the title. Upon becoming the number one contender she spent a couple of weeks gaining more momentum picking up various wins and cutting some solid promos. A week before the NXT Takeover Unstoppable show NXT held a contract signing for the title match set to take place and this was the night Becky upped her game on the mic and made us all believe she was worthy of a championship match and sold her match perfectly. She would also be the last diva standing on the night when she forced Sasha Banks to tap out. We then of course had the actual match. You will all know by now that this was voted as my match of the month ( I will link that blog post bellow so you can check that out) as these girls put on one of the best if not the best women's match I have ever seen come out of WWE product. Becky was a huge stand of not just the match but the night and despite not winning it and becoming the NXT Women's championship it was Lynch who we were all talking about come the end of the night and she let the arena with a standing ovation and the crowd singing her entrance song as she left the arena. I have never ever seen a diva get that kind of reaction before and she more than deserved. This month Becky Lynch became a star & one of the best divas around.
13) EC3
At number thirteen this month is TNA star EC3. Over the past couple of months I have mentioned on a several separate occasions that I'm an Ethan Carter fan. I was never he's biggest supporter when he was working with the WWE but since arriving in Impact I have been drawn to him massively and he has been a top top stand out throughout he's run in TNA, getting better and better as the time has gone on. The month of May saw Ethan Carter kick start a feud with an all time favourite of mine in Mr Anderson. Carter also started a campaign "EC3 For champion" with new political driven gimmick that he has been working perfectly. It has pushed him even more as a heel and has been a clever way to keep him interesting and a hot topic. He's work with Mr Anderson has gone down well with me and they have had a couple of great matches that have continued to have Carter on top. I still think there is plenty more left to do with EC3 and the next month will be very interesting for him.
12) Roman Reigns
Up next and in at number twelve this month is Roman Reigns. The month of May saw Roman take a little seat back as the WWE switched things up and put Dean Ambrose in the spotlight for a change. But falling back a little did Roman nothing but good and he has remained one of the top names on the main roster and is still main eventing and having huge booking. We have seen a lot of tag team work between Reigns and Ambrose and then of course we had Payback were we saw Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins competed in a fatal four way for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Now, I'm gonna be completely honest and say that this was by far one of the best fatal four way matches I have ever seen and you guys all know that I'm not the biggest fan of triple threat and fatal four way matches but I really really did enjoy this one. There was so much action going on right from the very start to the very end and you can see what else I had to say about this championship match in my top twenty matches of May which will be linked bellow at the end. In this match Roman did a great job yet again. He knew he's place in the match and he made sure that everyone had their eyes on him. He was an early stand out and throughout the match he told a story and kept himself interesting and relevant. The following day in my Review and Reactions post I had nothing but positive things to say about him. He was dominate figure in the fatal four way and he picked up a lot of respect from the WWE universe on that night. We've also seen him pull out a thew more moves in the ring, making himself comfortable with going over the top rope. He's getting cleaner in the ring and he's mic work is proving greatly as he really has started to settle into he's character more. He's gained a heck of a lot of respect from the fans and I predict an even bigger June for him.
11) Sheamus
In at number eleven this month is last months number two spot, Sheamus. I know, it's a big drop for my favourite ginger in the world but I do think that number eleven is a comfortable spot for him. He's continued to gain momentum and has remained as a top heel on the roster. I haven't enjoyed some of the booking decisions made for him this month. I haven't been all that sure that they have done enough for him but that being said he has been on out TV screens on a weekly basis and he is getting the build up he needs. He's had some strong matches throughout May and some really strong all round performances. At Payback he had a great match against Dolph Ziggler. I thought this was a hue turning point in Sheamus' return. It was here he proved just how barbaric and ruthless he really is and it was on this night that he showed me and the rest of the WWE universe that he is one to seriously watch out for over the next couple of months. Another match I really enjoyed from him was against Ryback only a couple of weeks ago. I was not expecting to enjoy this one at all but I did get into it a heck of a lot and had nothing but good things to say about it once again. At the Elimination Chamber he had another strong performance. This was by far he's best Elimination Chamber performance to date. He doesn't have a good history with this pay per view what so ever but he turnt it around last Sunday. The former world champion brought so much character to the match and even though I would of liked to have seen more from him he did a great job with what we did see. He also had a solid match against Dean Ambrose on an episode of Smackdown. We've had some great segments and promos from Sheamus as well throughout May and with more involvement with the Authority and a feud with Randy Orton around the corner, I say keep a very very close eye on Sheamus.
10) Cesaro
This month it's Cesaro who kicks off the top ten superstars of the month. We may have recently seen Kidd and Cesaro drop the Tag team titles to the New Day but they have not faded into the back ground what so ever, Cesaro in particular and when I was writing out my top fifteen list it was Cesaro who's name kept popping up and who I found myself talking about all the time in previous blog post over the past month. You guys all know by now that I'm the biggest Cesaro fan and over the past year he has just been one of the top guys in my eyes and someone who I have been hooked on one hundred per cent. Throughout May we have once again seen Cesaro take control and remain as a superstar we can't stop talking about. This month we have seen him work as a baby face and what an amazing job he has been doing. I spent a very long time saying that Cesaro needs to start working as a face and the WWE really did take their time in turning him but now that they finally have they proved me right all along. He has such a great, strong connection with the WWE universe and he's run so far as a baby face has proven that and brought that out so much. He's continues to amaze me in the ring and he's performance at the Elimination Chamber is the main reason he is in this months top fifteen list. Will he stay in the list next month? We will just have to wait and see.
9) Seth Rollins
Our WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins is up next at number nine. The good news is that he has made he's way up the list this month. In April I had him in at number ten and I didn't have many positive things to say about him, but this month things have changed quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm still waiting to see a more barbaric ruthless side to him that we have seen in the past but we haven't seen in quite some time. This past month we have seen more of that side of him witch is the main reason he is back in the top ten. He's still using J&J Security and the Authority to he's advantage greatly but we have seen much more just him and he has had some phenomenal matches throughout the month of May. We have seen a full on feud between him and Dean Ambrose re-start this month which to be honest let's admit it, we have all been loving. I've always enjoyed watching these two face off against one another since their FCW days so this has been great for me as a fan of both these superstars and their work together. This month they have stepped in the ring against one another on several separate occasions, including both singles and tag team action. Rollins may have picked up a couple of losses but they mean next to nothing because of just how strong the actual matches have been. At Payback he had a huge title defence in a fatal four way against Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, and Dean Ambrose, where he retained the title after yet another outstanding performance. At the Elimination Chamber pay per view only this past Sunday he yet again stole the show having another awesome title match. He's cut some great promos and been in some strong segments this month too all contributing to him being this months number nine spot.
8) Alexa Bliss
Up next and in at number eight is another NXT Diva as Alexa Bliss makes her first appearance in my top fifteen of the month and she more than deserves to be so high in the list. May was a huge month for Alexa as she really did make her mark in NXT. Competing in strong singles matches in picking some solid victories on her way she became someone we were all talking about but when the next NXT Special rolled around, NXT Takeover Unstoppable we were all talking about her for a whole set of new reasons. We had seen some backstage segments between Alexa and the NXT Tag team champions, Buddy Murpthy and Wesley Blake but at Takeover she made a huge statement when she came out attacking Carmella and then moving her sights on Enzo Amore. The closing moments saw Bliss push Amore off the top rope causing him and Cas to loose the match and Murpthy and Blake to retain the titles. The heel move was a big step in Alexa's career. I wrote a blog post last year about Alexa turning heel and I'm so glad they have done it. I think creatively there is so much for her as a heel and we really are going to start seeing more and more of he and what she is capable of. The following week after Takeover she made another huge statement when she came to the ring with Blake and Murpthy and after their match hit the sparkle splash on one of their opponents. So far she has made a strong, convincing heel and her partnership with the tag team champions works amazingly well. With added back stage segments and interviews, Alexa has made her way into the top ten in this months top fifteen superstars of the month. Can she stay there in June?
7) Rusev
In a number seven this month is a current favourite of mine, Rusev. Over the past thew months I have been speaking extremely highly of the former United States champion. I may not have been the biggest fan of the actual feud between him and John Cena but I really really enjoyed their matches and in the month of May we saw the best match of the feud take place at the two thousand and fifteen Payback pay per view. I will admit, I didn't have the highest of expectations for this match up. Going into it, I predicted it to be a fairly short match in comparison to their previous ones and I wasn't all that sure if a fourth straight match in their feud would have worked. But it seriously did and they had the longest match of the feud and by far the best. I really enjoyed this one and it was out highly in my top twenty matches of the month post witch will be linked bellow of course. Rusev completely stole the match and show on the night and he left the pay per view with everyone having a whole new level of respect for him. He proved him self massively that night. Rusev is not a superstar we should be over looking. He's on hundred per cent got a bright future head of him, with in ring skills like that the WWE cannot afford to fail him at all. This month we have also seen some amazing work between him and Lana, where he has been owning it on the mic. Anyone that says Rusev can't speak and needs Lana to talk for him is insane because he's come across so convincing and so strong on the mic this month. He has grabbed my attention every single week and he may be out on injury at the moment but he still has a long, strong year ahead of him.
6) Lana
At number six this month and making her first ever solo appearance in my top fifteen superstars of the month post is Lana. Let's be honest, there was no way I was going to be able to write this list this month and not add Lana into it. Throughout May I wanted to try something new and I started writing my stand outs list, so at the end of each show I would write down who my stand outs where for that particular show and almost every single week this month Lana's name was popping up. At the start of May we began to really see more of her and her role became much much bigger and much more important. We saw cracks begin to show between her and Rusev as she began to relish in the attention she was getting from the crowd which of course Rusev hated. Then at the Payback pay per view she remained at ringside watching the "I quit" match between Cena and Rusev and the closing moments of the match saw Lana tell the referee that Rusev had said he quit in Russian, adding even more attention to her and generating even more heat between her and Rusev. The following night we saw the split between her and Rusev and that's when we started seeing her involvement with Dolph Ziggler. The scene's with Ziggler kept her centre of attention and everyone talking about her and when there was the official big split between her and Rusev she was again thrown into the spotlight. At Elimination Chamber she did a Q&A on the kick off show. There have been many rumours this month on big plans for Lana so in the next month or two we can really expect to see them come to life.
5) Eric Young
We're almost near the end of this months top fifteen and we reach the number five spot we have another TNA star gracing the list. You guys all know by now that I'm really not the biggest Eric Young fan at all but once again he has had yet another huge month. He's feud with Kurt Angle has continued throughout May and we have had some strong matches come from it. We have also seen him make small alliances with the Beat Down Clan which I have also really enjoyed seeing. I think if you love him or hate him you still cannot deny that he makes a fantastic heel. He's so comfortable in he's role and he's so convincing. He's had some great mic work as well this month, all contributing to him being this month's number five holder.
4) New Day
Up next and in at number four this month is my current favourite tag team on the WWE main roster, the New Day. Just like last month these guys have been owning it and have gotten better and better as the weeks have gone by. Their booking has been so so strong and they have made such a major impact on the roster and in the tag division. They remain a solid, ruthless, entertaining, heel tag team and I do still think they are one of the best heels around right now. They have been working closely with the Authority which has only worked in their favour, pushing them even more as heels and reinforcing their importance in the WWE. They have had some strong singles and tag team matches with clever tactics to remain champions. Their tag team match against Kidd and Cesaro at Payback was one of my favourites of the night and of the month. I thought the ending was very clever and very well done. Once again it really pushed them as heels and through the attention right back at them again. They have strong performance after strong performance with Big E being the all round stand out of the group in my opinion. They have also had some amazing backstage interviews, promos and segments that really grabbed my attention this past month. We then have the Elimination Chamber were all three superstars competed in the chamber match to defend their tag team titles which to be honest I'm still not sure was a good idea or not but I did enjoy it so they did something right. Throughout the match, even when they weren't actually wrestling, they made sure all eyes where on them and they brought so much character and entertainment to the match. They remained stand outs from the moment they entered the chamber to moment they left and what a massive title defence they had and they still managed to walk out the tag team champions. The fact they are having more involvement with the Authority and Kofi is in the Money in the bank ladder match, I say that we all keep a very close eye on the New Day.
3) The Dollhouse
In at number three this month is another faction and it's also the last TNA entrant for this month's top fifteen superstars of the month. I'm of course talking about the Dollhouse. I mentioned in last months top fifteen that I love the idea of the Dollhouse faction. I think it was a seriously clever idea and the knockouts chosen for the role were perfect. This past month they have been owning the Knockouts division, and I honestly have been loving seeing Taryn work as a heel. She's doing such a great job an the Dollhouse faction was a really clever way in keeping the knockouts title around her waist. The storyline's have been strong, the mic work has been strong, the matches have been strong. All three girls work really well together and make convincing heels. Their chemistry still needs some work but for not being together all that long at all I can't really fault them and moan about them all that much. Taryn in particular has had some strong singles matches and title defences. Her one on one against Brooke actually made my top twenty matches of the month and you can see what I wrote about that in that post which will be linked bellow. There was also the three on two handicap match between Gail Kim and Awesome Kong and the Dollhouse. Once again, this match made my top twenty of the month. It was yet another dominate performance from the Dollhouse. I'm loving the direction this is going in and I'm loving what their doing with Taryn. Where they continue to go with her next will be very very interesting.
2) Dean Ambrose
Up next and at number two, just missing out on the number one spot this month is Dean Ambrose. You have no idea how good it feels to finally be able to put Ambrose back in my top ten and to be able to have him so high in the list. This month, when it comes to the main roster and the main event picture it's been all about Dean Ambrose and I could not be any happier. The WWE have finally put all the attention on him and with Roman Reigns taking a little seat back for a thew weeks it really did allow Ambrose to take centre stage and get that push that we have all been waiting for and he has more than deserved it. He spent months working he's ass off and building himself up and he is finally getting the attention he deserves. At the start of the month we saw him pick up two straight victories over the WWE World Heavyweight champion, both of them being outstanding matches, both making it into my top twenty matches of the month. Then at the Payback pay per view after earning he's place in the main event he took on Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight championship in one monster of a main event. Once again, that match made my top twenty of the month and what a strong performance Ambrose put on. He was the fan favourite of the night and he was the stand out the match and pay per view as a whole. Despite not winning the fatal four way he didn't fade into the background at all, in fact it was the complete opposite. With Randy Orton taking a couple of weeks off and Roman taking a seat back he continued he's feud with the Authority and Seth Rollins. He spent the best of two weeks getting under the skin of the Authority and pushing their buttons, demanding a one on one championship match he basically held the Authority hostage, threatening them to give him a title match and it worked. At the Elimination Chamber he went one on one with Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This was just another phenomenal match between these two. Their chemistry was so strong and neither one of them stood out more than the other. Ambrose had another dominate, strong performance and after pinning Seth Rollins we were allowed at least a minuet or two of happiness when we all thought he had become the new WWE World Heavyweight champion. Now the match might have been reversed to a DQ ending but we were all left talking about the lunatic fringe by the end of the night. He started the month on top and ended it on top making him May's number two holder.
1) Kevin Owens
And finally, this month's superstar of the month is none other than the one and only, Kevin Owens. This will come to no surprise to you all, when we look back at the month of May there really was only one stand out. When I was going back over all my notes the name Kevin Owens was popping up all the time. Week after week I had him down as my stand of the night. He's someone that it didn't matter if we were watching RAW, Smackdown, or NXT we were still hearing the name Kevin Owens. At the start of the month we saw him compete weekly on NXT, where he cut strong promos and was involved in great segments, selling he's Takeover match perfectly. Then when NXT Takeover Unstoppable did role around he put on another solid main event where he proved yet again that he is one of the most dominate forces in NXT and WWE history. He had a huge title defence and once again left an injured Sami Zayn laying in the arena. He also kick started a new feud on the same night against Samoa Joe and you guys all know that I marked out like crazy on this night at this very moment. Now, NXT Takeover wasn't just where Owens made an impact this month, as he made he's RAW debut, answering John Cena's open challenge for the United States Championship. However, when he arrived Owens did classic Owens and made sure that everyone knew he was not a Cena fan and things were not going to go the way the fifteen time world champion thought they would. He told Cena that he was not a rookie and that he had been wrestling longer than he had. He also told him that they would fight but it would be on he's terms. From then the WWE spent two weeks building up a big feud between the face of NXT and the face of the WWE main roster. It very quickly became my favourite feud going and I was very very vocal about that. At Elimination chamber they had one of the best matches I have seen all year round and one that no one has stopped talking about since it took place. Owens dominated most of the match and owned the entire show. In the end he picked up a huge, surprising win over the fifteen time world champion and delivered an outstanding, phenomenal promo at the end making a huge statement. I think this was by far the best debut match I have ever seen and it was a huge statement from the WWE. Not many people can say the defeated the fifteen time world champion and face of the WWE, John Cena in their first match. May was by far the month of Kevin Owens and I predicted an even bigger June for him.
So that's it for another month! Let me know who your superstar of the month has been by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.
Top 20 Matches of May part 2
Comments
Post a Comment