All Time MOTY List HEAD to HEAD: Ki v. Rey V. Brock v. Reigns

Brock Lesnar v. Roman Reigns WWE Wrestlemania 31 3/29

ER: Man, I can't believe it took me 15 months to watch this (watched this in June), and I somehow didn't know or completely forgot how it ended. This was such a great, great match. Wow. THIS is the match you want main eventing your biggest show of the year. This match is one of those argument settlers for both men, the kind of match that few people could ever have. This is just peak performance Lesnar, showing everything he's great at: That superhuman strength combined with a godly willingness to lean deep into every strike and bump deservedly large. I really loved everything about this. People complained about the Ambrose match at this past WM, about how he looked weak and it was too one-sided. Well, Reigns came out and made SURE he wasn't going to look weak. Reigns plastered Lesnar with every damn shot, enough that I think Reigns' lightest shot in this match was better than the best Ambrose strike in his respective match. Lesnar is going to kick the shit out of you. If you don't want to look like a wimp, you're going to need to lay it in back. And boy, Reigns does. His punches, elbows, knees, it all looked great. WWE wisely capitalizes on this by giving us several awesome slo mo shots, specifically Lesnar's face getting rearranged when he runs into a knee. And the bumps taken by Reigns were just devastating. I can't imagine the toll those kind of suplexes take on a body, but the exhaustion on both men's faces was conveyed beautifully. I mean jeez that belly to belly from the apron into the ring. Good lord.

Brock has skin like flypaper so gets cuts throughout the match that add to everything. Him getting busted open after a superman punch was epic, but him taking a hardway shot to the post was just....so brutal. Brock's willingness to do crazy things to his head and body, and Reigns having no problem punching and elbowing Brock in his massive face made both guys look like killers. Brock made those superman punches look better than anybody else has, really flying into them nose first and taking bumps like Charlie Brown missing the football. Again I had forgotten/didn't know about the Rollins run-in, and that couldn't have been handled better. Being 15 months removed (and not really caring about titles) I forgot who came out of this champ, so I was on the edge of my seat wondering if Rollins was going to blow it, wondering if Brock/Reigns were going to team up, just no clue what would happen. The final sequence of Rollins getting caught in an F5, Reigns hitting the spear and Rollins curb stomping Reigns was masterfully laid out. This whole thing was just the best.

PAS: I absolutely loved 11/12ths of this. This is one of the greatest examples of pro-wrestling mimicking the atmosphere and feel of an epic boxing match or MMA battle. This was Ali v. Frazier, Newton v. Hughes, Barrera v. Morales, or Sapp v. Nogiera , two athletic behemoths throwing everything they have at each other.

The opening flurry was spectacular, with both guys colliding, Lesnar's eye coming out swollen, but Reigns body coming out broken. Then we get this totally vicious beat down by Lesnar with explosive demolition derby suplexes, and Reigns looking like a total badass fighting through the pain. I loved the smile, Reigns was destroyed but threw out a smirk, like he was happy to die like this,  felt like an action hero delivering an awesome death scene. That post shot was an awesome transition, Lesnar cut up and bleeding and getting wasted by giant punches and spears was a great Kong falling off the building moment. If the match had ended with a Reigns spear, or Lesnar catching him with an F5, it is hands down one of the greatest matches in wrestling history, but the fucking WWE can't help themselves. Instead we get another innumerable version of the Money in the Bank cash in, a spot which has been beaten to death for a decade, lame ass Seth Rollins runs out and poops all over the match. Instead of an epic sports movie climax perfectly delivered, we get some cornball shit.  I loved this, awesome performance by both guys, but the writers can't stay out of their own way

Rey v. Ki review

Verdict: 

ER: This is it for me. One of the great clash of the titans matches in wrestling history. I think both matches are pretty flawlessly executed, but big hoss will almost always win it for me.

PAS: Awesome performance from both guys, best Wrestlemania main event ever, but there was still that spit in the soup. Cut the last three minutes, it wins for sure, but Seth Rollins ruined this like it was the first hour of RAW.

2015 MOTY List