[2015-12-13-WWE-TLC] Sheamus vs Roman Reigns

[SAMS]

TLC 2015 - Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns - WWE Title TLC Match

 

For a match that I've yet to hear any real hype for, this match came out of nowhere and really blew me away. Right off the bat Reigns just tattoos Sheamus with a right to the face and it never lets up from there. I don't expect much in terms of layered psychology from a TLC match but at the least I appreciate when the work is rooted in some form of logic, and the logic here is that both guys were going to beat the tar out of each other. I don't think they attempted to climb the ladder until at least the mid-way point, and that wasn't because they were too busy setting up cute table spots on the outside.

Tag team ladder/TLC matches almost always seem to come off better their singles counterparts, however due to neither guy being a high flier, they did away with the usual set-pieces and the match is so much better for it - highlighting Sheamus and Reigns' strengths, which both include having a bevy of stuff that looks effective.

They brawl down the aisle and Sheamus gets flung across a table covered in chairs before going for the ride a second time, crashing through the tables set up near the entrance. There is something aberrant in seeing a guy of Sheamus' size being tossed around, and Reigns channeling his most arrogant side, dumping chairs on a prone Sheamus, just makes it all the better.

 

For brevity the list of notable moments that follow are:

- Sheamus suplexing Reigns through a table in the aisle

- Roman deadlift powerbombing Sheamus onto a ladder

- A Superman Punch variant off the steps - just with Reigns holding a goddamn chair

- A Samoan Drop off the apron through a ladder

- White Noise off the steps through a table!!!

 

The finish with the League of Nations interfering was a major blight on the match, and seems only to have been included to allow the rematch the following night where Roman decks Vince, which we all know did wonders to get Roman over., but anybody who reveres the Brock/Roman match from Mania ought to give this a (re)watch because, booking aside, there's not many matches from this company that so thoroughly entertained me from bell to bell and incorporated this level of violence.

 

This match has firmly entrenched itself as my no. 5 WWE MOTY behind the aforementioned Mania main event, the two Bayley/Sasha matches from NXT, and Roman and Bryan from Fastlane.

 

EXCELLENT (4.25-4.75*)

[FMKK]

Randomly watched this because I missed it at the time. This made me remember why I hate smark crowds. Two of the best, most consistent workers in the company beat the living shit out of each other in a big gimmick match and sections of the crowd are trying to get themselves over chanting for Cena, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, NXT etc. That they hate Reigns is well known and the arguments are played out but what exactly is the reason for smarks hating Sheamus? And imagine being the tragic dork who chants ECW at a table spot in 2015.

 

Anyway, I digress. This was an awesome wrestling match. Fought like a real nasty street fight rather than with loads of climbing attempts, I love how viciously both men throw strikes. I also love how Reigns ragdolls when he's beaten down. Some nasty, nasty bumps here - particularly a Samoan drop through a ladder, a White Noise through a table and Sheamus just being pelted into a pile of stacked furniture on the ramp. The superman punch spot at the end was awesome too. Reigns should have won after that instead of the interference BS. When they were actually teasing finishes at the end, the kids at ringside were super into it. Can they just make up the crowds please? I wish Reigns worked in a different era because he has put in some incredible babyface working performances, poor booking aside. The work deserves a better crowd.

 

****1/4

[DMJ]

Excerpt from my blog, posted within a week or so the of the match....

 

 

I'll be the first to admit that I headed into this match without the highest of expectations. I'm not a big Reigns fan and I'm even less of a Sheamus fan (in fact, some of the internet love for the guy in 2012-2013 irked me a bit because, to me, as good as he may have been in his SmackDown workhorse days, the character wasn't interesting). On this night, though, these two made a believer out of me. The match began with near-deafening chants of "We Want Cena," but Sheamus and Reigns stuck to their game plan and hit each other with stiff shot after stiff shot (many with chairs in hands). The first big spot came when Reigns back body dropped Sheamus over the barricade and Sheamus, an absolute pro, took it without hesitation or any attempt at protecting himself. Despite continuing chants of "Seth Rollins," "Daniel Bryan," and "NXT," Reigns and Sheamus stubbornly stuck to a slow, methodical pace, allowing each big change in momentum time to breathe. As the match wore on, the fans' ire weakened, especially after they witnessed Reigns toss Sheamus through a huge display of ladders and chairs, the Celtic Warrior hit a "Holy Shit!"-inducing White Noise through a table, and Reigns returned the favor minutes later with a nasty-looking Samoan Drop through a ladder. While none of these spots were as jaw-dropping as Kalisto's spotlight maneuver in the opener, they mattered more because the characters mattered more. When Reigns hit Sheamus with a Superman Punch at the top of the ladder (causing Sheamus to fall through a nearby table), the crowd was fully behind him for the first time in...well...ever. The run-in by the League of Nations (as well as Sheamus' Brogue Kick in the closing minute) got great heel heat, further proving that these fans weren't just begrudgingly accepting Reigns, they were pissed off at watching him get screwed after what he had been put through (and what he had impressively put Sheamus through). This match proves that if you hit hard, don't cut any corners, and sacrifice, fans will respond to it. Sheamus and Reigns worked their asses off and it was almost heartwarming to see them flip a crowd from indifferent to 100% engaged. While I wouldn't call this a Match of the Year candidate, I wouldn't be surprised to see it land on a few people's shortlists. (4/5)

 

 

I'd have to double-check where it landed, but I did end up having it in my Top 10 WWE matches of 2015. Since seeing this match and writing what I wrote, my appreciation for Reigns (and Sheamus to a lesser degree) has gone up, but I might point at this specific match as the one that really won me over officially into liking Reigns' in-ring work moreso than the Lesnar match, which I (probably) wrongly accredited to other factors that minimized Reigns role.