[2014-06-01-WWE-Payback] John Cena vs Bray Wyatt (Last Man Standing)

[Superstar Sleeze]

John Cena vs Bray Wyatt - WWE Payback 2014 Last Man Standing

I would say my favorite trend of 2014 was each PPV having an overbooked, entertaining clusterfuck on the show. It spices the show up and allows more intersection between different characters and ties the matches, angles and character motivations together better due to the booking to be very limited. Unlike the Attitude Era, these matches do not feel as overexposed and the wrestling surrounding the hijinx is better than in that era. That being said while I find these matches entertaining they fall more in the Summer Blockbuster category than Oscar-winning performances. A perfect example of this which is Cena vs Wyatt Last Man Standing, which has made multiple Top WWE Matches of 2014 list.

To me this match begins and ends with Cena hurling those steel steps right into Wyatt's face. I mean he fucking nailed him. First time, I watched it, I was convinced that was the finish and when it was not, I knew they never could top it and the match would feel anticlimatic. Instead, Wyatt just hits Sister Abigail in the next spot. It is fun, but the spots and transitions are arbitrary and capricious. It is violent, but you do not feel the visceral hatred. The beginning of the match is a rushed version of their typical match. Cena feeds Wyatt a ton of great cutoff spots to show off his explosive transitions. They trade finishers and the Wyatts and Usos brawl for a bit. It all feels very perfunctory. This when that hatred would come in handy to really build interest instead they are resting on Cena's presence, which always ignites a thunderous reaction rather the story they are telling in the ring. Cena uses the chair and writes it off as it is legal so now Cena is not in a moral quandary. I was never buying all that anyways. This when the counters were flying and just hitting spots. The Usos and Wyatts have a really fun little street fight on the outside which ends up with everyone going through tables. They have one last holy shit bump which is Wyatt's cross body through the barricade, which was pretty cool. Cena then just walks over to the pyro area and FUs Wyatt's ass through a box and then tips over a heavy box to win. The steel steps should have been the finish.

It is a fun Summer Blockbuster that I will forget tomorrow save for the steel steps. There was no real substance it was just instant gratification. I have no problem with that, but this is definitely overhyped in my opinion. On top of that, there was so much action movie violence rather than that gritty violence you would see in street fights of yore that really made this feel very much like exhibition. The best stuff to come out of a shitty feud, but not real worth going out of your way to see. ***1/2