Shield vs Wyatt Family (WWE - 2/23/2014)

Seconded.

The first trios match in WWE history that I feel made it to five stars. Some of the greatest booking the WWE has ever produced, having two dominate teams teasing but never touching until the match. The crowd was insane, and the Wyatts doing to The Shield what they have done to everybody else was a beautiful finish.

This was a great trios match from the 2014 WWE Elimination Chamber event. The crowd heat was great for this match. The top top factions in the WWE at the time delivered a 2014 Match Of The Year Candidate. Most of the moves in this match were executed with a lot of intensity.

Based on my rating, this is definitely something I should consider, but it has been four years and I think I need a refresher. I remember this being energetic and a perfect blend of the Shield formula and All Japan six-mans in how rowdy and uncooperative it was. One of my goals for my next list is to be more inclusive of the 2010s and I think it starts with matches like this one.

The Shield vs Wyatt Family - Elimination Chamber 2014


I watched this match and RAW rematch back to back and came away so thrilled about the rematch's chaos that it actually overshadowed this match initially. I went back and rewatched this one and just absolutely loved it even more when paying attention to all the little details. To me, this is the match to beat for WWE match of the year.



It is crazy to think that if they pulled the trigger on a Dean Ambrose/Bray Wyatt feud at this point, I would have lapped it up. By November, I was actively rejecting it as one of the worst things on TV. It tells you how cold the product has gotten and cooled off these two molten characters are now. Ambrose was just rocking it as the firebrand that was the trigger for the chaos. I loved when everyone was turning to go to their respective corners, Ambrose just jumped the Wyatts. The tag wrestling in this was better than in the rematch. I loved how strongly they emphasized getting their opponent into their corner. That's the Shield to exploit the numbers game, but they may have met their match in the Wyatts that will throw that strategy right in their face. Rollins opening with speed to get Rowan into the Shield corner was perfect with Rowan bowling him over to escape. It put over how much strategy mattered in this match.



Roman Reigns versus Bray Wyatt felt huge during their showdown and I loved how Reigns fought through everything. Nothing was given, he had to go through the Wyatts. The beatdwon of Harper in the corner was just classic Shield. That's tag team wrestling baby! They do a great transition where Ambrose's temper gets the best of him as he takes a swipe at Bray on the apron and eats a Harper dropkick. What follows is just badass. Ambrose bites Rowan, Harper steps on Ambrose head and claws at his face. I love it, Michael! The swinging neckbreaker transition is super weak though. Rollins was a great house of fire with great speed moves and climaxing on an excellent suicide dive that got the crowd rocking. He gets the drive by knee, but whiffs on the Curb Stomp and eats a swinging powerslam. The Bray Wyatt senton on the outside looked nasty. My favorite spot of the match was Harper had Rollins by the hair just playing with his food and Rollins slaps him in defiance and Harper slaps the taste out of his mouth. That was powerful shit.



People talk up Ambrose's fighting from underneath prowess, but Rollins should not be underestimated as he fights in the corner with great urgency only for nasty Bray headbutts to keep him at bay. This match utilized Bray better as the game changer for his team. I like the idea of him letting his heavies do the dirty work, but if ever gets out of hand, he is there to keep in check. Ambrose makes the save for Rollins and eats a hellacious big boot from Harper. Rollins hits an enziguiri to get Reigns in the match (I am not digging these transitions). Reigns is so great in these hot tag situations and not just the typical Reigns offense, there is a nasty back elbow to Rowan that keeps you on your feet. In an electric moment, Reigns is thrown outside and just runs around the ring to kick Rowan's head in. AMBROSE SWARM!!! KATIE BAR THE DOOR! There is a pier-six brawl a brewin'! Harper suicide dive and Rollins says two can play at that game. Ambrose and Wyatt tumble into the crowd and Rollins gets double chokeslammed through the table. Hey, come the monitors did not explode when they were ripper out of the announce table. After more than a year of The Shield picking their opponents off one by one, The Wyatts gave them a taste of their own medicine. Now Reigns was left alone surrounded by the Wyatts just as he surrounded so many others. Luke Harper serves a beaten Reigns to his master. I loved how Reigns blocked Sister Abigail and turned it into a test of strength. SUPERMAN PUNCH! Reigns goes for the spear on Bray, but Harper takes the bullet for his leader. In the chaos, Bray hits his wicked cross body and Sister Abigail to win.



I loved the finish. The Shield's strategy was predicated on two tenets: create chaos and divide and conquer. The Wyatts took out two members of the Shield leaving Reigns alone and then in the chaos that ensued Bray Wyatt took advantage to win the match. The match weaknesses: the transitions were lame & uncreative and I would have liked more chippiness. They were too willing to just let one guy have his segment and that be that. The rematch thrives on that chaos and full court press by both teams. I think if you could combine the best parts of this match and the rematch, you would have all-time classic that really could rewrite how North American tag team wrestling is executed and presented. Still if anything can top this I will shocked. Cena/Lesnar had the big match atmosphere and the Bryan Wrestlemania matches will have emotion, but I don't think they can top the chaotic and violent feel of this. As is, it is still an incredible match from both an action and storytelling standpoint as the Shield essentially get beaten at their own game and the torch was seized by new three-man wrecking crew. ****3/4

I voted this #14 this year.

Into the thick of my favourite matches now. This one absolutely rules. Great atmosphere with two well-established, dominant stables colliding for the first time. All six men bring their own personalities and get to shine in their unique ways. You have the awesome big-picture story of how The Shield are ultimately beaten by the Wyatts turning their own trademark strategy against them: dividing them when the match breaks into chaos and then picking them off one by one. But there are lots of cool little subplots and moments along the way too.

Ambrose has a fun arc as his hot-headedness repeatedly gets the better of him. Creepy cult-leader Wyatt has completely got inside his head and he wrestles the whole match like he's on tilt. He jumps the gun to dive at Bray before the bell, instigating a brawl and as a neat detail after that Rollins and Reigns only tag between themselves early on, sending the message to Ambrose that he needs to pull himself together. When he does get tagged in he gets provoked by Bray on the apron, causing him to take his attention off of Harper in the ring which leads to the first heat section of the match as the Wyatts take over on him. It builds to him ultimately abandoning the Shield's teamwork mantra and battling Bray solo away from the ring and out through the crowd, and he never returns.

WWE had obviously long had big plans for Reigns and in the prior months they had really worked to establish him as a wrecking ball able to defeat multiple opponents by himself. He had triumphed as the sole survivor for his team at Survivor Series from a 5-2 man disadvantage, pinning 4 of the opposition himself, and had set a new elimination record at the Royal Rumble. And on the occasions when the Shield lost it would never be Reigns eating the pin. Here he was wisely held back for the body of the match as the Wyatts worked a heat segment first on Ambrose and then a longer one on Rollins, setting up Reigns for the hot tag. It felt like a genuine big deal when he got to lock up with Bray. And when the home stretch comes even outnumbered 3-1 there's the feeling that he's still not out of it, maybe even an expectation that this is gonna be another beat-the-odds comeback. And indeed they tease exactly that only for Harper to make a last ditch save and Reigns gets pinned clean.

Finally, a shout out to Luke Harper who is incredible and the MVP of the bout. Wyatt likes to hang back and direct traffic and Rowan isn't such a strong worker so Harper had to carry much of the workload for his team and he does so admirably. He had mastered the permanent crazed-eye look and feels absolutely believable as the henchman for an evil swamp cult. His offense is suitably low-fi and nasty: stiff uppercuts and kicks punctuated with him simply clawing at his opponents' eyes and face at times. At one point he has JBL marking out like a kid on commentary over a big boot that completely smokes Ambrose. At another point, Seth slaps him in the face and Harper just immediately swats him down with the most dismissive slap of his own. He also nails a tricky piece of timing on the finish. He's the star of a great match.

I saw this once years ago. I know some folks are super high on it. I think I should give it a go.

Y’all aren’t alone. Sleeze loves this match. I just never put it on.