When Covid-19 forced a worldwide lockdown in March of 2020, it seemed as if everything around was going to be temporarily put on hold. However, the WWE continued matches as if nothing had happened. The Lockdown Era.
Whilst criticized at first and their handling still being a point of scrutiny, their continuance has been an escape for many viewers. In this era, WWE still managed to put on some brilliant matches, some of which we will look at today.
Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena – WrestleMania 36
Just weeks before WrestleMania, lockdown started in the US, throwing the whole wrestling landscape into chaos. However, it soon was announced that the WWE’s biggest event of the year would indeed occur but with no fans present. Although this would negatively impact nearly all other matches as they took place in awkward silence, it greatly benefitted the match between ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt and John Cena.
Billed the ‘Firefly Funhouse match’, this was the first of many cinematic style matches of the modern era. Less of a match, this parodies WWE’s mistreatment of Cena as ‘The Fiend’ takes us on a long journey to see John’s career pan out. Unbelievably out of character for the WWE, this Wyatt takes shots at Cena’s mishandling – building off of storylines from 6 years earlier (showing that despite fan complaint, WWE can do long-term storylines).
Whether it is Wyatt showing Cena in his debut attire, in an NWO shirt to symbolize his polarising run as a face or Bray displaying Cena’s moments of grief – it was thoroughly entertaining throughout with easter eggs and references for those who have been complaining about the leader of the Cenation for years. Cena actually lost to top it all off, taking a rare pinfall to finally put Wyatt over properly. ‘The Fiend’ had accomplished his goal, furthering him as a character.
Timothy Thatcher vs. Matt Riddle – NXT, May 27
Whether it is characters like Shayna Baszler or bringing up Brock Lesnar’s UFC record, WWE has attempted to give their product a more realistic feel, especially incorporating MMA components. Case in point – the WWE’s debut of the Fight Pit match in May.
Combining elements of the lion’s den and steel cage match, Timothy Thatcher and Matt Riddle squared off, with these combatants being legit tough guys. When the lockdown struck, the short-lived yet beloved comedic team The Broserweights (Riddle and Pete Dunne) were forcibly broken up. Replacing the absent Dunne was Thatcher, who almost immediately turned on Riddle, costing them the tag titles. After Dunne got a surprise win on an episode of NXT, a more decisive match stipulation was added.
With the recently released Kurt Angle as the referee, the MMA-inspired bout added a dose of legitimacy to the feud. In the match, Riddle kayfabe kicked-out some of Tim’s teeth early on, giving us the visual of a bloody-mouthed Thatcher. In a submission-heavy encounter, Riddle eventually hit Thatcher with a knee strike knocking TT off the top onto the floor below, followed by a Floating Bro. As the match closed, the new arrival won as Thatcher forced Matt unconscious with a rear-naked choke. Ending a successful debut concept that will likely become a fixture on the brand in the future.
AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan – SmackDown, June 12
Likely unsurprising to…literally anyone who has ever seen them wrestle – AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan put on one of the greatest matches pre-Thunderdome in a bout for the Intercontinental Title in a tournament final. After Sami Zayn was stripped of the title for refusing to wrestle through a pandemic, a single eliminator tournament was set up. Prior tournament matches had been undeniably great such as Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Bryan vs. Drew Gulak; however, the final was a match of the year candidate.
With flashbacks to their other epic SmackDown bout 2 years ago, it brought memories of Bryan suddenly low-blowing Styles to win the WWE title, turning heel in the process. Now fighting for the ‘workhorse’ title, a determined Bryan fought valiantly against a despisable AJ – with Bryan fighting to win his second IC title, this time for good, which would make his return to wrestling even more feel-good. So, of course, AJ would come and rain on the Goat’s parade.
A match of technical mastery, Bryan used his strategic offense to wear down ‘The Phenomenal One’ before Styles managed to start working over the leg. Being a ring veteran for so many years, the second Daniel made a mistake; AJ exploited it managing to hit the Phenomenal Forearm before getting the pinfall on the leader of the ‘Yes!’ movement.
Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy – Clash of Champions
Despite several alterations to matches, Clash of Champions 2020 was, on the whole, a great PPV for WWE with multiple brilliant matches.
Having been stripped of the belt he never lost; upon his return Sami Zayn became a rejuvenated conspiracy victim, fighting for justice. Trying to win back his IC title, he challenged then-champion Jeff Hardy and previous titleholder AJ Styles to a 3-way ladder match.
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With Hardy having such a legacy with ladders, Zayn being one of the most underappreciated wrestlers in the company, and Styles being deceptively athletic, it was a spot-fest for the ages. With all men enduring a great deal of pain throughout – it gave us what may be one of the most memorable spots of the era as Hardy dove from the top of a ladder onto Zayn, who himself was prone on a ladder below. Additionally, the finish perfectly suited the characters involved.
‘The Great Liberator’ eventually won the match, deviously handcuffing his opponents to get the IC title. Heelishly ‘cuffing Hardy’s ear lobe to a ladder as well as Styles’ wrist to the ladder support. The smarmy finish matched Zayn’s coward character, allowing a brilliantly-made finish to a great stipulation match.
Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso – Clash of Champions
A matter of days before the biggest show of the year, Roman Reigns pulled out of WrestleMania 36 – not willing to risk the health and safety of himself and his family. Likely having his Universal title win scrapped, fans rejoiced when he returned – but this time as a heel.
For years, fans had been sick of the Omni-Reigns’s excessive push as a preening face, wanting a heel turn. This did not disappoint, with a now more vicious and ruthless Reigns capturing the world title belt at Payback in his return bout.
Now with Paul Heyman, Reigns declared himself the head of the Anoi’a table. This was met with resistance from cousin Jey Uso who went on to get a shock win in a number 1 fatal-four-way. In his first world title feud, Uso challenged Reigns in a personal and Shakespearean match at Clash of Champions.
A few matches after the aforementioned ladder match, Reigns proved how much of a hot commodity he was – defeating cousin Jey in an emotionally-charged match. Declaring Jey show respect to ‘The Tribal Chief’ and quit, Jey wrestled with passion, refusing Roman’s orders. Eventually, it became too much for an injured Jimmy Uso, who came out with a towel to throw in for his brother; however, Jey refused. After more sickening, vicious blows, Jey was unconscious, which forced Jimmy to throw in the towel. Afterwards, Roman was presented with a garland around his neck by Heyman.
Kicking starting one of the best wrestling characters that year, you may prefer their Hell in a Cell rematch the next month, but in my opinion, you cannot beat the original.
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley – Hell In A Cell
One of the WWE’s glimmering bright spots throughout the pandemic is their women’s star power – Charlotte, Asuka, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, and Shotzi Blackheart, amongst others, have aided the company’s talent pool, but maybe nobody has anchored the division more than Bayley and Sasha Banks.
Immediately making it known they were one of the lockdown era’s main acts, Bayley and Banks went about winning the women’s tag team titles in May (whilst Bayley was SmackDown women’s champion). Billed the ‘Golden Role Models’, the obnoxious yet entertaining duo were obviously going to be split up, but fans didn’t know Banks would turn face for months. Bayley betrayed Banks in September after dropping the tag straps, brutally attacking ‘The Boss’.
With the stage set, the duo put on a thrilling match inside the devil’s playground. Constantly performing unique spots, Banks elevated it – who is one of the most overlooked yet realistic sellers in WWE today. With Sasha’s loose-limb selling came Bayley’s brilliant character work; the hard-hitting offense seemed even viler and wincing. With a creative chair-assisted Bank Statement, ‘The Boss’ ended ‘The Role Models’ lengthy title reign before beating Bayley on SmackDown to retain – breaking Banks drought of always losing the women’s title on her first defence.
A brilliant match with an easy-to-follow story, proved the strength of both competitors – creating one of the greatest women’s matches of the year. It may seem a little deflating that after half a year of build, their rivalry only lasted for a month, but even if there will only be one match – at least it was done beautifully.
WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov – NXT UK, October 29
Throughout its run, the biggest star made by NXT UK is almost undoubtedly WALTER. The Austrian hoss has held the NXT title for about 2 years at the time of writing, having been utterly dominant in his last 24 months with the belt – quashing talents such as Pete Dunn, Tyler Bate, and Trent Severn.
In this hard-hitting encounter, the lack of fans surprisingly aided this bout with the echoey nothingness make the fight feel more ruthless and eerie. The lack of atmosphere drove the bout, as the mammoth Austrian constantly shut down the spirited Dragunov. Kicking out of all of WALTER’s offense, including powerbombs and a top rope splash, it was raw and absolutely ferocious.
Dramatic without being corny or wacky, Dragunov – the unlikely underdog – gave WALTER all he could, pulling out all stops in an attempt to win the title belt. A gritty and almost snuff-like combination of the stiff European style and Japan’s strong-style eventually came to a termination when Dragunov was choked out. Just barbarically brutal. Hopefully, this can propel the unique NXT UK product to more eyes in the future.
Women’s WarGames Match – NXT TakeOver: WarGames
Further adding to the stacked women’s division on the main roster, the NXT women’s talent-filled all their brightest stars into this match – giving all impressive moments and storylines. In this, Team LeRae (led by Candice LeRae and featuring Dakota Kai, Raquel González, and Toni Storm) took on Team Blackheart (with captain Shotzi Blackheart as well as Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley, and Io Shirai).
Filled with spots and moments such as Shotzi’s tank, Shirai’s denial from entry, a run-in by Indi Hartwell, an Ember Moon eclipse onto chairs on Kai, Blackheart’s dive onto a chair-crushed LeRae, Kai storming Shirai who was trapped in a trash can and a González chokeslam through a ladder between the 2 rings.
However, most memorably was an instantly iconic and absurdly hilarious move in which Shirai placed herself within a trash can before diving down onto the many bodies below. Sure, it may not be as serious as the classic WarGames match in the NWA in the 80s; its combination of unique moments, true wackiness, and drama made it stand out.
A match further proving the strength of the athletes and characters within the NXT system, it also had a surprise finish when the NXT women’s champion Io Shirai was actually pinned by Raquel González after a dominant showing. Whilst 4 wrestlers lost, and likely all 8 felt sore the next day – but (excuse the cliché) there were no losers in this bout.
SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match – Elimination Chamber
Generally, it is tough to get an Elimination Chamber match wrong (although there are exceptions – the 2015 IC title chamber and ECW chamber say hello). A brutal structure combining elements of a Hell in a Cell, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble matches to form a mean stipulation bout for the ages.
While it may have got flack for looking more safe and gimmicked in the last few years, there are still some absolutely brilliant matches in this era of the chamber’s new design.
For nearly a decade, Cesaro had been one of the most underappreciated and consistently brilliant wrestlers on the WWE roster, so fans were eager for him to get his moment.
This bout – in essence – was a display for Cesaro, but calling it a one-person match would be doing all other participants a huge disservice. With a lineup featuring Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn on top of Cesaro, it focused more on continuing and interweaving storylines.
Ingeniously starting with Daniel Bryan and Cesaro, as imagined, the 2 started off the PPV with fiery offense before Corbin ruined all. A brilliant bit of character work, his heel character matched his slowing down tactics in great fashion.
Sami Zayn tries locking himself in the pod to avoid entry and later climbs the truss – only to get kicked down by Cesaro, who follows up with some pull-ups at the top of the structure. A now face Owens and a now heel Zayn do not reunite their old alliance, and Jey is number 6, getting a biased entry number.
Owens hits all with a moonsault from the top of a pod afterwards. Jey then traps Owens’s arm in a podcast, attacking a defenceless KO, with Jey eliminating fan choice Cesaro in a gutting fashion. Mid-one-legged Cesaro Swing, Uso kicks then eliminates Cesaro. After an exchange, Bryan pins Jey.
Booked with storyline support and many innovative moments, it is a candidate for the greatest ever chamber. Whilst fan-favorite Cesaro did not win despite his rise and brilliant performance, few will complain at ‘The Goats’ win. It may have ultimately felt somewhat pointless as Bryan was immediately crushed by the Universal champion Reigns after. No matter these points, it is still one of the greatest bouts of the years so far.
Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus – Raw, March 1
Likely for a lot of fans, Sheamus’s return to the WWE was initially quite underwhelming – feuding with Chad Gable (then Shorty G) over his height and a line-crossing rivalry with Jeff Hardy where a particular segment had ‘The Celtic Warrior’ getting urine splashed in his face. However, his work on the Raw in the recent week has gained Sheamus more credibility and believability.
The perception is that Raw has been rapidly tumbling downhill over the last year – however, Drew and Sheamus did their level-best to disprove that on Raw on the March 1st edition. Former friends in the storyline, the duo had one hell of a hoss-fest in a no-frills, hard-hitting match.
A PPV-worthy contest, it featured stolen moves, numerous kick-outs, and some nasty interactions on the outside. All strikes and power moves, it was not technical but rather intense and dominating until the end.
After 15 minutes of intense and stiff action, it ended with a nicely co-ordinated moment in which a Brogue Kick was countered into a Claymore – giving Drew the hard-fought win. Although the predictable outcome, it did not take away from the grittiness and greatness of this bout.
This is only the first of a trilogy of matches between the 2, following it up with a no DQ match the next week on Raw as well as a match at Fastlane. All of which were great, barbaric hoss matches.
