Opinion: The Problem With Gimmick Matches or How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? By Putting Her In A Punjabi Prison Match

In the past few weeks, WWE Monday Night RAW has had very few real surprises but there has been one unexpected return. We all knew that really they wouldn't stay away forever, I mean it was never really retirement, was it? It was just waiting for the right time to return, waiting for the moment when all hope was lost and they could bring some back. When they could bring some inspiration to our dark, callous hearts and show us that true sincere joy can still be found in a world so cold and lonely. I am, of course, talking about the surprise return of the Arm Wrestling match in a scintillating ****** (yes, that is six stars. Count 'em) classic full of surprising twists and turns and gut-wrenching performances by Bayley and Dana Brooke, it is sure to go down in WWE history as one of the greatest arm wrestling matches the company has produced. Up there with Mark Henry v Cesaro, Mark Henry v Kane, Mark Henry v Rusev, Mark Henry v Sheamus and of course, the high watermark of this classic match type, Darren Young v Byron Saxton (Young sure earned his redemption points for that one).

Whilst he was not involved that art-pop classic, Henry is clearly shown to be the possible poster boy for World Arm Wrestling Entertainment should the company choose to take that further, which they should I mean, don't you want to print money, Vince? But he's not the only wrestler to be synonymous with match types. Obviously there's the big names like The Undertaker and Hell in a Cell (which was just a couple of Sundays ago. Coincidence, I know), Kane and Inferno matches, Santina Marella and Divas Invitational Battle Royal but did you know about Raven and his Clockwork Orange House of Fun match? Maybe you did but did you know that the first ever match had a rule that you had to push of your opponent through two tables from the Raven's perch? And did you know the second ever one didn't even involve Raven but was between Shane Douglas and CM Punk? Well you do now. Today we're going to look at a few of my least favourite gimmicks, this won't be a comprehensive list by any stretch of the imagination. It's more a reminder that while you spend your time complaining about having to watch three Hell in a Cell matches, you can know how much worse you could have been having it.

Really to look at gimmick matches as a whole, we have to look at why they happen. There's a simple theoretical reason and that's that a story can't be the same one beat repeated ad nauseum, because this isn't 2K career mode, a rivalry isn't formed of one person having a one-on-one match with another twelve times then being like good game, let's go beat up other people. The storied rivalries of wrestling history bring in different types of matches to vary proceedings - blood feud about two people wanting to kick the tar out of each other? Give them a Last Man Standing match, does one tag team keep using untagged partner hijinks, have it climax with a Tornado Tag, you get the idea. In many ways, adding a gimmick match is a crutch. If you're trying to raise the stakes of a scenario but the natural progression of the story is slower than you'd like, simply by throwing in a steel structure, you've given the last act a bigger finale even if it's an inorganic one. I'm not saying every tale told in the ring should have to end with a standard match but in a perfect world, the writing would hold up enough that the feud between the two (or more) parties involved would run deep enough that you wouldn't need to add to it, it's emotional shorthand, a way of visibly adding to a confrontation that you'd hope would feel enough without it. I'm not saying that every match with a gimmick doesn't need it but boy, there's a lot of them that don't.

Which brings me neatly to the Punjabi Prison Match, an entire development of the HiaC that never needed to be. Quite appropriately, this is a match-type developed for real-life killer and actually not quite Punjabi, The Great Khali. Feel free to look it up, he's from Himachal Pradesh province which borders Punjab. Also quite appropriately, he wasn't even in the first one at The Great American Bash in 2006 after he developed all of the enzymes in his liver so some bollocks with Teddy Long was written in to make The Big Show face The Undertaker instead. Khali would eventually compete in his own match a year later but he would lose to Batista making the whole thing feel silly, I mean why bother building the whole match type for him to lose it. That said, he was at an unfair advantage as he had to climb out of the structure and Khali was never exactly known for actually being able to leave the ground, especially at speed! So the two matches revolve around locking two big lads in a bamboo cell which has doors that can be opened once per match for sixty seconds then, around it is another bamboo cage that has no doors that they have to climb out of. Much like in prison, where you have to escape by climbing or where there are leather straps for torture, like in prison. I haven't been in a Punjabi Prison or any kind of Prison but clearly Michael Cole has because he talks about being in Prison with such confidence. My first thought watching this is "boy, this must have been difficult to watch for the audience in the Conseco Fieldhouse, Indiana. Not in the way that it's difficult to watch Zandig matches because he's about to die at any second in the ring but because there are thick bamboo pieces surrounding the ring, then more bamboo around that. Somewhere in the middle of all this are two blobs that may resemble The Big Show and The Undertaker from certain angles if you squint hard enough." It's a hard thing to explain because the first match of the two is technically better because at least both Show and Taker know how to move like people but thematically the second one makes more sense because Khali actually appears inside the structure.

The actual structure just, quite appropriately, ruins the structure of the match, it prevent actual storytelling because the simplicity of the HiaC match is that it's just a No DQs match but with a big lump of steel around the ring. The Cell, while used as a weapon, more just represents an enclosing of the story to one area, it (in theory) keeps both competitors in and interlopers out but focuses in the match to the competitors, it forces the story to focus on the athletes. The Punjabi Prison match is more about the prison than the two men in it. Even the commentary talks more about the 'steel reinforced bamboo' than it does about Khali or Batista or Taker or Show. The gimmick is just window dressing, it is a way of adding variation to a story but it is not a story in itself. This is not a film, the Punjabi Prison is not New York, becoming an extra character in the story. It's a mistake that's being made over on RAW at the moment with the focus of the Banks-Charlotte storyline being on women stepping into the Cell for the first time and not who the women are and why they hate each other. Wrestling is characters, not events and that is where the Punjabi Prison went wrong. Also the two matches are fucking piss-piles, that doesn't help.

From one very silly structure we go to a mental multi-man match. Now there were many I could have focused on here: the three ring sixty man clustershambles that is WCW's World War Three Match, the 'boy I hope you feel uncomfortable' histrionics of WWE's Fulfill your Fantasy, and the WSX Rumble, one day, I will write more about Wrestling Society X but for now, just don't ask. But there could only be one worst: TNA's Reverse Battle Royal - the only match type to call itself a reverse and then include the actual thing it's meant to be the reverse of in itself. So a Reverse Battle Royal involves sixteen men standing outside the ring and fighting to climb back in, the first eight that make it inside then try and knock each other over the top rope till there are only two left at which point it becomes a standard singles match. In other words, it's a round of bullshit followed by a second round of bullshit with a bullshit finale to finish. You know how the Royal Rumble at its best weaves micro-stories through its main ones, it builds rivalries afterwards but also has literal through-line narratives of its own, well the reverse battle royal just has lots of not quite ring entrances. There's a reason that it only happened twice because I think something clicked that they realised 'wait, is this really bloody stupid?' But then again, they also made The Dixieland -Escape the cage, run to the top of the entrance ramp and climb a ladder match.

Like all terrible gimmick matches, it's main issue rests with its lack of clarity. What I was saying about the Punjabi Prison match, at least that had a clear means of victory, a clear aim, the Reverse Battle Royal just strands its almost ridiculous amount of talent in the middle of a constantly shifting form of rules. To be a fan of wrestling, you have to be willing to accept some frequently ridiculous contrivances but even the most ardent suspender of disbelief will be hard pushed not question why they don't all just immediately try to climb in? It seems like it was a match idea contrived purely to try and be different. I am not opposed to invention, what I am opposed to is forgetting what the aim of the entire endeavour was. Especially with the second one (the first one seems to have been quite successfully buried in terms of available online footage), the match only really comes alive once we get down to the singles match which begs the question, why not just do a standard battle royal if this was all just a way of furthering a feud between Bobby Roode and Eric Young? Why do you have to try and sell a new match type instead of just telling a story? There are reasons that very few new match types catch on and that's because once a winning formula is found, the easiest thing to do is repeat it, trying something new is difficult. There's a reason why so much that's new fails, but the main issue is not thinking it out properly. When your performers are standing around looking confused, how can you expect an audience to get it?

All this taken into consideration, every so often, something really stupid makes something really beautiful. For the last match gimmick of the night I'd like to take you back to the Halcyon days of NXT Redemption. Tyson Kidd and Yoshi Tatsu were engaged in a feud over the leg of Yoshi Tatsu's action figure that he kept in a shrine and prayed to for luck in matches. They were drawn one match each in their feud but Kidd still had Tatsu's figure's leg on a necklace so the Rubber Match was booked Tatsu v Kidd: necklace on a Pole match. Now 'On a Pole' matches as a whole are usually terrible, especially when combined with the words 'Vince Russo', they just seem like a ridiculous match-type once again begging, the question 'what would happen if you just knocked the pole?' But Tatsu and Kidd made art. It made so much sense that this necklace would be on a pole because it was a feud over a necklace with Tatsu's leg on it, albeit in a tiny plastic form. Tatsu wasn't just fighting for his action figure's body part but the very honour that was represented in being made into an action figure. Kidd was just doing it because he thought shrines were silly and he's a magnificent bastard heel. 

You may have noticed I've been mostly picking on matches that involve a lot of climbing and you know why? Because climbing is not interesting to watch, it's up there with rest holds and Mojo Rawley on the list of tedious elements of pro-wrestling. It's hard to describe what made this one match special, it wasn't that the two men were better than those who'd come before, it wasn't even that it was less silly (than for instance, the Shane Dougas v Billy Kidman in a Viagra on a Pole match), I think it was a commitment to the strange alt-universe in which this kind of match made sense. Frankly writing this, I'm now surprised and disappointed that Killshot (Shane Strickland) and Marty Martinez's Weapons of Mass Destruction Match didn't have Killshot's dogtags on a pole because that would have been perfect. Maybe what I'm saying is that sometimes, a really stupid gimmick can be overwhelmed by sheer commitment to it. Like how Kota Ibushi can wrestle a sex doll and make it more compelling for twenty minutes than anyone to. But what Kidd and Tatsu did was take a gimmick and make it part of the story, instead of the gimmick being the story. Just consider that with Hell in a Cell, the cell is just another storytelling device and ask yourself 'would this match work if there wasn't a Cell here?' 

But honestly, if you take one thing away from this article, it's that we were robbed of a second season of Wrestling Society X. Robbed, I say!

Words - Jozef Raczka (@NotJozefRaczka)

Images - James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)

Editor - James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale) 

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WWE NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way Review

After two critically acclaimed NXT specials for WWE, did NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way with Adrian Neville defending his NXT Championship against Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze arecreate the magic of the first two?  Let's take a gander. 

NXT CHAMPIONSHIP FATAL FOURWAY MATCH -  

Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville (C)

 

 

Before getting into the main event, let's talk about the pre-match build up. WWE used four seperate build up packages, placed throughout the show. Each package focused on a different participant in the main event, including short interviews with each man. It was a simple but effect method that made the match feel not only important, but got over each man's character for anyone new to the product. All four men put in competent efforts, with Neville's promo sewing seeds cleverly for the upcoming match, Kidd continuing to develop his new heel persona, Breeze nailing it with the line "Everything I wear matches gold" and Sami Zayn managing to be more likeable than the entire WWE roster in less than minute. 


The match itself, may be one of the best Fatal Fourway bouts that I have ever seen. Whilst the wrestling was (more or less) spot on, it was the booking that made this match so special. By having Neville on the outside for most of the match, it meant his exciting highflying offence was kept to a minimum (which is a strange thing to say as a positive, because I do like me some flips), whilst Sami Zayn was left to battle Tyler Breeze and mainly Tyson Kidd. This got the crowd firmly behind Zayn, who's selling is some of the most believable in wrestling. With a handful of false finishes, like a flurry of offence from Breeze, Breeze almost stealing a pin off a Shooting Star Press from Neville on Kidd and Breeze almost tapping whilst in a Sharpshooter from Kidd, with which the match could have ended without a whole lot of complaint, the stage was set for Sami Zayn to win the NXT title. 

A terrific sequence of action, taking in a crazy suicide dive to Neville, a Tornado DDT (Similar to the ones on Cesaro in their clashes) on Breeze and a Helluva Kick to Kidd, the crowd (and myself) was convinced that Zayn was about to walk away with the title. However, Neville made enough of a recovery to pull the referee out of the ring, hit Zayn with a Superkick on the outside and hit Red Arrow on Kidd, allowing him to hold onto his title. This is where having Neville spend most of the match on the outside paid off, as it was clear that he probably didn't deserve to win the match, and after seeing Zayn battle so hard throughout the contest, it was difficult not to feel aggrieved that he wasn't walking away with the title. Obviously, this is exactly the reaction WWE was after, and they got it with the live crowd and social media both seemingly frustrated that Neville retaining, whether they knew they had been manipulated or not!


With just enough of a tease at what Zayn vs Neville could be like during the match (despite the only botch of the match, where it appeared Neville was attempting a Reverse Rana) to get the fans wanting to see another one on one clash, the stage is set for the next special already. Will Neville's heel turn be effective? Against Zayn most likely, as it's easy to hate anyone attempting to do damage to the former Generic Luchador. Elsewhere, Neville would almost certainly have to drop a lot of the highflying elements of his moveset, for something a little less flashy. A competitve rivalry over the title however, with Neville remaining babyface could be the most effective decision. 

NXT Women's Championship Matc

Bayley vs. Charlotte

 

This match got the pre-match vignette treatment as well, with a very effective video package. Similar to the build up videos for the Fourway, both wrestlers were interviewed about the upcoming match. Both characters were set up nicely, and it made it even easier to become invested in the match. Bayley's promo in particular was a pleasure to watch, conjuring up real emotion, showing just how far the character has come over the last six months. 

The match itself didn't do a whole lot for me. As far as women's matches in WWE go, it was above average, there's no doubt about it, but in the big wide world, it wasn't quite what it could have been. Bayley spent a long time in a Figure Four Headlock, including some very cool roll throughs, which was an interesting variation on the rest hold and got the crowd fully behind Bayley. This made a lot of sense, as it would weaken Bayley for Charlotte's Natural Selection finisher, unfortunately, Bayley didn't sell the neck. It may sound to many, like I'm being picky, but if Bayley had sold the neck, not only would it have increased the audience's empathy for the character, but also would have been a perfect way to keep Charlotte in the match with the preceeding run of roll up's from Bayley. If we'd have seen Bayley grab hold of the neck, allowing Charlotte to kick out at two, it would have made this match so much better. 

There were some impressive moments that made this stand out from a regular "Divas" match, like Bayley's Super Hurracanrana and some creative sequences of reversals, but these lacked the flow they needed to really elevate this match. Charlotte went on to pick up the victory, with an awkward Moonsault, followed up with Natural Selection to retain her title. It wasn't quite the feelgood moment that I had been expecting,o and the lack of story direction in the closing stages of the match left me feeling a little numb, when the pinfall was counted. This was a decent WWE women's match, but it could have been so much more with a few extra touches.

Following the match, Sasha Banks attempted to attack Bayley, with Charlotte making the save. It would appear we'll be seeing Sasha Banks vs Charlotte for the title in the near future, with Charlotte turning face in the process. I'm worried Charlotte will struggle as a babyface, because of her size, and after seeing her work so effectively as a heel opposite Bayley, I'm not sure I particularly want to see this either. Sasha Banks has developed enough on the mic to make this feud work however, so I'm happy to see how this one develops over the coming months.

Undercard

 

The most eye catching thing on undercard was the debut of KENTA who was introduced by NXT General Manager William Regal. Everything about this segment made KENTA (renamed Hideo Itami) look like an absolute star. There was a real focus from both Regal and the commentary team to get over Itami's achievements and just how much of a big deal him signing with WWE is. Even if you had no clue at all who KENTA was, you knew that he was someone to watch out for.

This continued, as The Ascension came out in an attempt to show up Itami, but got royally schooled by the newcomer. Itami took them down with a flurry of offence, finishing up with a Double Dropkick sending Konnor and Viktor to the outside. Taking out the most protected entitity on the NXT roster in your debut is always going to make you look good. WWE clearly has high hopes for Itami, it will interesting to see who they pair him with for his first match next week. 

The Ascension were in action earlier on in the show, defending the tag team titles, against Sin Cara and Kalisto, in a solid opening match. Again this match was made by the booking, with The Ascension dominating early, allowing for a terrific hot tag to Kalisto, who has some very cool offence. It wasn't a particularly complicated match, essentially sticking to a basic tag team format, but the crowd was very into it, with an exciting closing sequence, ending with Kalisto hitting Salida del Sol on Viktor to pick up the win and the tag titles for the newly christened Lucha Dragons. It was a good surprise victory to open the show, with many expecting The Ascension to retain the belts, there's now every possibility the two will be promoted to the main roster soon. 

Enzo Amore and Sylvester LeFort attempted to go where many had failed and create a decent Hair vs Hair match. Did they succeed? Not really. The match was fairly basic, in both structure and the wrestling in the ring. Whilst there was a nice pace to the beginning of the match, it soon broke down and I quickly found myself losing interest. A decent false finish off a Lariat for LeFort was the only thing of any note. Amore's charisma on the microphone and entertaining partnership with Big Cass managed to keep this afloat, but not delivering on shaving LeFort bawld, made a mockery of the stipulation. We did get a bawld Marcus Louis however, due to some magic hair removal cream. 

Rounding off the show, were two squash matches, with Bull Dempsey running through Mojo Rawley in a sloppy brawl, that was difficult to care about. I cared even less when Dempsey attacked Rawley post match. My indifference towards CJ Parker was also rewarded as the debuting Baron Corbin made easy pickings of "The Moonchild" picking up the win in a matter of seconds. 

Finally...

 

For two hours of wrestling, this was a good show, I wouldn't argue if you said a very good show. The Fatal Fourway was an incredible twenty minutes plus of action and even with my complaints about the Women's match, it was still a decent match. Did it live up to the other two NXT specials? I don't think so, but I think that says more about the quality of those shows, than it does about this one.

WWE NXT Episode 107 Review (Kidd vs Zayn)

This week's NXT review see's the return of the "Match of the Day" style reviews, that I used when writing at this time last year. For those unfamiliar with this style of review, it begins with the biggest storyline of the show, with everything involved in that storyline being reviewed in a block, before moving onto the next. I feel this has a better feel to it than the play by play style reviews and also makes it easier to find what you are looking for within the review. So without further a do, let's begin. 

Sami Zayn vs Tyson Kidd 

 

This week's main event was a first time TV encounter between the Canadian duo of Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd. To build to the match, both men where interviewed by Devin Taylor. This was a nice touch that made the main event feel like something worth sticking around for, with both men outlining the problems they had with each other nicely. As expected Zayn put in a much better showing, talking about how he's seen the real Tyson Kidd over recent weeks. Zayn nailed his closing statement, saying he wanted to embarrass kid, making this feel especially personal and showing a different side to Sami Zayn.

Their main event match was a good encounter, with a number of exciting reversals and near falls. The crowd was really into every Zayn did in the ring, they've certainly built a connection with the former Generic Luchador. Kidd's new character is also developing rather nicely stalling early on the match, before teasing a highflying dive to the outside, only to deliver a vicious suplex on the ramp. As the match headed to a conclusion there were some superb sequences, including a number of rear wastelock switches before Kidd delivered a lovely German Suplex for a near fall, as well as one that saw Kidd reverse a Monkey flip into a Sharpshooter with Zayn scrambling to reach the ropes. After a handful of near falls for both men, it was Kidd who picked up the victory, catching Kidd coming off the top rope with an Reverse STO transitioned into the Koji Clutch for the submission victory.

I wish this match had been given more than ten minutes, as it felt like Zayn and Kidd were only scraping the surface of what they could produce together in the ring. Everything that was shown hear looked super crisp and clean and the characters worked very well together, I do think it was a shame then that they went for such a clear cut finish. I would have been up for a series of matches between these two, but I'm not sure how they could have Kidd get a rematch after losing so convincingly. 

Match Rating - ** 3/4

Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore vs The Vaudevillains 

 

 

The opening match of the show was a spot of tag team action, as the entertaining duo of Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady tackled the recently teamed Aidan English and Simon Gotch, The Vaudevillains. Both gimmicks are fun to watch, therefore it was a shame to see this match only go less than three minutes, where it never really got out of second gear. The only really point of note, in the main body of the match, was Enzo escaping a suplex attempt from English to get a warm tag to Cassady. It was however clear that this match was being used to set up or continue rivalries with other teams, as The Legionairres caused the distraction that cost Cassady the victory, allowing English to use a school boy roll up with the added touch of holding onto the tights to ensure the victory. 

Later on in the night, Vaudevillains, interupted a Devin Taylor interview with Kalisto to ask where his partner (El Local) was. It was revealed Kalisto and El Local had parted ways as a duo, with Kalisto saying he'd have a partner to face the English and Gotch next week. I haven't seen a lot of Kalisto on the mic before, and I actually rather enjoyed this. His delivery was quirky enough that it fitted the gimmick without ruining away any of the mystery that the mask affords a worker. I'd be surprised if that partner isn't Sin Cara. 

Match Rating - 1/2*

CJ Parker vs Xavier Woods

 

Honestly, this match was awful. I wasn't convinced that either man particularly disliked each other, which apparently they do, according to the commentary team. I've enjoyed Xavier Woods work in the past, but CJ Parker simply isn't good enough in the ring. Almost everything he did looked dodgy, from a nasty looking head scissors takedown, an awkward spot where Woods caught his throat on the bottom rope, to a terrible O'Connor roll finish where Parker was supposed to be holding onto the ropes but was nowhere near to them. Why NXT has continued to perservere with Parker who clearly isn't up to the standard required I don't know.

Match Rating - DUD

Adam Rose vs Jason Jordan

 

 Adam Rose's return to NXT, facing off against Jason Jordan in a fun few minutes of action. Mainly a comedy bout with Rose rubbing Jordan's chest a la Goldust and repeatedly sending Jordan's head into his arse using the turnbuckle, the highlight of this one for me was a well-excuted Northern Light's Suplex by Jordan. That was Jordan's only real offence in the match, as he eventually succumbed to the Party Foul. This was a lot more enjoyable than the majority of what Rose has done since coming up to the main roster. 

Match Rating - *

Alexa Bliss vs Sasha Banks

 

In Women's action this week, Sasha Banks faced off against Alexa Bliss, which for less than three minutes was a good outing for the pair. Telling a nice story with Bliss attempting to get the win with a number of pinfall combinations (including a much better O'Connor roll than we'd seen from Parker and Woods previously), whilst Banks attacked her relentlessly, with a series of vicious attacks. Banks looked fantastic in this one, with a terrific double knee attack with Bliss caught in the rope and her beautiful finishing move, The Bo$$ Lock (a Double Knee Backbreaker into a Crossface) that getting her the submission win. Sasha is a real talent. 

Match Rating - * 1/4

Tyler Breeze Interview

 

Tyler Breeze appeared this week, speaking to Devin Taylor, and isn't he just wonderful? And absolute delight to listen to? There isn't anyone in WWE at the moment that is delivering promos the way that Breeze is delivering promos, really thinking about every single syllable, instead of just reading words of a page. This fresh feel should serve him well in WWE, and with him revealing that his lawyer is making up a contract for his much anticipated NXT title match with Adrian Neville, it seems there are big things on the horizon for Prince Pretty.

Ascension Promo 

 

Current NXT Tag Team Champions Konnor and Viktor also turned up this week to cut a backstage promo talking about how they've destroyed all their competition on NXT. It would seem that they are earmarked to make the jump to the main roster here, and I know many out there are fairly high on this team, but on the strength of this promo they need some more time to polish up these skills, or maybe even a manager. 

Finally...

 

 So, that was the 107th episode of NXT! A mostly enjoyable outing for WWE's developmental league with Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd taking the match of the night for me, putting in a solid main event. There's clearly a lot of talent knocking around these parts, with Sasha Banks and Tyler Breeze particularly impressing me this week. Take away the piss poor CJ Parker bout and this could have been an even better show. 

See you next week when Summer Rae challenges Charlotte for the NXT Women's Championship!

What a Difference A Year Makes - Fandango

Welcome to a brand new series of articles, looking at the fortunes of a number of WWE wrestlers following on from Wrestlemania XXIX, heading into Wrestlemania XXX

Name: Fandango
Wrestlemania XXIX Opponent: Chris Jericho
Feuds following Wrestlemania: The Miz, Wade Barrett, The Miz (again), The Great Khali & Natalya, Tyson Kidd, Santino Marella & Emma
PPV Win Loss Record: 1 win, 4 losses
Raw Win Loss Record: 12 wins, 21 losses
Smackdown Win Loss Record: 9 wins, 10 losses, 1 draw
PPV Kick-Off Win Loss Record: 1 win
Main Event Win Loss Record: 4 wins, 7 losses
Superstars Win Loss Record: 2 wins, 2 losses
Tribute to the Troops Win Loss Record: 1 loss 
NXT Win Loss Record: 1 loss

Overall TV Win Loss Record: 29 wins, 46 losses, 1 draw

What better way to start off than looking at Fandango (pronounced: FAHN-DAHN-GOO....you have to let the A's breath apparently) the man who made his in-ring WWE debut at last year's Wrestlemania. Okay, so technically it wasn't Curtis Hussey's WWE debut, after he spent some time working as Johnny Curtis, both down in FCW, and then NXT, including winner Season 4 under the original NXT format, and technically it wasn't even Fandango's WWE in-ring debut after working numerous house show dates with the likes of Ted DiBiase, Jamie Noble and Yoshi Tatsu, however we all know, that it doesn't mean squat dibbly if it ain't on the television screen! So yes, it was Fandango's WWE in-ring debut, so DEAL WITH IT! Anyway's Fandango's opponent on the grandest stage of them all, was none other than Chris Jericho!

The storyline was that Fandango was refusing to wrestle a number of opponents, due to them being unable to pronounce his name, therefore when Jericho pronounced his name intentionally incorrect on a March 18th episode of Raw. This enraged Fandango who would attack Jericho on the following episode of Smackdown, with the two trading attacks from then up until Wrestlemania 29. It wasn't the strongest build-up to a Wrestlemania match, but there was certainly some intrigue in how WWE would handle Fandango's debut match and WWE clearly had big plans, with the ballroom dancer taking part in the Wrestlemania Press Conference, debuting new dance partner, Summer Rae. Below is the review of Fandango vs. Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 29 taken from our review of that event. "The Fandango and Chris Jericho match was marred with a number of errors in a match that did neither men any favours. A lot was expected from these after WWE held off the former Johnny Curtis's début until the Granddaddy of them All and against a competitor of Chris Jericho's standing, it's understandable that the pressure was huge on the two to perform. However that performance never came and the match felt like the two going through the motions, with the awkward ending not helping towards this. It also seemed an odd decision for Jericho to kick out of Fandango's finish on his début, and Fandango to still win." Yes, the match itself wasn't that great, but it was the night after that people would remember. Whilst Fandango made his Raw debut in a bout with Kofi Kingston, the audience in attendance began to sing and dance along to Fandango's entrance theme, and continued to do so even when the music had stopped, in one of the bizarrest moments in Raw history. This would continue, with a campaign building in the UK to get the theme into the UK Top 40, just falling short.

Fandango's feud with Jericho would continue, with the pair continuing to trade attacks during an after matches, while Fandango went on a winning streak on Raw and Smackdown seeing off, Santino Marella, William Regal, Justin Gabriel and Zack Ryder. The highlight of the feud, came on the May 13th episode of Raw, in a dance off segment. In what should have been a fairly awful segment, Summer Rae quickly feigned an ankle injury, and whilst Jericho and his partner looked tried to help, this allowed us to see a more vicious side of Fandango, as he sent Jericho into the steel steps, before clobbering him with a bit of the dance floor, which looked superb. This set the pair up for a rematch at Extreme Rules. The Extreme Rules encounter (although just a regular match) was a much better bout than the one the pair put on at Wrestlemania 29. Fandango looked a lot crisper in the ring and the match made a lot more sense. Jericho picked up the win with a Codebreaker catching Fandango after a dive from the top rope. This pretty much finished their two month feud, allowing Jericho to move into a feud with CM Punk, whilst Fandango wasn't particularly hurt from losing to a veteran in competitive fashion. 

Fandango then moved into the Intercontinental Championship picture, being inserted into a feud between then champion Wade Barrett and The Miz. The feud started on 20th May Raw, with Fandango teaming with Barrett to take on Jericho and Miz, however Fandango left his partner high and dry to dance with Summer Rae, allowing Miz to get the victory over Barrett. After Fandango got involved in a Intercontinental Championship bout between Barrett and Miz, Fandango got a match of his own with Barrett. The Miz served as Special Guest Referee and allowed Fandango to ultimately pick up the victory with a Skull Crushing Finale to Barrett. After walking out on a bout with The Great Khali on the next Raw, Fandango ended up suffering a concussion whilst defeating Zack Ryder on Smackdown and was there for removed from the Intercontinental Championship Three Way at Payback, being replaced by Curtis Axel.  This for me was the turning point for Fandango over the last year. The smart money would have been on Fandango picking up the Intercontinental Championship at Payback and continuing his ascent up the card, however with the concussion costing him just shy of a month of TV time, meant that any momentum that the he had more or less disapearred and he hasn't really recovered since this moment, as you'll see as I continue to look at his year.

After being announced as a contestant in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder match on the 28th June Smackdown, Fandango made his return to WWE on 1st July Raw, facing off against Sheamus. It was a bizarre choice of opponent and lengthier TV bout than usual for Fandango, who ended up walking out on the contest. In the build up the bout, Fandango squashed Justin Gabriel on 5th July Smackdown, before recieving a Bull Hammer Elbow from Wade Barrett in an interview segment on 8th July Raw. This was followed up with a disapointing match between the two on Smackdown, that saw Fandango get the victory, due to a distraction from The Real Americans on commentary. Fandango wasn't much more than a bit part player in the Money in the Bank match, and bar an interesting section that seemed to tease a possible feud with Barrett heading out of the PPV, ending with Fandango hitting a Springboard Legdrop onto a Ladder, and taking a Cross Rhodes from Cody Rhodes, he really wasn't that involved in the bout that was eventually won by Damien Sandow, as his star continued to fall. It was then that Fandango then embarked on a lengthy losing streak, suffering his first TV pinfall defeat to Randy Orton on the 15th July Raw. This would be followed up with losses to Christian on the 17th July Main Event, Cody Rhodes on the 22nd July Raw, CM Punk on the 25th July Smackdown, Rob Van Dam on 29th July Raw (via countout, at least) and Kofi Kingston on the 5th August Raw. Fandango had essentially became a jobber for the stars (and Kofi), with most of these matches being set up through an altercation earlier on the show (like Fandango interrupting Orton during whilst Orton was talking to John Cena). 

Fandango was getting a lot more time for his matches on TV and it certainly helped the in-ring quality of the matches which for the most part were entertaining and easy to watch, but so many loses in a row harmed Fandango's credibility for sure.  The losing streak came to an end on 9th August Smackdown, with Fandango getting a return victory over Kofi Kingston, in a classic exampe of WWE's even steven booking. It would then seem like WWE were planning him a feud with R-Truth, after Fandango re-entered a battle royal on the 12th August Raw, to eliminate The Suntan Superman. 

Instead, it would seem that Fandango would be renewing his stop start feud with The Miz, after interfering in Miz's bout with Wade Barrett on  19th August Raw. I never really understood why Miz and Fandago were feuding, and with Miz being perhaps the most miscast babyface in WWE history, it did nothing at all for Fandango. The feud continue the next week, with The Miz coming out during Fandango's bout with Cody Rhodes, dressed as Fandango, alongside Rosa Mendes (I have no idea), allowing Rhodes to pick up the victory. After Damien Sandow got involved as well, Brad Maddox morphed into Teddy Long and made a TAG TEAM MATCH! After Fandango left his partner again, The Miz picked up the victory for his team. After a botched finish cost Fandango a 28th August Main Event bout with Kofi Kingston by DQ, it seemed that the feud with The Miz concluded on Raw on 2nd September, however due to a broke nose suffered by Fandango, the feud continued until Night of Champions. Fandango went over Justin Gabriel in a sloppy bout on 4th September Main Event, cost The Miz a bout with Damien Sandow on 9th September Raw and lose a dance off to The Miz that also included The Great Khali and R-Truth on 13th September Raw, meaning that the excitement to see Miz v Fandango at Night of Champions was at an all time high(!) Unsurprisingly, the PPV bout between the two fell flat, with no one particularly caring who picked up the victory. 

It wouldn't get much better for Fandango as he competed in a series of short and ultimately pointless matches. Whilst his win-loss record wasn't terrible, with victories over R-Truth (16th September Raw), Santino Marella (23rd September & 14th October Raw), Zack Ryder (7th October Raw) and Justin Gabriel (25th October Superstars) balancing out defeats to Kofi Kingston (18th September Main Event & 30th September Raw), The Usos (teaming with Big E Langston, 25th September Main Event),  Rob Van Dam (4th October Smackdown) 

The next feud for Fandango was one with The Great Khali, also involving the pairs valets Summer Rae and Natalya. After Khali had defeated Fandango in a messy bout on 16th October Main Event, the pair engaged in another on 25th October Smackdown, ending in a No Contest after less than two minutes, when Rae and Natalya brawled on the outside (Yes, I don't know why that's a know contest either). Somehow this earned them a Mixed Tag Team bout on at the Hell in a Cell PPV, with Fandango and Summer Rae coming out the victors in a match that was more entertaining than it deserved to be. The feud was over by the 29th October with Fandango defeating Khali on Raw. 

Whilst the Khali feud was over, it seemed Fandango hadn't seen the last of Natalya, as her real life fiance Tyson Kidd returned, with the defeating Fandango and Rae in Mixed Tag action on the 4th November Raw. Fandango would get revenge on Kidd in under three minutes the following week, and after a victory over Kofi Kingston on 20th November, the feud was over with a victory for Fandango on the 22nd November Superstars.  It was then time for another losing streak for The Ballroom Brute, with defeats to Kofi Kingston (27th November Main Event), Zack Ryder (29th November Superstars), Mark Henry (2nd December Raw), Big E Langston (6th December Smackdown) and Daniel Bryan (9th December Raw - The Slammy Awards). 

With the expection of Bryan, it was clear that quality of opponent Fandango was losing to was decreasing, and the majority of these bouts went no longer than four minutes. Therefore it was some what of surprise when Fandango, not only faced Dolph Ziggler on the TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs Kick Off, but defeated the two time World Heavyweight Champion, even if the match itself wasn't much to write home about.  Ziggler got his win back the night after on Raw, with Fandango picking up a victory over Kofi Kingston on 20th December Smackdown, before bettering Ziggler to come out on top of their mini-feud picking up the victory in a "Christmas Present on a Pole" match on 23rd December Raw, earning himself an Intercontinental Championship shot in the process, with a Christmas Day Main Event victory over Kingston seemingly confirming that Fandango was back on the rise, even if a defeat to R-Truth at Tribute to the Troops on 28th December halted his momentum slightly. 

Unfortunately for Fandango, things returned to normal as he succumbed to Big E Langston in his Intercontinental Championship bout on 30th December Raw, the bout however was impressive, with Fandango looking great in a lengthy title contest, this could easily have been built upon. However, WWE decided against it once again, with Fandango falling to R-Truth in quick fashion on 3rd January Smackdown.  Fandango didn't have the greatest of starts to 2014, losing three matches on the bounce on Smackdown, the afforementioned 3rd January bout with R-Truth, followed up by quick loses to Xavier Woods & Big E Langston on 10th and 17th January respectively. However, he did even the score with Woods in just over a minute on 20th January Raw, before falling to Kofi Kingston once again on 24th January Smackdown, heading into the Royal Rumble PPV. Entering the Royal Rumble match on 27th January at Number 19, Fandango lasted just under three minutes before being eliminated by El Torito. It was clear here that WWE had no plans of making Fandango a big player for the company.

Fandango and Summer Rae began to engage in a feud with Santino Marella and Emma on January 27th on Raw, when Emma was present in the crowd for Fandango's defeat to R-Truth. On January 31st Smackdown, Emma was involved once again, with Summer Rae removing her fan sign, as Fandango defeated Xavier Woods. After Santino pulled Emma out of the crowd to face Summer Rae in a dance off on the 3rd January Raw, with Emma picking up the victory, both Marella and Emma were on commentary, as Fandango fell to The Miz on 5th January Main Event. Fandango and Marella then battled on February 10th Raw, with Fandango coming out the victor in a dull encounter.  The feud continued onto 14th February Smackdown, with Marella's Cobra costing Fandango a bout against The Miz, whilst Emma and Summer Rae got physical (calm down) at ringside. However, Fandango quickly got revenge on Marella with a victory on Raw on 17th February, however due to the focus on Emma and Santino's blossoming relationship, came away looking more like an after thought than anything else. The feud was not over just yet, with Emma and Summer Rae battling in a dance off on Smackdown on 21st February, ending in a brawl that saw Emma dropkick Fandango out of the ring. The 24th February edition of Raw saw Emma picking up a submission victory over Summer Rae in a stellar diva's contest, leading to a Mixed Tag Team Match on Raw on the 3rd March, that saw Emma pick up another submission victory for her team, in another short bout to end the feud. Whilst I was fairly entertained by this feud, and was more than happy to see Emma promoted from NXT, this really didn't do a lot for Fandango and whilst he technically didn't lose to Marella at any point, the focus was clearly on Emma and Summer Rae, which harmed Fandango even more. 

With Wrestlemania XXX just over two weeks away, Fandango is currently on a four match losing streak, being put away by Big E (14th March Smackdown), Dolph Ziggler (14th March Superstars), Goldust (17th March Raw) and even Fernando (21st March Smackdown), which really can't bode well for Fandango heading into the Show of Shows, as he takes part in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, sharing the spotlight with 29 other wrestlers.  It's been an interesting year for Fandango, and I have to wonder what could have been, if he had not suffered that concussion in June. What if he won the Intercontinental Championship as planned? I'm not quite sure what can be done with the Fandango character at the moment, I mean he is still appearing on Raw on a regular basis, and has had a number of good matches with various competitors and has a decent amount of feuds throughout the year, even if most of them were with The Miz. I can't see much changing for The Ballroom Brute heading past Wrestlemania, I expect more of the same, although I'd like to be surprised.  But remember let the A's breath and keep Fandangoing and who knows what could happen.