CB’s Slant: WWE Year In Review: BEST of 2014 (Match of the Year, Moment of the Year, More)

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It’s that time of year where everyone and their uncle is doling out their praises and criticisms for the year that was 2014. In case you missed these fun little memes, you can check out Google’s The Year In Search 2014 and YouTube’s Year In Review courtesy of YouTube Rewind, then stick around for my own Inside Pulse Wrestling Special Report: The BEST of WWE 2014.

Google Year In Search 2014 (#YearInSearch):

YouTube Rewind: Turn Down for 2014 (#YouTubeRewind)

CB’s Slant: WWE Year in Review: BEST of 2014

BEST WWE Monday Night Raw Performance: Damien Mizdow: Stunt Double of the Masses

There is no denying the pure enjoyment that everyone has gotten thanks to the brilliance of Damien Mizdow. Before being tasked with the challenge of being The Miz’ Stunt Double, Damien Sandow was languishing in WWE comic relief Hell. However, as The Undertaker once said to Shawn Michaels: Sometimes you have to go through Hell to get to Heaven.

Well, it’s now been months since Damien Mizdow has begun this comedy act, and his performances have been so entertaining and appreciated by the WWE Universe that at the end of all of this, Damien Sandow just might have saved his WWE career.

Of course, there still needs to be the proper payoff for that to happen, but make no mistake about it, the Best Raw Performance for 2014 goes to the man with the prop belts and the prop Slammy.

Enjoy this one, Damien, Miz can’t take it away from you…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO8XkrUMoG0

Match of the Year: TIE: Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H and Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton – WrestleMania XXX

No matter what happened with Daniel Bryan’s injuries that sidelined him for the rest of 2014, there is no denying that Bryan’s journey to WrestleMania XXX and is two signature victories on the Grandest Stage of Them All was the best thing that happened in pro wrestling in years. From SummerSlam 2013 through to the Royal Rumble this past January, WWE was actually going to miss out on this opportunity to truly catapult Bryan to the top of the card where he belonged, and thankfully the WWE fans just didn’t let that happen.

Rey Mysterio getting heel reactions as entrant #30 was a truly surreal moment, and a Batista-Randy Orton one-on-one title match at WrestleMania 30 would have been mercilessly booed out of the building.

Luckily, Daniel Bryan prevailed, both backstage and in front of the cameras, and the end result were two of the best and most dramatic matches I’ve ever seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5mrrNaSU50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HYth8vddgY

Workhorse of the Year: TIE: Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler

I honestly couldn’t pick one of these guys over the other in 2014, as Rollins and Ziggler have both been tremendous to watch day in and day out throughout the year. If I had to pick just one, I would slightly lean towards Seth Rollins, but Ziggler deserves the nod just as much, especially thanks to his recent resurgence.

If WWE wanted to do Ziggler vs. Rollins on WWE TV for the next few months, I’d sign up for that and watch them go anytime:

Moment of the Year: The Ultimate Warrior Returns to WWE for WWE Hall of Fame and Monday Night Raw Appearances

Some people might say it was Sting, others may think it was the end of THE STREAK. For me, there is only one Moment of the Year in WWE: The return of The Ultimate Warrior, and a speech from Monday Night Raw that just makes me think that the man behind the mask must have known he was on borrowed time.

Tragically, The Ultimate Warrior died shortly after making amends with his past and returning to the WWE, and for that reason alone I will never forget this segment for as long as I live.

And I quote:

“No WWE talent becomes a legend on their own…
Every man’s heart one day beats its final beat
his lungs breathe their final breath
and if what that man did in his life
makes the blood pulse through the body of others
and makes them believe deeper in something larger than life,
then his essence, his spirit will be immortalized
by the storytellers, by the loyalty,
by the memory of those who honor him
and make what a man did live forever…”

Rest in peace Warrior, your words will always live on…

SmackDown Match of The Year: Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Cesaro – Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nECBkV-M9qQ

NXT Match of the Year: Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Tyler Breeze – Fatal Four-Way Match for the NXT Championship

A very, very close second is the Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville title match from NXT REvolution, but all four men really put it all out there back in September to help set up this month’s culminating contest where Sami Zayn finally found redemption and beat Adrian Neville.

WWE Women’s Match of the Year: Natalya vs. Charlotte for the NXT Women’s Championship – NXT Takeover (May 29,2014)

The match where Charlotte truly arrived was easily the best women’s wrestling match across any WWE show this year. Kudos to Nattie for making Charlotte look like a star, because as Enzo and Cass would say, “You can’t teach that.”

What are YOUR year-end WWE awards for 2014? Sound off in the comments section below on the awards listed above or create your own categories and award recipients.

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy holiday season … and a Happy New Year!

That’s all from me — CB.

CB is an Editor for Pulse Wrestling and an original member of the Inside Pulse writing team covering the spectrum of pop culture including pro wrestling, sports, movies, music, radio and television.