WWE Royal Rumble 2002

There is a moment, just minutes into the opening encounter of the 2002 Royal Rumble pay-per-view that sums this whole event up pretty well. The bout features Tazz and Spike Dudley against The Dudley Boyz for the WWE Tag Team Titles, and with the contest barely started and with The Dudleys already firmly in control, the crowd break into a hearty chorus of “we want tables”. Disregarding the fact that the Dudley Boyz were the heels and that the tag team titles were on the line in a match that had barely began, the fans were calling for them to fast-forward, past their pursuit of the belts and in contradiction to their disposition as heels, to using their most over spot. Like a rock band, past their best, and being heckled to play the hits of yesteryear rather than the material they’re attempting to promote from their most recent release, in this moment it was clear that The Dudley Boyz were no longer relevant beyond the nostalgia of their biggest hit. The feeling of staleness wasn’t helped by the concept behind the opener which would see Bubba Ray and D-Von on the opposite side of the ring to their kayfabe brother Spike, and Tazz; a combination of rivals which had been seen before in ECW, and even in this different setting, still felt like a rehash. The lack of fresh ideas and the sense that those involved were trying to recapture former glories is the abiding theme of this show.

TNA Against All Odds 2006

TNA Against All Odds 2006 took place 10 years ago to the week that I am writing this piece, and looking back on it now with so much water having passed under the bridge since, it’s actually quite a sobering experience remembering how much promise the company had at the time. In 2016, many wrestling pundits and commentators have written off TNA as something of a joke following a number of years where the company seems to have lurched from crisis to crisis and somehow managed to continue existing despite not really providing anything of real value during that time. In fairness to TNA, that perception is a little unfair, but having said that, when a product is presented with so little consistency over such a long space of time, and when that company displays numerous instances of apparent amateur public relations, it’s hard to defend them. Following the move from Spike TV to the much smaller Destination America at the beginning of 2015, TNA hoped for a fresh start, unfortunately, last year ended up being something of a Groundhog Year for the company with another saga over where their TV deal would end up (which they vehemently denied, going so far as to threaten legal action against certain wrestling news sources) and the on-screen product suffering due to practical issues with their taping schedule.

WWE TLC 2015

Following an autumn that has seen Raw ratings on the slide and a legion of voices calling for a change in WWE’s approach, the company suffered another blow following the go-home episode of Raw prior to TLC when the rating came in at a measly 2.15- a new historical low point stretching back to 1995. The injury to Seth Rollins and the tournament that happened as a consequence to crown a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Survivor Series had only continued WWE’s creative issues with an uninspiring programme between Roman Reigns and Sheamus lined up as the primary selling point of their television output in the build up to TLC. With John Cena not expected to return until the new year, Rollins and Orton on the long term injury list, and none of the legacy stars that the company have leant upon to prop up many of their recent pay-per-view offerings available, TLC was one of the least anticipated pay-per-views in the history of the company and certainly the year (a fact borne out by the Nielsen Social Media ratings which measured activity on Twitter during TLC at the lowest level the company has seen for all of their 12 PPV’s in 2015).