The Best Feud of 2012

[TheBigBoot]

Edge or Orton would be Cena's 'Career Opponent' for me, so far. If Batista comes back and they have a long feud I could see it being him - in all their exchanges going back to 2008 you really got the sense that it was the two biggest stars of the post-MNW era battling for that number one spot and they had great chemistry together.

 

Really this should have been a Rock vs Cena landslide but it felt a bit hit and miss.

 

I'd have probably voted for "The Shield Vrs WWE".

 

Good call. I think if that had started a month earlier that would have been my pick. Can't see them keeping it interesting for the next year but so far it has also been comfortable the most interesting feud of 2013.

 

The Bryan/Henry/Show triangle that started in 2011 was easily the most entertaining feud of the year for me but it fizzled out too early in the year for it to have left a lasting impression in terms of things people would instantly associate with "WWE in 2012" - I suppose they had to make way for Show vs Rhodes and Sheamus vs Bryan. Shame it didn't happen at a time that wasn't on the 'Road to WM' because I think there was still a lot left in it.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Edge or Orton would be Cena's 'Career Opponent' for me, so far.

 

That's what they'd like us to think! Just from rewatching the 2011 Royal Rumble, Cena and Orton were positioned to replicate the famous standoffs from the past to kind of cement theirs as a rivalry for the ages, but as I wrote in my review, it didn't really work. I think Edge, Punk, and possibly even Umaga will be better remembered as Cena opponents than Orton.

[Duke]

Edge I can certainly see fitting that (mostly because what other definitive opponents like that did edge have?) and Punk too, but Umaga? That's more than a step too far. Orton, as well as wrestling Cena 50 times, has that great i quit, hell in a cell, iron man series between the two that I remember as much from as anything

[HarmonicGenerator]

Yeah, okay, that's fair enough. They did have a couple of classics together... possibly enough for Cena to be considered Umaga's definitive opponent, but not, in hindsight, the the other way round...

[TheBigBoot]

Edge or Orton would be Cena's 'Career Opponent' for me, so far.

 

That's what they'd like us to think! Just from rewatching the 2011 Royal Rumble, Cena and Orton were positioned to replicate the famous standoffs from the past to kind of cement theirs as a rivalry for the ages, but as I wrote in my review, it didn't really work. I think Edge, Punk, and possibly even Umaga will be better remembered as Cena opponents than Orton.

 

Yeah, I remember that spot in the Rumble being really awkward to the extent they did it twice (or was it three times?) almost as if they didn't think the audience had 'got it' the first time. Didn't have the impact of other similar standoff, I agree.

Felt way too forced and I put a lot of it down to them having wrestled each other so many times comparatively recently and that it was coming just off the back of Cena having his weekly confrontations arguments with Orton when Cena was in Nexus. If they'd left it a while it might have gotten a better reaction.

 

Then again, there were plenty who felt Edge and Cena had wrestled too many times. I'm sure Punk will get to that point as well eventually. So the question becomes if an Edge/Cena pr Punk/Cena Rumble faceoff would have gotten a bigger pop. In fairness to Edge and Punk, it probably would.

 

That said, Orton and Cena have good chemistry going all the way back to OVW, they rose up the ranks at the same time in WWE (the confrontation at SummerSlam 2004 was a good example of where it looked things were heading), which is where the Bret/Shawn, Austin/Rock comparisons they were getting at the time came from.

 

Of course, in reality it turned out it was Batista who ended up being the closest to Cena's peer which is why I think a longer feud with him could have made it seem a bigger deal for both.

 

I thought Umaga was Cena's best in-ring opponent. I'd even put the Rumble match ahead of the highly rated Punk ones (haven't seen the Lesnar match).

 

I can see it being overlooked due to Umaga's death preventing another run and the circumstances of his death meaning WWE don't emphasise it as Cena's career match as much. Which is a shame since I thought their LMS was one of the best matches of the last decade.

[Slapnut]

Edge or Orton would be Cena's 'Career Opponent' for me, so far.

 

That's what they'd like us to think! Just from rewatching the 2011 Royal Rumble, Cena and Orton were positioned to replicate the famous standoffs from the past to kind of cement theirs as a rivalry for the ages, but as I wrote in my review, it didn't really work. I think Edge, Punk, and possibly even Umaga will be better remembered as Cena opponents than Orton.

 

I can see it being overlooked due to Umaga's death preventing another run and the circumstances of his death meaning WWE don't emphasise it as Cena's career match as much. Which is a shame since I thought their LMS was one of the best matches of the last decade.

 

Regardless of how good the matches were (and they were very good), they only had a short feud really. Umaga was with WWE for another 2 years after, and there was hardly any mention of their feud then, so I doubt his death did anything to de-emphasise it. I would honestly say Jeff Hardy would be more suited to the big man's career opponent.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Edge or Orton would be Cena's 'Career Opponent' for me, so far.

 

That's what they'd like us to think! Just from rewatching the 2011 Royal Rumble, Cena and Orton were positioned to replicate the famous standoffs from the past to kind of cement theirs as a rivalry for the ages, but as I wrote in my review, it didn't really work. I think Edge, Punk, and possibly even Umaga will be better remembered as Cena opponents than Orton.

 

I can see it being overlooked due to Umaga's death preventing another run and the circumstances of his death meaning WWE don't emphasise it as Cena's career match as much. Which is a shame since I thought their LMS was one of the best matches of the last decade.

 

Regardless of how good the matches were (and they were very good), they only had a short feud really. Umaga was with WWE for another 2 years after, and there was hardly any mention of their feud then, so I doubt his death did anything to de-emphasise it. I would honestly say Jeff Hardy would be more suited to the big man's career opponent.

 

Ah, Umaga with Hardy, that's interesting. I hadn't factored Jeff into the mix, but I'd have had Punk as his career opponent - at least for his singles run in WWE. Or RVD, possibly, but I don't think they ever met when Jeff was at the top of the card.

Edited January 25, 2013 by HarmonicGenerator

[Fatty Facesitter]

If we're talking 'Career' opponents for Hardy, then it's tough to call from a singles p.o.v. But if you include his tagging career in that bracket as well, then you can't look any further than Edge & Christian and mainly the Dudley Boyz. The three of them basically 'made' each the on the grander stage, and even after most of them stopped tagging there would usually be a combination of them fighting with or against each other in some for or fashion. Jeff and Bubba/Bully are still kicking on at the top of the card too, so I'd imagine they're paths will continue to cross in the future (if they haven't already).

 

I voted Rock/Cena. Cena/Punk made me fall out of love with wrestling for a bit and the stuff with Brock just didn't last long at all. At least Rock/Cena was a pretty epic thing and although the promos in the run up to the money match weren't out of this world compared to what I was expecting, the match totally delivered.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Triple H might have been Hardy's singles career opponent I'd say. He'd worked with him in 2001 and 2008 and Triple H was the one was put him over for the title and made him a main event wrestler. Or Edge even. They had history in singles and tags and worked together for years, switching both world titles to each other. The CM Punk feud was good, but it was still a set up for something bigger down the line that never happened. Seemed to be unfinished, although I'm sure there's another chapter to that eventually.

Edited January 25, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[Slapnut]

Oh in terms of Jeff's career opponent I'd probably go with Edge. While I think Jeff is Umaga's, I wouldn't say it was the same the other way around. In Umaga's case it's actually quite tricky to choose a 'career' opponent considering he only had a relatively short run in the grand scheme of things.

Edited January 25, 2013 by Slapnut