This was a non-title match.
When I was thinking about more matches from 2024 that I could write about, a few had crossed my mind, but most of them have been covered ad nauseam at this point since I’ve waited so long. But whether this one has or hasn’t, I was willing to make an exception.
I was looking forward to this match from the moment it was announced over the weekend leading into RAW. And boy did it deliver.
Now, there’s been a lot of discourse on Twitter over the past year or two regarding Dom and if he’s actually good or not. Most of it, on the Pro-Dom side, was perpetrated by my comrade Simon (@ElHijoDelSimon on Twitter / Handwerk Reviews linked on side bar). I’ve never really gotten into a deep discussion with him about that, mostly because we’ve known each other for over 15 years and I don’t know if we’ve ever actually exchanged any words with one another (kidding, of course) (?). BUT, I’d have to believe that Simon’s original point (which was in regard to Dom being better than a specific amount of the G1 field in that specific year. Classic thread) may have been made partially in jest, but with seeds of truth planted within that then began to grow with more evidence over time. Because I dare say that at this point, Simon’s opinion has become even more prevalent.
And Dominick Mysterio *IS* actually good!
Now, I mean look, he’s not rewriting the how-to on pro wrestling just yet, but he’s way better than people were giving him credit for, and over the last 18 months has really found himself not only in character work, but in his in ring work. He doesn’t need to emulate his father’s move set (other than for the obvious heat grab), and he’s developed a new move set that suits him well.
Turning him heel was brilliant beyond just for the reasons regarding his character, but also because of how easy it is to come along in this industry with a solid heel run underneath you first and foremost. You ask a large majority of wrestlers who’ve been on weekly TV, and I believe a good amount would back up the idea that working a basic heel style is so much easier than anything else in the industry. And for someone who was being judged harshly on his in ring work because of who his father is, this has been the perfect style for Dom’s development.
What this turn has done is not just sharpen his basic fundamentals and allow him to grow into his move set, but it’s begun preparing him for the inevitable face turn, working as an underdog babyface going against bigger heels, ala his father in his prime, Spike Dudley or Sami Zayn, etc.
When the report came out that originally Dom was set to face Brock Lesnar at Elimination Chamber in February, it struck a lot of people as odd. Why do what would’ve been a glorified squash on a major stadium PPV event? And the more I’ve thought about it, especially after this match with Gunther, the more it’s started to make sense in relation to my aforementioned point of them preparing Dom for the next step in his career. “Let’s see how the kid fares against our biggest and best monster, and we’ll go from there.”
Just watch this match against Gunther. On the surface, it would appear Gunther is the situational babyface for the evening due to commentary, Dom’s storyline, and the overly ridiculous enhanced crowd boo’s that they pump in for Dom. But when you break down the way the match was worked, this was Dom as the plucky, brave, underdog babyface trying to find a way to step up to this unstoppable monster Gunther and bring him down.
Never once did Dom truly back down or try to backtrack on the words he said to Gunther in the previous weeks promo segment. He worked a SIMILAR style you saw someone like Gable work, and I reckon that you’ll see Sami work at WrestleMania.
Dom ducks, dodges and evades everything Gunther throws at him, not to avoid his punishment — he never once gets cocky during this match — but to wear the Ring General down. A chase ensues on the outside because Dom needs to regroup and catch Gunther in a precarious position, which he does exactly with the wrist spot on the ring post! He’s working the champ over, trying to not only find a weak spot, but try and prevent the big chops and some of Gunther’s submission arsenal by injuring that hand/wrist of his.
Gunther stays on him, keeps the punishment up, finding ways to work around the hurt hand/wrist and he makes Dom pay dearly. Dom sells INCREDIBLY well here, dying on everything Gunther nails him with, including this fun spot:
Dom continues to kick out. He could easily just lay down and take the pin fall as the cowardly heel he typically is, and the pain would be over. But he wants to prove a point and get this big non title win over the dominant Intercontinental Champion.
However, Gunther’s too much for him. Big delayed Powerbomb and an extra brutal looking Boston Crab ends it, and Gunther wins.
Now, I don’t think this was some sort of 4D chess maneuver by the “savior of the WWF Booking Committee” Triple H. But I do think this was a low key covert operation, which was originally intended for Elimination Chamber before Brock’s piss texts, to see how Dom would fare in the next logical step in his career. And I think he passed with flying colors.
I originally rated this on Twitter (@phillyleotard0) as part of my 2024 Match Rankings Thread, and I will continue to honor that rating. But just know that for a 9 minute TV match, this comes highly recommended, and is — for my money — the best WWE TV match of the year
No comments:
Post a Comment