Emotion. Emotion is, by its very definition, an investment on the part of the person feeling it towards something. It's a reaction to external stimuli that causes someone to feel something in a certain way. One of the greatest wrestlers to ever be able to pull that out of an audience was "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.
2013 was a year in which a whole new generation got to feel the power of Big Dust in a big angle one more time.
BackgroundCody Rhodes had lost a match to Randy Orton. The recently-turned-heel Triple H informed Cody that he was fired for losing the match. Weeks later, Goldust reappeared to try to avenge his brother and win back his career. Unfortunately, Goldust failed. Week upon week of humiliation followed in which even Dusty Rhodes would suffer a knockout punch from a reluctant Big Show (who would have been fired for not hitting Dusty). The result of all this was Dusty putting his own career and job with WWE on the line for one last chance for his sons to win back contracts with WWE. To do that, Cody and Goldust would have to defeat Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns of The Shield. And when this match was announced, the Rhodes Family got absolutely demolished by The Shield.
Needless to say, this was a very emotional angle with the Rhodes Family history coming into play for the storyline itself. Could The Rhodes Family as a collective overcome the near-unstoppable force that was The Shield?
Let's find out...
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| Credit: WWE Network. |
WWE Battleground 2013
10/8/2013
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns (w/Dean Ambrose) vs. Cody Rhodes and Goldust (w/ Dusty Rhodes)
*The Rhodes' WWE future is on the line.
The Rhodes Family is interviewed backstage. Fun little promo that puts in focus what makes each of the three men great in their own way.
The Shield come out through the crowd in their classic entrance. The Rhodes Family comes out to Dusty's "Common Man Boogie" theme.
The bell rings. Cody and Seth start us off. Cody fighting with a lot of emotion early on. Roman runs in and gets dropkicked. Goldust and Cody double team Roman when Goldust gets tagged in. The Shield decide to stop the bleeding (figuratively) and meet outside to talk strategy. They go face to face with Dusty, but The Rhodes Brothers come out to prevent it from happening. Dusty pulls out his belt to heighten up the anticipation.
Back in the ring, it's Goldust and Roman Reigns. Quick exchange leads to a tag to Cody. After a double team with Goldust, Cody gets isolated in the corner. The crowd is still hot as this match goes on. Big pop when Cody dropkicks Seth. Roman gets tagged in by Seth, and Seth continues to use his power as an advantage. Frequent tags by Seth and Roman each continuing to beat down on Cody. Meanwhile, Dean is getting smart with Dusty on the outside while the energy in the crowd is still high.
(We're only about 5 minutes in this match, and it already feels special. You just know it in a match when something feels right about what's going on. This is one of those matches. There's an energy to it that you can't artificially replicate.)
Cody tries to fight out of the corner. He eventually hits a big top rope moonsault on Rollins. The crowd is energetic as Goldust gets the tag. He hits some of his vintage movies like the low face slap and the inverted atomic drop. Goldust avoids a corner attack by Roman and nails a top rope twisting crossbody on Roman for a 2. Goldust misses a running crossbody, and he goes hard off the mat and to the floor.
Back in the ring, it's Goldust and Seth going at it. And now, The Shield start attacking Goldust. Roman locks in a deep headlock while the crowd continues to bubble with energy. But Reigns hits a big running lariat for a close 2 count. Tag to Seth Rollins. Slingshot senton splash for a 2 count by Rollins. A Cobra Clutch/Million Dollar Dream is on Goldust by Seth Rollins. Goldust gets out and gets Rollins off of him. The Shield each try to stop Goldust from getting to Cody, but after Goldust powerslams Seth, Cody gets tagged in.
BIG SPRINGBOARD FLYING CROSSBODY BY CODY TO SETH! Cody continues the assault on Seth. Alabama Slam on Seth. 1-2-Kickout. The crowd was following along with that count loudly. Cody nails a Muscle Buster on Seth! 1-2-Roman saves it. Here comes Goldust, and Reigns just knocks him down. Disaster Kick to Reigns. Ambrose gets knocked off the apron. Seth attacks Cody from behind. Dusty and Dean go at it. BIONIC ELBOW BY DUSTY! BIG POP from this crowd! Roman stalks Dusty, but Goldust just pounces on Roman to stop him from getting to his dad. Back in the ring, Seth rolls up Cody for a 2. CROSS RHODES BY CODY TO A MASSIVE COUNT! 1-2-3! THE PLACE ERUPTS! And it's a loud sustained pop by the audience for a good 2-3 minutes. They celebrate in the ring and as they are going up the ramp. A lot of the face wrestlers and even Arn Anderson come out to celebrate with The Rhodes Family.
Winners: The Rhodes Family
Match Grade: A-. This was all about emotion here. Yes, this wasn't the greatest tag team match in the entire world. But it was built on emotion, and that crowd was invested in every single thing that they were doing on that match from beginning to end. Add to that some really well worked sequences by all four men, and it's easily one of the better matches to come out of 2013. This is proof that emotion is one of the most vital key elements that separate good matches from great ones.
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That does it for this edition of UnWrest Focus REWIND. Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness... if you will.
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