How To Watch The WWE In A Focused, Fun Manner, Whether You're New Or A Long Time Fan, 15: Takeover

A lot of roads intersect in this season as the biggest stars from Ring Of Honor and Impact aren't just rumbling around NXT but are becoming the bona-fide headliners, along with Roman Reigns, of the WWE. The Ruthless Aggression era finally fades into the background, and the NXT alums take over the main stage. This season sees the Diva Championship replaced with The Womens' Championship in WWE. We also see Bullet Club continue to wreak havoc in ROH under the leadership of AJ Styles and Adam Cole, bay-be.

Sadly, the dark era of Impact continues. Apart from the very weird saga of Willow/Brother Nero/Jeff Hardy and his brother, Broken Matt, the highlights of this era included Decay and the rise of Eli Drake, who would go on to become LA Knight. Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley, and Drew McIntyre were their heavyweights during this time but their stories were boring and none of their matches were on par with their best work.

There wasn't really an EPIC MOMENT to end this season for the WWE. While their product was overall improving, there wasn't a big retirement match, a broken streak, or even the end of an impressive title run. So, for the first time, we'll end with the weird story of James Ellsworth's fifteen minutes of WWE fame.

Season 15:
​Takeover

Starring: Roman Reigns, Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Natalya, Matt Hardy, Chris Jericho, Seth Rollins, The Young Bucks, The New Day, Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Kenny Omega, Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Asuka, Decay, The American Wolves 

1501. Low Impact, 2015

2015 saw a massive drout in TNA pay-per views which, unfortunately, didn't result in the pay-per-views being of higher quality. But during the spring and early summer, the weekly TV show that the company would soon rename itself after featured some fresh faces and a few fantastic matches.

Announcers: Tazz, Josh Matthews, Elijah Burke, Jeremy Borash

1. EC3 vs Drake Maverick (as Rockstar Spud) in a Hair vs Hair Match
2. American Wolves (Impact Tag Team Champs) vs Jessie Godderz & Zema Ion vs Sanada & Manik in an Ultimate X Match

3. Bobby Lashley (Impact Heavyweight Champ) vs Kurt Angle
4. Taryn Terrell (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Gail Kim vs Awesome Kong
5. Kurt Angle (Impact Heavyweight Champ) vs Austin Aries 
5. American Wolves vs The Dirty Heels in an Iron Man Match for the Impact Tag Team Championship

6. Kurt Angle(Impact Heavyweight Champ)  vs EC3

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1502. Respect London, 2015

Here we go, we've been building to it for the last two seasons, finally the women of the WWE/NXT go from getting the respect they deserve to just taking over the card with a higher percentage of talented women wrestlers than men. Most of the strongest men in NXT were ROH grads, while the women were all home grown talent. This episodes shows the debuts of Asuka and Nia Jax, the beginning of the second series of exciting women coming into the company, even as The Four Horsewomen were still there at the top.

Announcers: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Greg Hamilton, Dasha Fuentes

1. Asuka vs Dana Brooke
2. Apollo Crews vs Tyler Breeze
3. Bayley (NXT Womens Champ) vs Sasha Banks in an Iron Woman Match
4. Asuka vs Emma
5. FTR (as The Revival) (NXT Champs) vs Enzo Amore and Big Cass
​6. Finn Balor (NXT Champ) vs Samoa Joe

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1503. Hells In Cells, 2015

Before they were Best Friends (a storyline I can't wait to get to), Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho put on an Intercontinental clinic. John Cena has his final US title defense before, uh, we skip a champ or two, Charlotte continues her reign, and we have some fantastic cage matches, including the final ever Brock vs Undertaker.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Rich Brennan, Lilian Garcia, Eden Stiles

1. Kevin Owens (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Chris Jericho
2. John Cena (WWE US Champ) vs Seth Rollins in a Steel Cage Match
3. Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt in Hell In A Cell
4. Charlotte Flair (WWE Divas Champ) vs Nikki Bella
5. Seth Rollins (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Kane
6. Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker in Hell In A Cell

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1504. The Lunatic Fringe, 2015

The broken up SHIELD continues to dominate the WWE with Roman and Dean taking more of the spotlight while Seth Rollins has to vacate the title and take some time off due to injury. We also get our spooky on with the Brothers Of Destruction vs The Wyatt Family, and a killer triple threat tag team match between two of the teams who are still dominating the tag team scene, a decade later.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Xavier Woods, Lilian Garcia, Eden Stiles

1. Roman Reigns vs Alberto Del Rio
2. Dean Ambrose vs Kevin Owens
3. The Brothers Of Destruction vs The Wyatt Family
4. Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose for the WWE Heavyweight Title
5. The New Day (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs The Usos vs Lucha Dragons in a Ladder Match

6. Kevin Owens (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Dean Ambrose
​7. Sheamus (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Roman Reigns in a TLC Match

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1505. Reloaded, 2015/2016

More solid action and improved storytelling from the underdog of wrestling companies. The Bullet Club, Adam Cole, and Jay Lethal continue to dominate the shows. We also see longtime color commentator, Steve Corrino, step back in the ring for one of the bloodiest matches in ROH history.

Announcers: Kevin Kelly, Steve Corrino, Bobby Cruise

1. The Addiction (ROH Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks vs The Kingdom
2. Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly
3. Jay Lethal (ROH Champ) vs AJ Styles
4. Bullet Club (Never Openweight 6 Man Champs) vs Matt Sydal, ACH & Kushida
5. BJ Whitmer vs Steve Corrino in A Fight Without Honor

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1506. Last Man Standing, 2015/2016

I love a Royal Rumble. But you may have noticed that it's been a while since there was one in this continuity. That's because 2013-2016 was a string of underwhelming rumbles with too few actual contenders, and the wrong winners. This is, technically, the last of those stinkers. While it's not up there with the best of the events, it's fun and has a decent ending. Also, one of the best surprise entrants of all-time, as the former Bullet Club leader/Impact superstar AJ Styles makes his WWE debut. But it wasn't just the rumble that was good, this might be the only episode in this entire continuity made up from a single pay-per-view. All these matches were actually on one card. I only skipped one match (if you're the one person in the world who wanted to see Kalisto vs Alberto Del Rio...sorry).

Announcers: Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Jojo, Lilian Garcia, Eden Stiles)

1. Dean Ambrose (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match

2. The New Day (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs The Usos
3. Charlotte Flair (WWE Divas Champ) vs Becky Lynch
4. Royal Rumble
Roman Reigns, Rusev, AJ Styles, Tyler Breeze, Curtis Axel, Chris Jericho, Kane, Goldust, Ryback, Kofi Kingston, Titus O'Neil, R Truth, Brody Lee, Cody Rhodes, Big Show, Pac (as Neville), Braun Stroman, Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn, Erick Rowan, Mike Henry, Brock Lesnar, Jake Hager (as Jack Swagger), The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler, Shaemus, Triple H

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1507. Climbing The Ladder, 2016

2016 was not the year of the underdog. Like the couple of years before it, time and again the same faces were winning all of the important matches. That doesn't change too much here but we do see some standout performances from wrestlers that the WWE didn't get behind enough. We also see the future of tag team wrestling begin their domination here as they take out Enzo and Cass in what's probably their best match ever.

Announcers: Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Greg Hamilton, Lilian Garcia, Eden Stiles, Tony Chimel

1. Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles
2. Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose
3. FTR (as The Revival) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Enzo Amore & Big Cass
4. Charlotte Flair (WWE Divas Champ) vs Natalya
5. Triple H (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Dean Ambrose
6. Kevin Owens (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Dolph Ziggler vs Cody Rhodes vs The Miz vs Sami Zayn vs Sin Cara vs Matthew Cardona

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1508. Bon Voyage, 2015/2016

It's goodbye Full Sail University, an NXT levels up with some killer tag matches, and recruiting another round of indie darlings and New Japan superstars like Austin Aries and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Announcers: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Greg Hamilton


1. The Hype Bros vs The Vaudevillains vs American Alphas vs BAM Factor
2. FTR (as The Revival) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs American Alphas
3. Sami Zayn vs Shinsuke Nakamura
4. Bayley (NXT Womens Champ) vs Asuka
5. Finn Balor (NXT Champ) vs Samoa Joe
6. Austin Aries vs Shinsuke Nakamura
7. Samoa Joe (NXT Champ) vs Finn Balor in a Steel Cage Match

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1509. No More Divas, 2016

Here we go, three of The Four Horsewomen in a Wrestlemania title match, plus Natalya gets a shot at the new WWE Women's Championship in a great match with a, umm...homage ending that I could have done without. Also, the WWE really highlights the new leaders of the ring here with AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Caesaro, and Sami Zayn joining Roman Reigns in the spotlight. Not a Cena, Undertaker, or Triple H in sight.

Announcers: Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Kevin Owens, Lyta, Lilian Garcia, Eden Stiles, Jojo

1. Charlotte Flair vs Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch for Inaugural WWE Womens Champ
2. Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens vs Caesaro
3. Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn
4. The Miz (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Caesaro
5. Charlotte Flair (WWE Womens Champ) vs Natalya
6. Roman Reigns (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs AJ Styles

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15010. Conquest, 2016

Bullet Club has been slowly transforming since their debut a couple of seasons ago. We've seen Prince Devitt leave to become Finn Balor in NXT and WWE, The Good Brothers roll up in the WWE as the OC, AJ Styles did the same. Now we have Adam Cole and Hangman Page joining Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks to claim the name, and they continue to dominate ROH and New Japan. We also get a Jay Lethal/Jay Briscoe rematch, and some more excelllent crossover with new Japan.

Announcers: Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino, Bobby Cruise

1. War Machine (ROH Tag Team Champs) vs The Briscoes
2. Tetsuya Naito vs Kyle O'Reilly
3. Tomohiro Ishii (ROH TV Champ) vs Bobby Fish
4. Bullet Club vs Chris Sabin, Matt Sydal, Alex Shelly & Kushida
5. Bullet Club vs Moose & War Machine
​6. Jay Lethal (ROH Champ) vs Jay Briscoe

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1511. The Ultimate Payback, 2016

Bullet Club shenanigans hit the WWE as AJ Styles and The Good Brothers reunite (though they never refer to themselves as Bullet Club in the WWE). We also see The SHIELD play another title belt hot potato as every member gets their revenge on every member that betrayed them last season.

Announcers: Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Lilian Garcia, Jojo, Eden Stiles

1. The Usos vs The Good Brothers (as Gallows & Anderson)
​2. The Miz (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn vs Caesaro 
3. Roman Reigns (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs AJ Styles in a No DQ Match
4. John Cena vs AJ Styles
5.Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Chris Jericho vs Dean Ambrose vs Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn vs Caesaro vs Alberto Del Rio 

6. Roman Reigns (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Seth Rollins

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1512. Broken Impact, 2015, 2016

Ooof, this is only the second episode of Impact this season. There is some truly inspiringly weird stuff here, particularly Jeff Hardy reimagining himself as Willow and Matt Hardy being "broken". We also get our first glimpse at LA Knight.
Announcers: Josh Matthews, Elijah Burke (as D'angelo Dinero), Christy Hemme , Jeremy Borash 

1. The American Wolves vs Bryan Myers & Trevor Lee
2. Gail Kim (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Awesome Kong
3. EC3 (Impact Champ) vs Matt Hardy vs Drew McIntyre
4. Mia Yim (as Jade) (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Gail Kim vs Sienna
5. Jeff Hardy vs Willow 
5. LA Knight (as Eli Drake) (Impact King Of The Mountain) vs Thomas Raymond Latimer (as Bram)

6. Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy in a Full Metal Mayhem Match
8. Drew McIntyre (Impact Champ) vs Bobby Lashley

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1513. Battleground, 2016

Three is the magic number here, as we see The Wyatt Family's last stand against The New Day, John Cena team up with Enzo & Cass to face Bullet Club, three out of the four horsewomen battle for the belt, and every member of SHIELD in the ring for an entire match for the first time this season (run-ins and Money In The Bank cash-ins don't count). 

Announvers: Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Jojo, Greg Hamilton

1. The New Day vs The Wyatt Family
2. Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn
3. Natalya vs Becky Lynch
4. Bullet Club (as The Club) vs John Cena, Enzo Amore & Big Cass
5. Charlotte Flair (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Sasha Banks vs Bayley
6. Dean Ambrose (WWE Champ) vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins

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1514. Takeover Texas, 2016

The rise of the next wave of NXT continues. Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka continue to dominate, Ember Moon and a glorious Impact alum debuts, and Mickey James returns to the WWE for the first time in years.

Announcers: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome

1. Finn Balor vs Shinsuke Nakamura
2. Ember Moon vs Billie Kay
3. FTR (as The Revival) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs DIY
4. Asuka (NXT Womens Champ) vs Bayley
5. Samoa Joe (NXT Champ) vs Shinsuke Nakamura
6. Bobby Roode vs Ty Dillinger
7. Asuka (NXT Womans Champ) vs Mickey James

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1515. Universal, 2016

It's hard to believe that this episode has the first meeting between Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton, considering they started at the same time in 2002 but here it is, a Brutal match. Plus, we get the first ever Universal Title match.

Announcers: JBL, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Dean Ambrose, Jojo, Greg Hamilton

1. John Cena vs AJ Styles
2. Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins  for the inaugural Universal Championship
3. The Miz (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Dolph Ziggler
4. Dean Ambrose (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles
5. Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton

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1516. Cruiserweight Classic, 2016

Meet the new NXT kids in a massive tournament that ended up crowning the first WWE Cruiserweight champ (though none of them knew that during the tournament). It's basically a schmorgasboard of New Japan, AAA, and "indie" promotions

Announcers: Daniel Bryan, Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves, William Regal, Mike Rome

1. Johnny Gargano vs Tomasso Ciampa
2. Tajiri vs Mascara Dorado
3. Drew Gulak vs Zach Sabre Jr
4. Akira Tozawa vs Mascara Dorado
5. Brian Kendrik vs Kota Ibushi
6. Mascara Dorado vs Zach Sabre Jr
7. Kota Ibusi vs TJ Perkins
​8. TJ Perkins vs Mascara Dorado

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1517. Bash At The Clash, 2016

"It" gets interesting when Kevin Owens's Best Friend Chris Jericho introduces the WWE to The List in this absolute banger of an episode where titles trade hands and best friends reign supreme.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, JBL, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, Tom Phillips, Andrea D'Amarco, Jojo, Greg Hamilton

1. Shaemus vs Caesaro
2. Rusev (WWE US Champ) vs Roman Reigns
3. Chris Jericho vs Sami Zayn
4. Kevin Owens (WWE Universal Champ) vs Seth Rollins
5. The Miz (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Dolph Ziggler in a Title Vs Career Match
6. Charlotte (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Sasha Banks

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1518. The Decay, 2016

This was a really bad year for Impact. Like, really bad. Like, I can't fill two hours with good matches from the entire calendar year bad. So while this is mostly an Impact episode, I've also thrown in a Defiant Wrestling match featuring Ricochet and Drew McIntyre, who was mostly Impact at this point. We also see Bobby Roode's final appearances for Impact before he shows up on NXT next season. 

1. Dollhouse vs Beautiful People
2. Matt Hardy and Will Ospreay vs James Storm and LA Knight (as Eli Drake)
3. The American Wolves vs Decay in a Monster's Ball Match
4. Eric Young (TNA TV Champ) vs Will Ospreay vs Killian Dain vs Thomas Raymond Lattimer (as Bram) vs Jimmy Havoc in a King Of The Mountain Match

5. The American Wolves (Impact Tag Champs) vs Beer Money Inc
7. Eddie Edwards vs Crazzy Steve
8. Mia Yim (as Jade) (Impact Knockouts Champ) vs Madison Rayne
9. Ricochet vs Drew McIntyre (as Drew Galloway) (Impact Champ) in a non-title match
10. Beer Money Inc (Impact Tag Champs) vs Decay
11. Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy in The Final Deletion

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1519. You Just Made The List, 2016

More Team Jeriko shenanigans, aother excellent Banks/Flair match from Raw, and the sequel to one of WWE's worst-ever received matches as, more than a decade after their first cursed encounter, Goldberg returns to battle Burrrrrrrrock Lezzzzzznar.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Jojo

1. Kevin Owens (WWE Universal Champ) vs Seth Rollins in Hell In A Cell
2. Team Raw Tag vs Team Smackdown Tag in a Survivor Series Match
(The Bar, Enzo Amore and Big Cass, The Good Brothers, The New Day, and The Shining Stars vs American Alpha, Breezango, Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Hype Bros, and The Usos)

3. Sasha Banks (WWE Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair in a Falls Count Anywhere Match

4. Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg

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1520. A Chinderella Story, 2016

James Ellsworth is unlikely to be in the WWE Hall Of Fame. His tenure in the company was short and mostly forgettable. But for a month or two, his involvement in the AJ Styles/Dean Ambrose feud made him the best comedy character since Santino Marella. This is pretty much the entirety of his interesting run. We shan't be revisiting his time with Carmella, as him winning the first ever Womens' Money in The Bank match ranks down there with Santino Marella winning Miss Wrestlemania

Announcers: JBL, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, Tom Phillips, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Dean Ambrose, Jojo, Greg Hamilton

1. AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs James Ellsworth
2. AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs James Ellsworth
3. Team Smackdown vs Team Raw in a Survivor Series Match
(AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, James Ellsworth vs Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Braun Stroman)

4. The Miz (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Dolph Ziggler in a Ladder Match
5. AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs Dean Ambrose in a TLC Match

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