[2010-12-19-WWE-TLC 2010] John Morrison vs Sheamus (Ladder)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Superstar Sleeze]

King Sheamus vs John Morrison - TLC 2010 Ladder Match

 

First and foremost, this match ruled! You will note neither man is champion so what is hanging above the ring. A clipboard! Yes, a clipboard to be No. 1 Contender, not exactly the coolest thing ever. Sheamus is coming off a 10 month main event run against Cena, Orton & HHH. At this point, WWE was moving onto Wade Barrett & The Miz. They did not shunt Sheamus into midcard hell and instead they kept him warm by having him win a King of the Ring Tournament, which allowed him to wear a cool crown to the ring and let people know he is still important. The way the IC & US titles were being booked this was the better option. They feuded him with Morrison as a means to elevate both guys. Morrison was in an interesting position. WWE lost a lot of maine event talent in 2010 (Batista, Shawn Michaels, HHH, Jericho) and the remaining main event talent was all babyfaces (Cena, Orton, Edge, Rey & Taker). So WWE needed heels, which is why Sheamus, Swagger, Kane, Barrett & Miz were all being pushed. Morrison as an up coming babyface was actually in a less fortunate spot being behind five heavy hitters. But enough about booking, lets talk about how great this match is.

 

John Morrison is way better than I remembered. I always thought he was a nancy boy like Kofi Kingston, but this dude hits hard and his spots actually look like they hurt because he is hurling his entire body at Sheamus. I thought the shine was really good. Lots of Morrison flying into your screen from crazy angles and just wiping Sheamus out. I really liked the test of strength over the ladder and how Morrison won and hit a crazy flip dive on Sheamus. Sheamus was great establishing that he is a bully but one that is being thwarted by speed. Then the heat segment happened and I remembered why I love pro wrestling. Morrison set up the ladder in a stupid spot and this was the only notable issue with the match is they kept setting the ladder up in stupid places. The spots for the most part were great just wish the set up was better. Ok enough complaining. So they do the spot where Morrison's knee is caught in the ladder. Sheamus then TIPS THE LADDER OVER!!! OH MY GOD! Sheamus then absolutely destroys the knee for like the next five minute. Great violence. Morrison is so great being this tenacious competitor coming back grabbing the ankle or the ladder. I liked the one time he kicked the ladder away from Sheamus just a little bit. Sheamus just started beating the piss out of him. I think my favorite spot was when Sheamus used the ladder was a lever to extend the pressure of a single leg crab and then slam the ladder on the back of Morrison's leg. I thought the Morrison comeback was really well done. It was all about headshots to Sheamus. Tripping Sheamus into the ladder, a kick to the head. Ringing Sheamus' bell while also selling the leg. The dueling ladders is when they really got the crowd into it. Morrison really ROARED with a comeback here winning the battle and hitting a big clothesline to send Sheamus out of the ring. I loved Sheamus coming back in with a Brogue Kick to the bad leg sending Morrison flying off the ladder. There were some great "nearfalls" for both Sheamus and Morrison. I liked how Morrison would actually grab the contract and have Sheamus knock him off. Made it seem so close. Since the beginning of the match they set up a ladder across the apron of the ring and the announce table. Terrible setup and execution of the spot. Definitely a low-point. I thought the actual finish was great. They used the Parkoor background of Morrison to ricochet off the rope while on the ladder into a wicked kick before grabbing the contract. With the Miz as champion and their history as a tag team this made perfect booking sense.

 

To me this was a modernized version of the Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon II classic. Just excellent knee psychology from the vicious Sheamus attack, the great selling of Morrison throughout and a smart, well-designed comeback. Where this gets hurts just a tad is how the spots were set up and that lame spot at the end where Sheamus goes through a ladder. Small complaints watch this match as it is just killer pro wrestling. 2010 is an incredibly weak year for pro wrestling globally this has a pretty damn good chance to be Match of the Year for 2010. ****1/2