John Cena vs. Roman Reigns, Sting in the Top 10 and More from the 2015 Mailbag

Awards season is upon us, with WWE leading the charge of doling out "best-of 2015" accolades. WWE.com released its annual top-10 list, and right on cue, people freaked out.

Top Tense?

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#WWE's "Best Superstars of 2015" is pretty funny...Sting? Charlotte? Reigns at number ONE?...New Day at 2 (while great) over Rollins/Cena...

— Joshua Gagnon (@HeelDoors) December 31, 2015"

WWE.com's recent article counting down the 10 best Superstars of 2015 was a fair yet controversial mix of talent. I felt Kevin Owens (No. 7) was a bit low, while Nikki Bella (No. 5) was a bit high. I loved The New Day at No. 2, as it was quite possibly the best "thing" of 2015 in WWE.

As I mentioned on PodNasty, one can make an argument for either Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns for No. 1, but I have no problem with Reigns getting the top spot given his incredible odyssey to the WWE Championship.

Reigns' journey to the top was essentially WWE telling the loudest, most insufferable portion of its fanbase to sit down and shut up. And it worked. In ranking Reigns No. 1, WWE was celebrating its own victory in getting him over as much as it was celebrating the champ himself.

With only two matches in 2015, it's fairly suspect to see Sting on this list, but he's Sting. WWE is an entertainment entity, and within those walls, the big-fight feel trumps "work rate." Most casual fans don't know what work rate is, nor should they care. It's the same reason Brock Lesnar cracked the top five, and as a result, I have no problem with either of these choices. 

Question of the Week: WrestleMania's Five Knuckle Shuffle

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@ThisIsNasty If they do Reigns vs Cena for the title at Mania who will the Undertaker face at Mania?

— Haskell (@AnAndyhaskell15) December 31, 2015"

There will be an interesting musical chairs act between what I am dubbing WrestleMania 32's "Big Five" who figure to comprise of the three biggest matches on the card. These individuals are John Cena, Roman Reigns, Triple H, Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker.

Once four of these WWE Superstars are paired off to have a WrestleMania match, one will be left on the outside looking in, destined to settle for what may be a forced opponent. Batista was left holding his can in a similar situation at WrestleMania 24. He wound up backing into a forgettable match against Umaga.

If I were to guess right now, I'd pick Cena to face The Undertaker, while Triple H faces Roman Reigns. This would leave Lesnar on the outside looking in, and if WWE cannot pull off a miracle and book The Rock to wrestle, I could see Lesnar facing either Dean Ambrose or Kevin Owens.

A Reigns-Cena match would also be very interesting. If WWE goes in that direction, both Undertaker and Triple H would be left stranded. However I do not see them facing one another for a record fourth WrestleMania match. In that scenario, Triple H may get Ambrose, and in a perfect world, Undertaker would finally lose to Bray Wyatt in his final match.

Dog Years?

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When someone says that this year was bad for WWE....... Wait that wasn't a joke 😐?? Run!!! 😠😡 pic.twitter.com/YxlMgQ47xe

— Brie WWE Fan (@Miss_SAWFT) December 31, 2015"

In an era where social media hyperbole is king, it's ridiculous to suggest WWE had a bad year.

It's easy to be tricked into such a notion because of the extended, and historically bad, ratings slide for WWE's weekly flagship. Snap judgments to underwhelming creative decisions also play a factor.

But with streaming services set to outpace network television by 2016, per Todd Spangler of Variety, Raw's numbers may speak more to a declining TV market than a bad year for WWE.

With the growth of WWE Network and yet another record-breaking WrestleMania, WWE surged in two of its most important business entities. NXT also grew by leaps and bounds with its first batch of shows to sell out 10,000- to 16,000-seat arenas.

All this before even mentioning The New Day.

By no means was WWE's year perfect. Considering mini-crises in injuries and ratings, it might even be a stretch to say it had a good year. But to suggest WWE had a bad year is just plain wrong.

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and an on-air host for Bleacher Report. Like him on Facebook, and listen to a special PodNasty WWE Awards Spectacular.

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