Breaking Down the Best and Worst of the WWE for Week of Dec. 2

This week made the case for the power and effectiveness of simplicity, in WWE or elsewhere.

The week's best offerings were straightforward, attention-grabbing displays of sports theater. Erick Rowan had the best showing of his career. Paige forced fans to discuss whether her latest title defense was the best Divas match of the year.

WWE's worst moments of the week included trying to use vomiting as entertainment, not following through with a storyline and going with unwanted gimmick matches for the upcoming pay-per-view

What made fans jump out of their seats and what inspired them to roll their eyes? SmackDown, Raw, NXT and announcements regarding TLC 2013 delivered the highs and lows of the week in WWE.

Best: Tag Team Insanity

The Black Friday edition of SmackDown leaned heavily on WWE's strong tag team division, composing a wild, escalating match that thrilled.

It began as a tag team title match, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins challenging Cody Rhodes and Goldust. That match was great on its own. Electric chemistry was on display with these teams as they have been for the last two months.

Rhodes hit his finisher and victory seemed certain. Dean Ambrose dived into the fray to stop the pin.

CM Punk charged toward the ring with a steel chair in his grasp. Before chaos fully erupted, Vickie Guerrero ordered that the match be started as a six-man bout with Punk and Ambrose added to the mix.

Soon after, The Wyatt Family attacked which prompted Rey Mysterio and The Usos to come to the fan favorites' aid. 

Guerrero added all of those man into what became a 12-man tag clash. The friction between The Wyatt Family and The Shield, Luke Harper's brutal style of offense and Mysterio's burst of energy made the third act of the night's main event a compelling one.

Nearly half of SmackDown was dedicated to this match, a showcase of talents both rising and established.

It's wise of the company to continue to highlight the flourishing tag team division as well as to tease a future conflict between The Wyatt Family and The Shield. A large number of talents received an opportunity, and they all nailed it.

Worst: Prime Time Pukers

With the tag team division so red-hot at the moment, it's surprising that The Prime Time Players aren't getting a bigger share of the spotlight.

On the Nov. 29 SmackDown and Monday's Raw, WWE gave Titus O'Neil airtime, but not the kind that The Shield, The Usos and the other teams are getting. O'Neil won a Thanksgiving food eating contest on SmackDown which led to him vomiting during his match with Antonio Cesaro.

A few days later, fans watched as Zeb Colter made fun of the incident.

The Real Americans battled O'Neil and Young, a match where O'Neil's uneasy stomach was again the focus. Rather than bill O'Neil as some unstoppable athlete, he found himself serving as a punchline.

The Prime Time Players are too talented to be the source of jokes about bodily fluids. Why not ask Santino Marella or 3MB to take on that role?

O'Neil and Young were mostly wasted, providing the most juvenile elements of WWE programming this week. 

Best: Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan

Erick Rowan had the highlight of his WWE career in a hard-hitting battle with Daniel Bryan. Rowan was an enthralling beast as he attacked, tortured and dominated Bryan.

Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper are getting more attention than him, but Rowan showed why we shouldn't forget about his contributions to The Wyatt Family.

Bryan's crackling energy made the last moments of the match must-watch TV. He charged around the ring and valiantly took down his Goliath of an opponent.

WWE has further evidence that Bryan gets the best out of his foes and that The Wyatt Family is going to be a lot more than just an unkempt extension of Wyatt's character.

Worst: Kidnapping Story Goes Nowhere

WWE.com

As well as the members of The Wyatt Family have been wrestling, it's unfortunate that WWE has torn the legs off their storyline.

On last Monday's Raw, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan and Bray Wyatt abducted Daniel Bryan. The story was that they stuffed him into their trunk and later left him in a parking lot. Wyatt promised that Bryan would emerge a monster from the experience.

Fans wondered if Bryan would be brainwashed into joining that clan or if he would develop Stockholm Syndrome and align with them voluntarily.

Bryan showed up the next week unchanged.

There was little mention of the kidnapping and there was certainly no consequence. That robbed the moment of its power and made the narrative an uninspired mess. Having Bryan not respond to or change because of his experience is like when a kid gets shot in a game of "cops and robbers" and simply laughs off the invisible gunshot wound.

If The Wyatt Family's kidnappings don't affect the victims, why have them?

WWE missed a great chance for something intriguing here, just as it did with Kane and The Wyatt Family a few months ago.

Best: Replacing Sin Cara with Hunico

Sin Cara scored a big win over Alberto Del Rio on Monday's Raw.

It was Hunico under the mask while the original Sin Cara remained in Mexico. Hunico proved during the double-Sin Cara storyline in 2011 that he could thrive as the masked dynamo.

The original Sin Cara, Luis Ignascio Urive Alvirde, has had his momentum stalled by injury several times. He's also developed the reputation as a backstage diva. 

Replacing him with Hunico is a solution to both issues. A more consistent in-ring performer, Hunico will be an improvement over Alvirde who will soon be free to return to Mexico where he was at his best.

Worst: Handicap Matches Booked for TLC

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CM Punk will face all three members of The Shield at TLC. Daniel Bryan will fight The Wyatt Family.

Those two bouts sound like something that would cap off a SmackDown, not be a premiere bout for a pay-per-view.

The odd booking choice robs fans of seeing The Shield in a TLC match against the tag champs. It has two of the Superstars most capable of creating classic matches forced to fight in a gimmick match that has produced very little in the way of stellar action.

John Cena vs. Randy Orton promises to be great while Bryan and Punk's clashes come off as underwhelming.

WWE likely has some creative swerve planned to even the odds, but in terms of selling the pay-per-view, Punk vs. The Shield and Bryan vs. The Wyatt Family just don't cut it.

Best: Paige vs. Natalya

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Natalya and AJ Lee will have a tough time topping what Natalya did opposite Paige on this week's NXT.

The show featured two title bouts, Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas fighting over the NXT Championship and these two talented women clashing over the women's title. The Divas outdid Neville and Dallas thanks to intensity, technical skill and great chemistry.

The bout began with a number of impressive counters, Natalya reminding us just how stellar of a mat wrestler she is.

The champion was cocky and the vet looked to humble her. Natalya isn't used to seeing the ferocity that Paige exudes, though. She was beastly in her attack, stomping on Natalya's collarbone and yanking her down to the mat.

Trapped in Natalya's Sharpshooter, Paige suffered, writhed and desperately reached for the ropes. She managed to fight off the pain and roll her foe into the turnbuckle to escape. A moment later, Paige hit Paige Turner to retain the title.

Their match was a statement that shouted that Natalya is capable of so much more than the two-minute matches she's given on the main roster—and that Paige is more than ready to join her there.