WWE Week in Review: Who Received B/R's Top Awards for Week of Mar. 11

The gamut of what a flourishing WWE can be was on display in the days before March 12's Roadblock pay-per-view.

The cocky, gyrating tag team champs of The New Day put on their best in-ring performance to date. Chris Jericho's return to his merciless, dastardly self was one of the week's biggest highlights. And on NXT, Samoa Joe played the beastly heel to a tee.

They all gave WWE programming its most entertaining moments, each with a hugely different approach.

New Day needled its enemies. Jericho betrayed his friend. Joe walloped a man en route to the No. 1 contender's spot. Each earned a B/R weekly award as a result.

Match of the Week: The New Day vs. Chris Jericho and AJ Styles (Raw)

Given a pair of top-tier opponents and a match with high stakes and hype, The New Day absolutely thrived. Chris Jericho and AJ Styles pushed the champs and offered them their biggest challenge to date. 

And as Cageside Seats tweeted, "That was New Day's best match. Ever. Absolutely fantastic stuff."

Styles looked great once more. This was the crispest we have seen him look offensively since coming to WWE. Everything he did was dynamite, from a picture-perfect DDT to a springboard 450.

Beyond the action, the post-match story made this memorable. A team that was beginning to jell imploded in an instant. Jericho turned on Styles and filled his mouth with the duo's newly designed T-shirt. That moment makes the idea of Jericho vs. Style IV a lot more exciting than one would imagine.

And The New Day came out of this battle stronger. The trio has been goofing off more than mixing it up in the ring lately. This victory helped remind the audience why Big E and Company have the titles in the first place.

Standout NXT Star of the Week: Samoa Joe

Wednesday's NXT featured one only bout: a lengthy collision between Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn. During that 2-out-of-3 Falls match, Joe again displayed that he is a pillar of NXT and is having a career-best stretch. 

The Samoan Submission Machine was off-the-charts intense, seething as he stared down Zayn, charging at his foe with bad intentions. He was a convincing monster. He stalked and throttled Zayn in action that held one's attention despite its slow pace.

This was a display of great storytelling by both men.

Zayn, though, looks to be wrapping up his NXT stint and heading to the main roster. Joe will be sticking around, continuing his recent tear as the backbone of the brand along with Finn Balor.

The powerhouse is now headed for a rematch with Balor at NXT TakeOver: Dallas. Another standout performance this week has only increased the appeal of that clash. 

Moment of the Week: Sami Zayn Continues Feud with Kevin Owens

After weeks of rumblings that Sami Zayn may be headed for the main roster, he emerged with his fists cocked and his sights set on old foe Kevin Owens.

Owen was in the middle of a post-match assault on Neville. He was moments away from powerbombing the fan favorite on the floor when Zayn charged in. Playing the cavalry, Zayn bashed Owens with rapid strikes.

It's smart of the company to transfer this feud to WWE proper. The NXT and pre-WWE stages of this rivalry have been fantastic. Continuing to lean on their chemistry and writing new chapters in this battle will lead to great stuff on screen.

Zayn's arrival invigorates the Intercontinental Championship picture in a flash. Even if WWE crams him and several others in a multiple-wrestler match at WrestleMania, his presence will add a freshness to it all.

The surprise of Zayn stepping on the Raw stage, the palpable animosity between these men and the possibilities WWE now opens for itself with the former NXT champ in the IC title mix all add up to a bull's-eye of a move.

Under-the-Radar Move of the Week: Bray Wyatt-Triple H Staredown

Dean Ambrose's issues with Triple H and The Authority understandably dominated the WWE airwaves. With those two set to collide for the world title at Roadblock, hyping their battle was key.

But during that process, WWE teased the possibility of an electric narrative unfolding in the future.

Before Triple H looked to attack Ambrose, he shared an intense staredown with Bray Wyatt. This unexpected moment saw a monster stand up to a tyrant, a villain snarl at a villain.  

Wyatt stroked the WWE title with a devilish grin on his face. That was enough to excite an audience hungry to see The Eater of Worlds rise. Scott Fishman of the Miami Herald tweeted, "WWE made me want Bray Wyatt vs. Triple H at WrestleMania in one minute. By fan reaction, [I] guess I'm not alone."

As Fishman pointed out, that test run to gauge the crowd's reaction was a success. Even with no prior history between The Game and Wyatt, fans still roared at their interaction. 

This subplot adds instant intrigue. Wyatt could turn face at some point and be the one to oust The Authority. Or he and his crew could simply be looking to bring about chaos to WWE, with no regard for standard heel-face divisions. 

The fact that all those possibilities now surge through one's head is a testament to the impact of the Wyatt-Triple H moment. There is an unpredictability about what's ahead for those two that forces fans to slide forward in their seats.

Wrestler of the Week: Chris Jericho

This is the Chris Jericho we know and love.

In the midst of what has been an inconsistent run filled with corny humor and a character that never really clicked, a more villainous and compelling version of Jericho emerged. He began a strong week by being key to the best tag match all year. He thrived alongside AJ Styles in a battle against The New Day for the tag titles.

And then in one of the most interesting developments on Monday's Raw, he turned on his partner. He attacked The Phenomenal One and shoved a T-shirt into his mouth. Immediately, the intrigue level for Jericho went up.

A logical shift saw jealousy and frustration bring out his dark side. This was an organic change, and one that has Jericho marching forward with plenty of momentum.

His initial act upon his return felt like a watered-down version of his 1999 one.  As we saw when he berated both Styles and the WWE fans on Thursday's SmackDown, he's now something more haunting. With flames crackling near his face, Y2J seemed inspired and energized by this move toward heel status.

The image of him in front of that fire was powerful. Voices of Wrestling's Ru Gunn wrote, "If I can just shed my professional veneer for a brief moment and reveal my true identity as being 12 years old—this is kinda badass."

That's not something one would have said about Jericho's shtick a month ago. But now he's found a skin that fits, one that allows him to be his best.