The Little Things

The Little Things

This isn't meant to be a summary of the entire match or even all the moments I think are great, this  is just highlighting specific moments I think might get overlooked or just stand out for whatever reason.

Stills obviously aren't the ideal way to convey the ideas of any art form that has lots of movement, but I find they highlight and clarify specific moments very well that otherwise might get lost in motion.

Be sure to watch the match, especially since seeing everything in motion will give you a better idea of what I mean.

Ziggler (c) v Cesaro v Kidd for the Intercontinental Championship (Smackdown Nov. 14, 2014)

Cesaro countering a double team attempt into a double vertical suplex. Watch how Kidd doesn't get all the way over and he has to one arm muscle him the rest of the way. Cesaro is pulling off that herculean feat with the greatest of ease. I bet it passed by most people because of how damn smooth he makes it. (We) Love you Cesaro.

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After Cesaro gives Kidd a uppercut in the corner, look at how Kidd tries to grab the ropes as he is pulled away. It's futile and sells the damage well.

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This superplex spot! My big problem with the superplex is that it has been overused to the point of oblivion. It's hard to look at it as an effective power move when everyone does it, especially since it is usually used to just fill in a spot. That's not how it should be and this is a great example of how to do one of these superplex/Tower of Doom by a turnbuckle scenarios.

Look at how Kidd dangles from his powerbomb position. Usually Kidd would roll over and plant his feet to powerbomb Cesaro, but this variation is pretty effective. His feet only graze the ground because Cesaro is holding him up for an extended moment which adds a vicious impact usually lacking from those spots.

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Cesaro covering Ziggler while in a sharpshooter. That's just clever and fun. Not sure I have ever seen anything like it.

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Cesaro applies a crossface while Kidd has a sharpshooter. Kidd gets pissed off and drops the sharpshooter to attack Cesaro. Now, this looks like a real dumb decision (and it sort of is) but it shows a couple things.

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A. Kidd's character. He doesn't want help. He wants to earn this victory in a way that can't be attributed to anyone else. He's good enough to get it done himself and to hell with Cesaro.


B. You could also see it as evidence of Kidd's intelligence and game plan. Cesaro is hossy has been destroying Kidd and Zigler frequently throughout this entire match because he's a god damn beautiful wrestleman. Maybe he's more comfortable going one on one with Ziggler.

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After Ziggler hits a tilt-a-whirl Zig Zag on Cesaro (a great counter), Kidd sneaks back in and throws Ziggler out, scoring the pin on Cesaro himself. This is great realization of narrative threads from earlier.


He doesn't want the help from Cesaro, it offends him. He has too much pride. But any opportunity to score a pinfall? He'll take it. Real simple heel characteristics shine here.

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Benjamin v HBK spot. I like how this isn't stealing a spot, but sampling it intelligently by bringing it down a notch. If they decide to just replicate and have the same distance as the HBK/Benjamin match, they'd run the risk of lessening the impact.


If Zig doesn't pin Kidd, you are just pointing out how much worse he is (kayfabe) then HBK and your match is just blowing big spots for no reason.


If Zig pins Kidd, the match looks pretty weak just taking that sequence. Also, Kidd would potentially look weak getting pinned from Ziggler's superkick since it isn't one of his finishers.


This sampling works pretty well. Less distance, still a good spot and it sells both guys well.

Aside from that, this spot shows how Smackdown can use the fact that it is taped to separate itself from Raw. Really simple editing here a moment before Zigglerès kick makes impact (if you edit on the exact moment of impact, you risk losing your audience. Always subtly lead into it) really punctuates this moment in a way that Raw can't do easily.


Raw is exciting because it is live and anything can happen! Smackdown should be exciting because of how formally precise it is.

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Dolph rolls through the Sharpshooter, forcing Kidd to let go and deliver the Zig Zag. This is the kind of spot that they could build on in later matches, adding cool psychology. Or at least I hope so. It'd be tragic if these guys didn't get to run another singles match after this.

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^ Wrote that before Ziggler lost the IC championship to Harper (lolol).


The match has a bunch of other great moments like Kidd's quick offense outside the ring and some real nice combination work from the three. The pacing is great and they manage to avoid using the typical "one dude lays outside for an hour" trope these matches usually suffer from. Great focus on constant movement and moving in and out of each wrestlers threat zones,


Check it out!