So my laptop is deciding to be a complete jerk, so believe it or not, this entire review is being done on my Nexus 7 tablet. So there won’t be any pictures here. So with that cleared up, let’s get started. (I watched the main card, not the pre-show matches, though I did see that Cesaro/Sheamus was one of the best pre-show matches ever)
Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens def. Enzo Amore and Big Cass
Kind of a shocking result if you ask me. I’m a firm believer in the reverse momentum theory, when you look weak the week before RAW but get the win on PPV, but nonetheless I’m happy with the result. I thought for sure that KO would turn on Jericho but it appears as though there is more to this tag team. I also thought Enzo and Cass would get the hometown rub and the win, but apparently not. The match was pretty basic as they worked a standard face/heel tag team dynamic. Enzo taking the pin probably continued JeriKO’s insinuation that Enzo is a weak link. I figured this match would go first, and it wasn’t bad. Nothing must see though. **1/2
Charlotte def. Sasha Banks (C) – WWE Women’s Championship
I can respect when WWE isn’t predictable. This match was supposedly one of the more easier matches to predict as we all assumed that Sasha wouldn’t lose the title after just winning it about a month ago and with Charlotte gaining the advantage on Monday, debunking the reverse momentum theory yet again.This match started off very sloppy. There were botched moves, sloppy execution of some moves, and there was too much top rope action. Sasha Banks puts her body on the line because she loves the business, so I appreciate her risk taking, but I have a horrible feeling that one of these days, her recklessness may cost her head. The top rope huricanrana, had it been done a mere second later, Sasha would have landed flat on her head. However the match picked up in a big way as they hit their big moves and Sasha had a nice reversal into her submission. The ending was really sort of shocking all things considered, but I have to believe there will be some sort of rubber match. This thing is far from over. I just think that WWE should have just waited till Summerslam to give Sasha the belt if this was the plan. I liked their RAW match better, but this was still very hard-hitting. ***1/2
The Miz (C) w/Maryse def. Apollo Crews – Intercontinental Championship
A lot of people had Crews getting the victory here, and I can’t blame them. However, I thought The Miz had been booked badly on Smaackdown and needs more time with the belt to showcase some of the magic he had with it after WrestleMania. There really wasn’t anything wrong with the match. Though it ended abruptly with a simple dodging move and finisher, it’s a good win for The Miz. Crews will eventually win the belt in my opinion, but I didn’t think here was the proper juncture. Nothing bad, nothing memorable here. **
AJ Styles def. John Cena
Oh man, oh man, oh man. So let’s talk about this. You can say whatever you want about John Cena, but the fact of the matter is that he brings the goods in big match situations. This match was nothing short of stupendous, with incredible submission reversals, a great story told and the facial expressions on both men showing that this was a must win situation for both of them. I loved how they played up Cena trying to AA Styles from the top rope and Cena was shocked when Styles kicked out. What I loved the most, however, is that this match felt important. Styles was the right person to win here, because it would give him tremendous momentum heading into the fall, and there really isn’t a reason for Cena to win here, because he’s leaving for another 2 months. Besides, he’s John Cena. He can get his win back sooner or later. Bottom line is that this was one of the best matches of the year. It gives Nakamura/Zayn a run for its money if you ask me. It was enjoyable watch, the near-falls had my heart racing do a good while, and the crowd reaction showed it. It was a double edged sword because the show probably reaches its apex here. Nothing, and I mean nothing was topping this tonight. I feel so very sorry for which match had to follow this. Hopefully AJ will continue his great run in a WWE Title feud with Ambrose. What a run for the former face of TNA that would be. ****3/4
The Club def. The New Day (C) by DQ – WWE Tag Team Championships
Unless done right, like the Stone Cold/Kurt Angle SS match at 2001, I despise DQ finishes on PPV. Especially title matches. The New Day was in trouble and The Club had the belts won until Jon freaking Stewart came in to ruin everything. Last year he helped Seth Rollins win. This year, he’s public enemy number 1. The match wasn’t all that special. Pretty much a RAW match. Big E got a good response for the crowd as well. I believe these two will have a rematch either tonight or at the next PPV, but I wish we got at least some finish here. *1/2
Nikki Bella, Alexa Bliss and Natayla def. Becky Lynch, Naomi and Carmella
So how about that troll job with Eva Marie before the match? Brilliant. Just brilliant. Anyways, with the report out that Nikki was in NYC I think it was all but inevitable that she would be the mystery partner. I also assume that this means she’s on the Smackdown roster. I also notice her finisher changed, not surprising since her old finisher did a real number on her neck. This match went a little too long for me, but I didn’t see anything bad per say here.**
Dean Ambrose (C) def. Dolph Ziggler – WWE World Heavyweight Championship
It was borderline disturbing at times how dead the crowd was for this title match, and you can’t blame them because Cena/Styles rocked the arena and sapped them out of all their energy. This match was dull at times, and I don’t think it ever reached that next level. It just seemed mundane and dull at times. The crowd didn’t even pop for some of the finisher hits and near-falls because they were tired of cheering before hand. I was semi-expecting a heel turn from either men, but we didn’t get it, and that’s fine. Call it good, but nothing blow away for me. The build to this match was awesome, but sadly, the in-ring product didn’t match to the intensity that led to this moment. **3/4
Finn Balor def. Seth Rollins – WWE Universal Championship
Sort of surprised at the result because Balor had gotten the better of Rollins in two prior one on one confrontations. In spite of that, this match, whole I don’t think reached the level I wanted it to, still ended up being pretty damn good. It especially got going in the end when Balor was all over the place and when the near falls kicked in. My only concern is that Finn has no where to go but down here. He’s already beaten RAW’s top two stars in Reigns and Rollins clean and now is the first Universal Champion. Sorry to go a little off track, but did you guys see how ugly that belt was? It was like a kid just drew red crayon on the WWE title belt and gave it a silly name you would see in a video game. This was their first match, so I believe it will take some time for them to get their chemistry going, and once they do, they can have something special. For now, it was a great start to a feud which I will assume would continue. ****
Rusev (C) vs. Roman Reigns – United States Championship (No Contest)
Yeah, I have a lot of beef with this. First of all, why they decided to have this AFTER the Universal title match is beyond me. Second, was giving Rusev a victory so hard? I mean, Reigns has gotten the better of Rusev in every segment they’ve been together just about, they gave away a 25 minute version of this match on RAW with Reigns winning clean, and now when the belt is on the line, they just decide to have Rusev look like a chump and get bulldozed by Reigns again? Just doesn’t make any sense. How you give away an advertised match for a PPV for free on RAW and then NOT do the match on PPV that people pay to see is a lot of undercutting right there. In personally think Rusev deserves better than what he’s getting, but this feud has been grossly one sided.
Brock Lesnar def. (TKO) Randy Orton
Color me disappointed. I’m a huge Orton mark, so of course I was upset. I wasn’t upset at the fact that Lesnar won, but because of how they made it seem like Orton didn’t belong in the same ring as Brock. It was just an extended squash. You know, Orton was talking about how it takes one RKO this and that, but the crowd never bought Orton winning after a SECOND RKO. As for the finish….well…I’m still on the fence as to whether or not it was planned. If it was, then screw WWE. I know people may say Cena got the same treatment two years ago, but remember that Cena got the win the first time they met in Brocks return, so that was payback in a sense. Orton is still a 12 time champion, but Leanae decimated not only Orton, but Smackdowns credibility. With Cena gone for the next two months and with Orton left in a pool of his own blood, there isn’t much at the top that competes with RAW’s elite, despite Smack down being the better show. I also certainly hope they weren’t foreshadowing some sort of Lesnar/Shan feud. My guess is that Orton would look for redemption and perhaps these two go at it inside Hell In A Cell. At least I hope. I just felt like I didn’t get the big match feeling I thought it was going to be. 14 years in the making, over a month and a half this match was announced, and all we really got was a mauling. I thought the match was going in a good direction, but awful booking and an abrupt finish ruins this for me. **
Conclusion:
A very hard show to grade, because it was so unbalanced. Cena/Styles was off the charts, Rollins/Balor got going in a big way and the second half of Charlotte/Sasha was great. However, we also had a title match end in DQ, another title match that never got started, and a lot of fluff. Put it this way. This show is an easy thumbs up for me if the show ended at Rollins/Balor, but the half hour of suffering succotash that was Reigns/Rusev and Orton/Lesnar dragged it. There was just a lot of fluff, no substance matches in the middle of the card as well. I suppose I’d say there is nothing so grotesque for me not to reccomend it but I’m sure as hell not watching the entire show start to finish again if I could. You need to see Styles/Cena and Rollins/Balor was pretty good as well. All the rest was either useless or could get away without seeing. So with that, I have thumbs in the middle. WWE needs to realize that more matches doesn’t make for a better show. I had Summerslam as one of the best PPVs ever, but it flopped in that regard. There’s very good, and very bad on this show. So call it what you will. Until next time. Deuces.
