Once a year, the fans are in control of what they want to see! Cyber Sunday 2006 saw the champions of all three brands clash against each other to find out who really is the champion of all champions. Which championship is on the line and who will walk out with the gold around their waist?
Match 1: Umaga vs. Kane
The fans add the
option of choosing between Kane, Chris Benoit or The Sandman for this
one with Kane winning by a pretty easy margin. At this point, Umaga is
still undefeated and is being beefed up for an eventual feud with the
WWE Champion in John Cena. Pretty decent opener here with Umaga catching
Kane from the top rope with an uppercut to his neck before following it
with a Samoan Spike. Take it for what it was but there is no doubt that
with Armando Alejandro Estrada by his side, Umaga was beginning to look
like money at this point.
Winner: Umaga
Rating: **
Match 2: Texas Tornado - Cryme Tyme vs. Viscera and Charlie Haas vs. The Highlanders vs. Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch
Funny
to note that both Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler already mentioned that this
would be a Texas Tornado match before they showed Todd Grisham and
Maria announcing it for everyone with a drum roll and everything. Quick
match with every team basically getting in at least one of their
offenses as Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch knocked out one of The
Highlanders before Cryme Tyme took advantage by hitting the pin. Nothing
special here, just a filler of a match for the card.
Winners: Cryme Tyme
Rating: 3/4*
Match 3: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Carlito
By
a landslide margin, Carlito earns his shot at the Intercontinental
Championship against Jeff Hardy. At this point, the hype for the Hardy
train was really just beginning and you could just feel how hot the
crowd was getting for this guy. He also was having great matches left
and right with this one being no exception. Really, this felt like
watching a movie where the good guy has to fend off a bad guy who we
know is going to lose. The crowd was just so hot for Hardy and were with
him every step of the way. The two did a great job in keeping the match
flowing without it being too one-sided. Carlito looked to hit a
Hurricanrana from the top before Hardy pushes him off and hits a Swanton
Bomb to score the victory.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Rating: ***1/4
Match 4: D-Generation X vs. Rated RKO
Eric
Bischoff was voted in to be the special guest referee for the contest
as the two teams collided in what would later become a very bloody and
personal feud. The match started off like your everyday tag match with
Bischoff actually calling things down the line. Rated RKO looked to be
in the driver's seat by isolating Shawn Michaels thoroughly throughout
the match while Triple H was left watching from his corner. The
complexion of the match changed drastically once Edge inadvertently
Speared the living daylights out of Bischoff. However, Bischoff still
tried to help Rated RKO win the match as he led Michaels into a chair
shot to the face by Edge. Edge then entered the match and hit Triple H
with it before Randy Orton delivered an RKO to The Game on the same
chair to secure the win. That was everything it needed to be to spark
this feud into another level. The match wasn't the best thing ever but
it didn't need to be since it served its purpose and will certainly lead
to better ones down the line. Now it got personal with Rated RKO
bringing the steel chair into the match and also using Bischoff to their
advantage in order to steal the win.
Winners: Rated RKO
Rating: ***1/2
Match 5: WWE Women's Championship - Lumberjill - Mickie James vs. Lita
Since Trish Stratus rightfully retired with the Women's Championship, a tournament was made in order to find out the new champion with this being the finals. Decent action here for what it was with the lumberjills being the bigger story of the match along with Jerry Lawler barely containing himself on commentary. These were the days. After Victoria grabs Mickie James from the outside, Lita is able to hit a DDT and capitalize on the situation for the win. Lita gets back her championship before retiring just a month or so after this.
Winner: Lita
Rating: *1/4
Match 6: WWE World Tag Team Championships - The Spirit Squad (c) vs. Ric Flair and Roddy Piper
With the fans being able to choose between Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes or Roddy Piper, the Rowdy one was selected as he gets to team with Flair to challenge the young Spirit Squad. Both Kenny and Mikey were the representatives for The Squad. For the limited athletic abilities Piper held, it was still a joy to see him in the ring with Flair and working as a unit against the younger team. Miraculously, Flair makes Mikey submit with the Figure Four and picking up the huge win for himself and Piper. Afterwards, Sgt. Slaughter and Rhodes join the fray and take out The Spirit Squad with both Flair and Piper. Great moment here. Probably the funniest moment happened at the end of the segment when Jerry Lawler said he hopes there isn't going to be a live sex celebration to which Jim Ross dismissed in disgust. Amazing.
Winners: Ric Flair and Roddy Piper
Rating: **
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - King Booker (c) vs. The Big Show vs. John Cena
Another landslide vote for this one as King Booker's World Heavyweight Championship was voted to be the championship on the line for tonight's main event. Loved the idea of this main event despite it being pretty damn obvious that Booker's title was going to be voted as the one to be defended. Despite Booker being the one to be in a defensive mode, it felt like it was John Cena was fending off the two heels here but once he took The Big Show out of the equation, some interference from Kevin Federline (yes, you read that right) helped Booker drill Cena with his belt to score the win and retain his title. The match certainly could have used a few more minutes as this was just underwhelming as it gets. Plus, having Federline added to the mix just adds more to the mess. To me, it just seems like a slap to the face of the buyers as their last image is Kevin Federline having a say in the biggest match of the night.
Winner: King Booker
Rating: **3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Such a weak offering from the WWE here with the voting being so predictable and almost taking the whole concept irrelevant in the process. A couple of the matches were good but nothing that were worthy enough to make this PPV a recommendation for anyone who hasn't seen it or has any remote interest in going back to 2006.
Rating: 5/10
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Sunday, July 22, 2018
WWE Payback 2015 Review
Seth Rollins finds himself in the biggest predicament in his tenure as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He is forced to defend his championship against three of the WWE's best in Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Will he be able to steal another win and leave with the belt still around his waist?
Match 1: Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler
After their odd Kiss Me Arse match at Extreme Rules and yes, that really did happen, Dolph Ziggler seeks some revenge over Sheamus. Better effort here than their last match, more intensity and definitely a little more stiff to go along with it. Ziggler managed to get his revenge for Sheamus making him kiss his ass by shoving his own ass into the face of Sheamus. However, Sheamus would later get the last laugh after Ziggler would inadvertently cut himself from a headbutt and get drilled by a Brogue Kick. Nice opener here as Sheamus continues his dominance since his return and once again making his Brogue Kick finisher look like a game changer.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ***
Match 2: WWE Tag Team Championships - 2 out of 3 Falls - The New Day (c) vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd
Another Extreme Rules rematch sees the two top tag teams of the company in a 2 out of 3 falls match. I have to say it again, The New Day as heels was just phenomenal, loved how they sarcastically teased the Baltimore crowd about having not won a World Series in over 30 years with Adam Jones sitting at ringside. Another solid match for the card with innovative moves from both squads while Xavier Woods hilariously hyped his team up. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd quickly score the first fall before The New Day evened things up. Finally, Woods sneaks into the match and rolls up Kidd to score the win as the referee could not tell the difference between he and Kofi Kingston. Great ending to the match as both teams continue to get over with the fans. Solid start to the show.
Winners: The New Day
Rating: ***3/4
Match 3: Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback
At this point, the hype train for Ryback has officially been derailed. But with that being said, we still got two big guys going at it in a match the crowd just seemingly could not care about. Through that, the action in the ring was enjoyable to watch as Bray Wyatt did not have a simple task in facing Ryback. Ryback got in a good amount of offense but in the end, it was all about Wyatt being too much for Ryback and eventually scoring the win with a Sister Abigail. Basic match for the PPV with Ryback continuing to go down the slide while Wyatt tries to climb back up the ladder on the roster after falling off for a bit. This is a good step.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Rating: *3/4
Match 4: WWE United States Championship - I Quit - John Cena (c) vs. Rusev
Like Bray Wyatt, the star of Rusev was falling after a couple tough losses to John Cena which made his legitimacy put in question. However, Rusev gets one more crack at both Cena and the United States Championship in a match that Cena has never lost before, an I Quit match. Rusev easily manhandled Cena throughout the match and his constant requests for the referee to ask Cena if he quit was getting tiresome. The fight spilled into the audience where it finally picked up a little with Cena continuing to get his ass beaten and even getting thrown through a table. Cena finally put in some serious offense and was able to hit an Attitude Adjustment on the stage which triggered the pyro to go off, a pretty silly spot that was obvious that Rusev sustained no serious injuries. However, Cena was able to win when he locked Rusev in an STF with the top rope, similar to him doing so against Umaga in 2007. Lana then came in and quit the match for Rusev, Cena pulls off the win as the heat between Rusev and Lana continues to escalate. Another pretty weak offering from the two with this one dragging on for the better part of the match.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: **1/2
Match 5: The Bella Twins vs. Tamina and Naomi
Per usual, we get our Divas match on the card and instead of the Divas Championship being on the line, we have a tag match this time around. Standard match here with the crowd basically sitting on their hands. The Bella Twins were fairly entertaining to watch but their adversaries were just too new for anyone to really care for. Naomi is able to toss a distracted Nikki Bella off the top rope to score the win for her team. Next!
Winners: Tamina and Naomi
Rating: 3/4*
Match 6: King Barrett vs. Neville
Before we roll into the main event, it is The King of Bad News vs. The Man that Gravity Forgot in a King of the Ring rematch. With that crowd still a bit dead from the last match, these two had some trouble trying to get them into the action. This was a fairly short match with Neville getting the upper hand on King Barrett before Barrett decided to basically quit the match and get himself counted out. Afterwards, Barrett tries to beat down Neville before Neville fights back and hits him with a Red Arrow. Nothing fancy here, another filler match for the card as the steam from these two guys begins to die out.
Winner: Neville
Rating: **
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Seth Rollins (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns
Seth Rollins has both Kane and J&J Security on his side as he goes against his WrestleMania opponent and former Shield brothers. While the Kane stuff can be a bit overwhelming at times, they did a great job of incorporating him in the match as he did his best to help Rollins win in order to save his job. The match also did a great job in telling all kinds of stories from The Shield reuniting for a bit to slam Randy Orton through a table before Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns duked it out with the loser buying the beers. Crowd was absolutely eating up the action and everybody played their parts nicely, including the guys trying to help Rollins. Rollins is able to capitalize on the Kane distraction and nailing Orton with a Pedigree to steal another win. Solid main event that really gets Rollins over as a dastardly heel that can't win without some sort of fishy way. The match went on for 20 minutes but I felt like another 5 minutes could have easily taken this one to another level. With that being said, this match was not enough to make this PPV a standout for the year.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
I might be a bit generous with my score for the show since it basically felt like watching Extreme Rules from the previous month all over again. It just feels like a recycled show with lazy booking. Much of the show felt like watching an edition of Monday Night Raw with the main event really being more of a way to boost a feud between Seth Rollins and Kane. Hard for me to recommend anyone to sit down and give this a viewing.
Rating: 5.75/10
Match 1: Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler
After their odd Kiss Me Arse match at Extreme Rules and yes, that really did happen, Dolph Ziggler seeks some revenge over Sheamus. Better effort here than their last match, more intensity and definitely a little more stiff to go along with it. Ziggler managed to get his revenge for Sheamus making him kiss his ass by shoving his own ass into the face of Sheamus. However, Sheamus would later get the last laugh after Ziggler would inadvertently cut himself from a headbutt and get drilled by a Brogue Kick. Nice opener here as Sheamus continues his dominance since his return and once again making his Brogue Kick finisher look like a game changer.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ***
Match 2: WWE Tag Team Championships - 2 out of 3 Falls - The New Day (c) vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd
Another Extreme Rules rematch sees the two top tag teams of the company in a 2 out of 3 falls match. I have to say it again, The New Day as heels was just phenomenal, loved how they sarcastically teased the Baltimore crowd about having not won a World Series in over 30 years with Adam Jones sitting at ringside. Another solid match for the card with innovative moves from both squads while Xavier Woods hilariously hyped his team up. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd quickly score the first fall before The New Day evened things up. Finally, Woods sneaks into the match and rolls up Kidd to score the win as the referee could not tell the difference between he and Kofi Kingston. Great ending to the match as both teams continue to get over with the fans. Solid start to the show.
Winners: The New Day
Rating: ***3/4
Match 3: Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback
At this point, the hype train for Ryback has officially been derailed. But with that being said, we still got two big guys going at it in a match the crowd just seemingly could not care about. Through that, the action in the ring was enjoyable to watch as Bray Wyatt did not have a simple task in facing Ryback. Ryback got in a good amount of offense but in the end, it was all about Wyatt being too much for Ryback and eventually scoring the win with a Sister Abigail. Basic match for the PPV with Ryback continuing to go down the slide while Wyatt tries to climb back up the ladder on the roster after falling off for a bit. This is a good step.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Rating: *3/4
Match 4: WWE United States Championship - I Quit - John Cena (c) vs. Rusev
Like Bray Wyatt, the star of Rusev was falling after a couple tough losses to John Cena which made his legitimacy put in question. However, Rusev gets one more crack at both Cena and the United States Championship in a match that Cena has never lost before, an I Quit match. Rusev easily manhandled Cena throughout the match and his constant requests for the referee to ask Cena if he quit was getting tiresome. The fight spilled into the audience where it finally picked up a little with Cena continuing to get his ass beaten and even getting thrown through a table. Cena finally put in some serious offense and was able to hit an Attitude Adjustment on the stage which triggered the pyro to go off, a pretty silly spot that was obvious that Rusev sustained no serious injuries. However, Cena was able to win when he locked Rusev in an STF with the top rope, similar to him doing so against Umaga in 2007. Lana then came in and quit the match for Rusev, Cena pulls off the win as the heat between Rusev and Lana continues to escalate. Another pretty weak offering from the two with this one dragging on for the better part of the match.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: **1/2
Match 5: The Bella Twins vs. Tamina and Naomi
Per usual, we get our Divas match on the card and instead of the Divas Championship being on the line, we have a tag match this time around. Standard match here with the crowd basically sitting on their hands. The Bella Twins were fairly entertaining to watch but their adversaries were just too new for anyone to really care for. Naomi is able to toss a distracted Nikki Bella off the top rope to score the win for her team. Next!
Winners: Tamina and Naomi
Rating: 3/4*
Match 6: King Barrett vs. Neville
Before we roll into the main event, it is The King of Bad News vs. The Man that Gravity Forgot in a King of the Ring rematch. With that crowd still a bit dead from the last match, these two had some trouble trying to get them into the action. This was a fairly short match with Neville getting the upper hand on King Barrett before Barrett decided to basically quit the match and get himself counted out. Afterwards, Barrett tries to beat down Neville before Neville fights back and hits him with a Red Arrow. Nothing fancy here, another filler match for the card as the steam from these two guys begins to die out.
Winner: Neville
Rating: **
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Seth Rollins (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns
Seth Rollins has both Kane and J&J Security on his side as he goes against his WrestleMania opponent and former Shield brothers. While the Kane stuff can be a bit overwhelming at times, they did a great job of incorporating him in the match as he did his best to help Rollins win in order to save his job. The match also did a great job in telling all kinds of stories from The Shield reuniting for a bit to slam Randy Orton through a table before Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns duked it out with the loser buying the beers. Crowd was absolutely eating up the action and everybody played their parts nicely, including the guys trying to help Rollins. Rollins is able to capitalize on the Kane distraction and nailing Orton with a Pedigree to steal another win. Solid main event that really gets Rollins over as a dastardly heel that can't win without some sort of fishy way. The match went on for 20 minutes but I felt like another 5 minutes could have easily taken this one to another level. With that being said, this match was not enough to make this PPV a standout for the year.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
I might be a bit generous with my score for the show since it basically felt like watching Extreme Rules from the previous month all over again. It just feels like a recycled show with lazy booking. Much of the show felt like watching an edition of Monday Night Raw with the main event really being more of a way to boost a feud between Seth Rollins and Kane. Hard for me to recommend anyone to sit down and give this a viewing.
Rating: 5.75/10
Sunday, July 15, 2018
WWE Extreme Rules 2018 Review
Happy Rusev Day! The long reign as WWE Champion for AJ Styles looks to be in jeopardy as Rusev finally gets his opportunity to win the big one. On the Raw side of things, Roman Reigns meets his match against Bobby Lashley while Seth Rollins looks to regain his Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler in one of the most anticipated matches of the year!
Match 1: WWE Raw Tag Team Championships - Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt (c) vs. The B-Team
Billing themselves as The Deleter of Worlds, Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt take their undefeated record against Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel of The B-Team. Good action to start the show with the crowd invested in both teams, the new gimmick has certainly given a new life to both Dallas and Axel. Dallas is able to pin Hardy to pick up the win for his team as he hands Hardy and Wyatt their first loss as a team. Decent opener that gives The B-Team their big moment and could possibly set up a breakup for The Deleter of Worlds.
Winners: The B-Team
Rating: **1/4
Match 2: Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin
Why they got to make Baron Corbin wrestle in that outfit? Anyway, the blood between he and Finn Balor has boiling for weeks as they go up against each other here in the second match of the night. Balor does a great job in playing the undersized guy here with Corbin using his size and power as the advantage. However, Balor is able to quickly roll Corbin up to secure the win. Fairly short match that served its purpose. Just can't help but feel like their talents are being wasted, think at this point, Balor would fit much better on SmackDown.
Winner: Finn Balor
Rating: **1/4
Match 3: WWE SmackDown Women's Championship - Carmella (c) vs. Asuka
With James Ellsworth being held up high in a shark cage, Carmella won't be having any help tonight against Asuka... right? The story behind this one was basically about Ellsworth being locked in the cage and tossing Carmella objects for her to take out Asuka with. The action in the ring in the meantime was pretty sloppy as they certainly added all the bells and whistles to make sure this wouldn't be a complete mess. Ellsworth unlocks the cage door but gets himself caught up in the cage and then hangs upside down while Asuka goes to town on him with strikes. However, Carmella is able to push an unexpected Asuka face first into the shark cage and escapes with another fluke win. Welp, if you're gonna have Carmella go over again, that's the way to do it. Despite the match being a bit of a mess, I'm still interested to see where the feud takes us leading into Summerslam.
Winner: Carmella
Rating: *1/4
Match 4: WWE United States Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Quick note, am I the only person who wants Jeff Hardy to use his entrance music from 2008-2009? Before the bell rings, Shinsuke Nakamura hits Hardy with a low blow and follows it up with a Kinshasa as soon as the bell rang. Nakamura is the new United States Champion. There is 10 matches on the card so one match had to bite the bullet and it just so happened to be this one. Was looking forward to seeing these two square off but this made sense. And also... I love Nakamura as a heel and find it hilarious when he hits someone with a low blow. Afterwards, Randy Orton comes out and gives another low blow to Hardy. Nakamura watches in both confusion and fear. We can all agree that both Nakamura and Orton got the easiest paychecks of their lives for this. Hardy, on the other hand...
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Rating: n/a
Match 5: Steel Cage - Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens
Let me just say, I absolutely love the feud these two are having and a steel cage match here is the perfect spot for them to be. I don't think there is anyone more entertaining right now than these two, especially Kevin Owens. The look of fear in his eyes whenever he sees Strowman is just fantastic. Of course, Strowman is having his way with Owens here before a couple mishaps on the part of Strowman turned the tides. Eventually, Owens handcuffed Strowman to the top rope as Owens then hilariously teased Strowman as he tried to escape. However, Strowman breaks the cuffs and chases Owens to the top of the cage where he then tosses him off the cage and through one of the announcers tables. That. Was. Awesome. Owens took one of the sweetest dives off the top cage I have ever seen. Afterwards, Strowman sarcastically announces Owens as the winner before walking away. That match was everything it needed to be in the short time they were allotted. As a matter of fact, I think adding any more time to it would cause the match to drag on. Not only does this give Kevin Owens his fluke win to brag about, but it helps Strowman continue to look like an absolute monster. So far, this is easily the match of the night.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Rating: ***1/2
Match 6: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships - The Bludgeon Brothers (c) vs. Team Hell No
Earlier on in the night, The Bludgeon Brothers attacked Team Hell No from behind and injured Kane with one of their hammers. With that, Daniel Bryan looked to be fighting on his own and held it down before Kane finally came out to try and help his partner in need. Of course, Kane had a boot on his leg and struggled to find his way around the match despite delivering a couple Chokeslams. Once The Bludgeon Brothers took Kane out of the match, it left a helpless Daniel Bryan to fend for himself but eventually came up short. Another smart booking decision with Team Hell No having their out for the loss. They still have a lot of steam behind them and hopefully, a bigger rematch at Summerslam is in the works.
Winners: The Bludgeon Brothers
Rating: **1/2
Match 7: Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley
A bit surprised this isn't going on last for the night, probably a smart decision based on what happened at Backlash with Roman Reigns. I know I am probably in the minority here, but this was a match I was certainly looking forward to as the feud that turned personal grabbed my interest. Despite the annoying crowd trying to hijack the match again, surprised they weren't chanting CM Punk, the guy these fans just can't seem to get over for whatever reason. Putting that side, the two beat the hell out of each other here and their similar styles worked well against each other. While the whole match itself didn't have me on the ropes, the last couple minutes were great with Reigns hitting a Superman Punch on Lashley as he was on the top rope. However, Reigns went for a Spear but was instead met with a bigger one from Lashley. Lashley quickly pinned Reigns to get the biggest win of his career in over 10 years. Great match that will hopefully lead to Lashley challenging Brock Lesnar for his Universal Championship at Summerslam. Very surprising clean win over Reigns here, just confusing to see where his character is going. Are they all in on Reigns or not?
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Rating: ***1/2
Match 8: WWE Raw Women's Championship - Extreme Rules - Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax
In a WrestleMania rematch, we see Alexa Bliss once again defending her Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax. This time, however, it is an Extreme Rules match and Ronda Rousey is watching from her seat at ringside. Jax is easily dominating Bliss once again and tossing her around like a toy exactly how she did at WrestleMania. However, once Mickie James came to the side of Bliss, that's when things got hectic. Rousey would go on to insert herself into the match and get her hands on Bliss before James whacked her with a kendo stick. Bliss then beat down Jax in the ring with a steel chair before hitting a DDT to her on a steel chair. Bliss escapes with the win and sets up a big match against Rousey at Summerslam. Good for what it was and like I said, helps set up a bigger match down the line for Bliss against Rousey.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
Rating: *1/2
Match 9: WWE Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Rusev
Silly me, here I was thinking the WWE Championship would main event the PPV. Can someone remind me the last time AJ Styles closed out a PPV? Anyway, Rusev finally gets his day and his first crack at the richest prize in the business today... or is it the Universal Championship? Crowd is definitely into both guys and the good news here, they brought the goodies tonight. Roller coaster of a match that saw Styles work his way around the bigger Rusev by targeting one of Rusev's legs. Rusev did a great job in selling the onslaught and later had trouble applying his Accolade submission because of it. Aiden English did his best to help his partner but ended up spinning things around for himself and Rusev as a removed turnbuckle pad would go on to help Styles. Styles was able to kick English out of the way and hit a Phenomenal Forearm to retain the gold. Believable nearfalls, fast action and smart wrestling here made this another great outing for the champion on his long title reign on the top. Here's hoping his reign continues, would love to see him match Lesnar's reign so he can also top Punk's reign from a few years ago.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ****
Match 10: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Iron Man - Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Seth Rollins
Can someone tell me when the last time the Intercontinental Championship closed out a PPV? That would be a pretty interesting fact. 30 minutes are on the clock as Seth Rollins looks to score some revenge against the man who took the title away from him. Accompanied to the ring by the big Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler easily has the advantage. However, two fast pins from Rollins leads to McIntyre inserting himself in the picture and beating down Rollins. The referee gives Rollins another fall but it doesn't matter, Ziggler would easily catch up before eventually taking the lead. Keep in mind, the crowd is counting down the clock throughout the match as if it were a Royal Rumble match. The two guys in the ring look visibly upset over it and for damn good reason. Rollins would go on to tie it and nearly scoring the win with a Curb Stomp before the final buzzer went off right when he was going to make the pin. Pittsburgh's own Kurt Angle then comes out to declare that the match would go into a sudden death overtime. However, a distraction from McIntyre led to Ziggler hitting Rollins with a Zig Zag as Ziggler would quickly win the contest a few seconds after it was restarted. Look, it's 2018 and most crowds have a habit of being smarky in attempts to put themselves over. As much as I love wrestling, these long matches just don't do the trick in the world of the WWE. Attention spans have become much thinner and with Raw being 3 hours long, it feels like many of these matches are recycled. While it was still a great match from an in-ring standpoint, there is definitely many reasons for the WWE to get back to the drawing board.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
No knock on the city of Pittsburgh, but I really hope the WWE doesn't do any PPVs in the city in the near future. They were quiet for the good parts and when they were chanting, it mainly to get themselves over. I get it, you pay for a ticket and you have the right to chant what you want. However, at some point, pay some damn respect for the wrestlers you paid to see and for the fans who actually WANT to enjoy the show. With that being said, the show was still fun to watch with a couple standout moments being Strowman tossing Owens off the top of the cage and the great WWE Championship match. But let's face facts, the show was 4 hours long and featured 10 matches with an extra two coming from the pre-show. If the Iron Man match wasn't ant indication, nobody has the patience for this anymore. Like I said, I enjoyed the show for the most part but this is definitely a matter that needs to be addressed in the near future.
Rating: 6.75/10
Match 1: WWE Raw Tag Team Championships - Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt (c) vs. The B-Team
Billing themselves as The Deleter of Worlds, Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt take their undefeated record against Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel of The B-Team. Good action to start the show with the crowd invested in both teams, the new gimmick has certainly given a new life to both Dallas and Axel. Dallas is able to pin Hardy to pick up the win for his team as he hands Hardy and Wyatt their first loss as a team. Decent opener that gives The B-Team their big moment and could possibly set up a breakup for The Deleter of Worlds.
Winners: The B-Team
Rating: **1/4
Match 2: Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin
Why they got to make Baron Corbin wrestle in that outfit? Anyway, the blood between he and Finn Balor has boiling for weeks as they go up against each other here in the second match of the night. Balor does a great job in playing the undersized guy here with Corbin using his size and power as the advantage. However, Balor is able to quickly roll Corbin up to secure the win. Fairly short match that served its purpose. Just can't help but feel like their talents are being wasted, think at this point, Balor would fit much better on SmackDown.
Winner: Finn Balor
Rating: **1/4
Match 3: WWE SmackDown Women's Championship - Carmella (c) vs. Asuka
With James Ellsworth being held up high in a shark cage, Carmella won't be having any help tonight against Asuka... right? The story behind this one was basically about Ellsworth being locked in the cage and tossing Carmella objects for her to take out Asuka with. The action in the ring in the meantime was pretty sloppy as they certainly added all the bells and whistles to make sure this wouldn't be a complete mess. Ellsworth unlocks the cage door but gets himself caught up in the cage and then hangs upside down while Asuka goes to town on him with strikes. However, Carmella is able to push an unexpected Asuka face first into the shark cage and escapes with another fluke win. Welp, if you're gonna have Carmella go over again, that's the way to do it. Despite the match being a bit of a mess, I'm still interested to see where the feud takes us leading into Summerslam.
Winner: Carmella
Rating: *1/4
Match 4: WWE United States Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Quick note, am I the only person who wants Jeff Hardy to use his entrance music from 2008-2009? Before the bell rings, Shinsuke Nakamura hits Hardy with a low blow and follows it up with a Kinshasa as soon as the bell rang. Nakamura is the new United States Champion. There is 10 matches on the card so one match had to bite the bullet and it just so happened to be this one. Was looking forward to seeing these two square off but this made sense. And also... I love Nakamura as a heel and find it hilarious when he hits someone with a low blow. Afterwards, Randy Orton comes out and gives another low blow to Hardy. Nakamura watches in both confusion and fear. We can all agree that both Nakamura and Orton got the easiest paychecks of their lives for this. Hardy, on the other hand...
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Rating: n/a
Match 5: Steel Cage - Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens
Let me just say, I absolutely love the feud these two are having and a steel cage match here is the perfect spot for them to be. I don't think there is anyone more entertaining right now than these two, especially Kevin Owens. The look of fear in his eyes whenever he sees Strowman is just fantastic. Of course, Strowman is having his way with Owens here before a couple mishaps on the part of Strowman turned the tides. Eventually, Owens handcuffed Strowman to the top rope as Owens then hilariously teased Strowman as he tried to escape. However, Strowman breaks the cuffs and chases Owens to the top of the cage where he then tosses him off the cage and through one of the announcers tables. That. Was. Awesome. Owens took one of the sweetest dives off the top cage I have ever seen. Afterwards, Strowman sarcastically announces Owens as the winner before walking away. That match was everything it needed to be in the short time they were allotted. As a matter of fact, I think adding any more time to it would cause the match to drag on. Not only does this give Kevin Owens his fluke win to brag about, but it helps Strowman continue to look like an absolute monster. So far, this is easily the match of the night.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Rating: ***1/2
Match 6: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships - The Bludgeon Brothers (c) vs. Team Hell No
Earlier on in the night, The Bludgeon Brothers attacked Team Hell No from behind and injured Kane with one of their hammers. With that, Daniel Bryan looked to be fighting on his own and held it down before Kane finally came out to try and help his partner in need. Of course, Kane had a boot on his leg and struggled to find his way around the match despite delivering a couple Chokeslams. Once The Bludgeon Brothers took Kane out of the match, it left a helpless Daniel Bryan to fend for himself but eventually came up short. Another smart booking decision with Team Hell No having their out for the loss. They still have a lot of steam behind them and hopefully, a bigger rematch at Summerslam is in the works.
Winners: The Bludgeon Brothers
Rating: **1/2
Match 7: Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley
A bit surprised this isn't going on last for the night, probably a smart decision based on what happened at Backlash with Roman Reigns. I know I am probably in the minority here, but this was a match I was certainly looking forward to as the feud that turned personal grabbed my interest. Despite the annoying crowd trying to hijack the match again, surprised they weren't chanting CM Punk, the guy these fans just can't seem to get over for whatever reason. Putting that side, the two beat the hell out of each other here and their similar styles worked well against each other. While the whole match itself didn't have me on the ropes, the last couple minutes were great with Reigns hitting a Superman Punch on Lashley as he was on the top rope. However, Reigns went for a Spear but was instead met with a bigger one from Lashley. Lashley quickly pinned Reigns to get the biggest win of his career in over 10 years. Great match that will hopefully lead to Lashley challenging Brock Lesnar for his Universal Championship at Summerslam. Very surprising clean win over Reigns here, just confusing to see where his character is going. Are they all in on Reigns or not?
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Rating: ***1/2
Match 8: WWE Raw Women's Championship - Extreme Rules - Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax
In a WrestleMania rematch, we see Alexa Bliss once again defending her Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax. This time, however, it is an Extreme Rules match and Ronda Rousey is watching from her seat at ringside. Jax is easily dominating Bliss once again and tossing her around like a toy exactly how she did at WrestleMania. However, once Mickie James came to the side of Bliss, that's when things got hectic. Rousey would go on to insert herself into the match and get her hands on Bliss before James whacked her with a kendo stick. Bliss then beat down Jax in the ring with a steel chair before hitting a DDT to her on a steel chair. Bliss escapes with the win and sets up a big match against Rousey at Summerslam. Good for what it was and like I said, helps set up a bigger match down the line for Bliss against Rousey.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
Rating: *1/2
Match 9: WWE Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Rusev
Silly me, here I was thinking the WWE Championship would main event the PPV. Can someone remind me the last time AJ Styles closed out a PPV? Anyway, Rusev finally gets his day and his first crack at the richest prize in the business today... or is it the Universal Championship? Crowd is definitely into both guys and the good news here, they brought the goodies tonight. Roller coaster of a match that saw Styles work his way around the bigger Rusev by targeting one of Rusev's legs. Rusev did a great job in selling the onslaught and later had trouble applying his Accolade submission because of it. Aiden English did his best to help his partner but ended up spinning things around for himself and Rusev as a removed turnbuckle pad would go on to help Styles. Styles was able to kick English out of the way and hit a Phenomenal Forearm to retain the gold. Believable nearfalls, fast action and smart wrestling here made this another great outing for the champion on his long title reign on the top. Here's hoping his reign continues, would love to see him match Lesnar's reign so he can also top Punk's reign from a few years ago.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ****
Match 10: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Iron Man - Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Seth Rollins
Can someone tell me when the last time the Intercontinental Championship closed out a PPV? That would be a pretty interesting fact. 30 minutes are on the clock as Seth Rollins looks to score some revenge against the man who took the title away from him. Accompanied to the ring by the big Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler easily has the advantage. However, two fast pins from Rollins leads to McIntyre inserting himself in the picture and beating down Rollins. The referee gives Rollins another fall but it doesn't matter, Ziggler would easily catch up before eventually taking the lead. Keep in mind, the crowd is counting down the clock throughout the match as if it were a Royal Rumble match. The two guys in the ring look visibly upset over it and for damn good reason. Rollins would go on to tie it and nearly scoring the win with a Curb Stomp before the final buzzer went off right when he was going to make the pin. Pittsburgh's own Kurt Angle then comes out to declare that the match would go into a sudden death overtime. However, a distraction from McIntyre led to Ziggler hitting Rollins with a Zig Zag as Ziggler would quickly win the contest a few seconds after it was restarted. Look, it's 2018 and most crowds have a habit of being smarky in attempts to put themselves over. As much as I love wrestling, these long matches just don't do the trick in the world of the WWE. Attention spans have become much thinner and with Raw being 3 hours long, it feels like many of these matches are recycled. While it was still a great match from an in-ring standpoint, there is definitely many reasons for the WWE to get back to the drawing board.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
No knock on the city of Pittsburgh, but I really hope the WWE doesn't do any PPVs in the city in the near future. They were quiet for the good parts and when they were chanting, it mainly to get themselves over. I get it, you pay for a ticket and you have the right to chant what you want. However, at some point, pay some damn respect for the wrestlers you paid to see and for the fans who actually WANT to enjoy the show. With that being said, the show was still fun to watch with a couple standout moments being Strowman tossing Owens off the top of the cage and the great WWE Championship match. But let's face facts, the show was 4 hours long and featured 10 matches with an extra two coming from the pre-show. If the Iron Man match wasn't ant indication, nobody has the patience for this anymore. Like I said, I enjoyed the show for the most part but this is definitely a matter that needs to be addressed in the near future.
Rating: 6.75/10
WWE Extreme Rules 2016 Review
After falling short a month earlier against Roman Reigns, AJ Styles
gets one more chance to hold the richest prize in the business... the
WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Can AJ finally win the big one? Or
will he once again feel the wrath of The Big Dog?
Match 1: Tornado - The Usos vs. Gallows and Anderson
Great way to start off the show to begin the build for the main event with The Usos taking on Gallows and Anderson with tornado tag rules being applied to add to the craziness. Fun match here with the crowd booing The Usos any chance they got since they were siding with Roman Reigns. After Jimmy Uso inadvertently landed on the ring bell from a missed splash from the top, Gallows and Anderson took advantage and hit a Magic Killer to get the win. Nice start to the night and gives AJ Styles some momentum for the main event... even though we already kind of know the outcome for that one.
Winners: Gallows and Anderson
Rating: **1/4
Match 2: WWE United States Championship - Kalisto (c) vs. Rusev
Rusev looks to capture the coveted WWE United States Championship for the second time in his career. Rusev is riding some momentum over Kalisto here as he scorched him with him with his Accolade finisher on Raw prior to this. Kalisto was great in his underdog role here by using his speed and athleticism to get by the bigger and stronger Rusev. However, Kalisto would roll the dice once too many as he would end up getting shoved off the top rope and landed on the side of the ring. The referee told Rusev to back up as he checked on Kalisto, which I thought was really dumb, before Rusev locked in his Accolade and twisting Kalisto into a pretzel. Kalisto immediately tapped and Rusev is once again a champion.
Winner: Rusev
Rating: **
Match 3: WWE Tag Team Championships - The New Day (c) vs. The Vaudevillains
Xavier Woods and Big E are out to represent The New Day while Kofi Kingston is stationed at ringside. Almost weird to see The Vaudevillains as heels, I feel like their gimmick works so much better as babyfaces. And I guess the opposite can be said for The New Day, I think they work better as heels but since they are money machines, here we are. Fun match here that went back and forth before Kofi helped his team secure the victory. Fast action along with some believable nearfalls sprinkled made this a match that made sense but only had me asking for more. It almost felt a bit rushed and certainly could have used a few minutes extra.
Winners: The New Day
Rating: **1/2
Match 4: WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn
This has show stealer written all over it. While the roster was getting really thin around this time due to injuries, we still had these guys healthy and ready to take over the spotlight whenever ready. No pun intended on that "take over" part. Loved the opening part of the match which saw Sami Zayn hit a Helluva Kick on Kevin Owens as soon as the match started followed by Cesaro uppercutting the living daylights out of The Miz. Lots of awesome spots in this match and nearfalls that had me on the edge of my seat and a couple times where I thought for sure it was going to be over. Ending came when Zayn was so distracted in beating up Owens at ringside that The Miz was able to pin a motionless Cesaro to retain the title. Perfect way for him to win. Miz scored a fluke win at Payback and does it again here, completely embracing his role as a heel champion. Credit to all four guys in this match, they truly are superstars at the top level, this will be hard for anyone else on the card to top.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: ****1/4
Match 5: Asylum - Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose
The feud between the two heated up to the point where they were set to end things in the first ever Asylum match... or is it the Ambrose Asylum? I'm not really sure. Either way, this is a cage match with weapons hanging from the top and the only way to win is by pinfall or submission. They built much of the match around them climbing the cage and trying to secure the weapons and it was cool at first, but then it dragged on for a really good chunk of the match. This was to the point where the crowd was sitting on their hands and it almost looked like the match just had no direction. Shocking for me to say this for a match involving Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose. The match finally took a turn when Ambrose set thumbtacks all over the ring and they had a big sequence that helped build up the spot with Ambrose slamming Jericho on them. Ambrose then hit his Dirty Deeds on the tacks to score the win. Fairly boring start to the match that finally went up a notch when the thumbtacks came into play. The spot looked nasty and certainly helped make up for the first half of the match.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: ***
Match 6: WWE Women's Championship - Submission - Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya
With Charlotte's father in Ric Flair being banned from ringside, she doesn't posses the huge advantage against Natalya that helped her retain the title at Payback. With that being said, it really didn't give us a better match than their last time around and it still left room for more dumb shenanigans. I love these two, but their chemistry was just off again and when Dana Brooke came out to impersonate Ric Flair, I cringed harder than when they did a screwjob finish at Payback. Charlotte locks in her Figure Eight to retain as her father then comes out to celebrate with her. Unfortunately, another disappointing match for the two.
Winner:
Rating: *3/4
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Extreme Rules - Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles
I absolutely loved their bout at Payback and had some pretty lofty expectations for this one. Thankfully, they met those expectations as they brought the intensity for this one and beat the living daylights out of each other both in and out of the ring. Of course, the feud turned personal when The Usos and The Club guys became more involved with the story. With that said, you could just feel the hate boiling between both guys as the smaller AJ Styles was giving The Big Dog an absolute run for his money. Roman Reigns used his sheer power to toss Styles around the arena left and right and even drove him through two announcers tables. They were definitely sights to see. It was only fitting to get The Usos and The Club guys involved in the match with Styles beating the crap out of them with a steel chair before trying to hit one last Phenomenal Forearm to seal the fate of Reigns. However, Reigns hits an awesome Spear against Styles in the air and ends the match. Tons of awesome spots sprinkled with believable nearfalls makes this an incredible ending to the show. Or was that the end? Seth Rollins appears out of nowhere and hits a Pedigree on Reigns to send his message loud and clear as the show comes to a close. Personally, I would rather have seen Rollins return the next day on Raw since I felt exhausted from the many stories the match presented. However, it was still well done and a pleasant surprise to the show. But in all seriousness, the hate for Reigns is simply ridiculous. The guy is one of the best in the world and he tore the house down along with another star in AJ Styles.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ****3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Extreme Rules has become one of my favorite PPVs of the year as the WWE seems to treat it as a big card nearly every year. This was a great follow to Payback with the Intercontinental Championship and main event matches absolutely tearing it down. The main event also may have been the best match I have ever seen from Roman Reigns and once again proves that he is more than capable than holding down the company as the main guy.
Rating: 8.25/10
Match 1: Tornado - The Usos vs. Gallows and Anderson
Great way to start off the show to begin the build for the main event with The Usos taking on Gallows and Anderson with tornado tag rules being applied to add to the craziness. Fun match here with the crowd booing The Usos any chance they got since they were siding with Roman Reigns. After Jimmy Uso inadvertently landed on the ring bell from a missed splash from the top, Gallows and Anderson took advantage and hit a Magic Killer to get the win. Nice start to the night and gives AJ Styles some momentum for the main event... even though we already kind of know the outcome for that one.
Winners: Gallows and Anderson
Rating: **1/4
Match 2: WWE United States Championship - Kalisto (c) vs. Rusev
Rusev looks to capture the coveted WWE United States Championship for the second time in his career. Rusev is riding some momentum over Kalisto here as he scorched him with him with his Accolade finisher on Raw prior to this. Kalisto was great in his underdog role here by using his speed and athleticism to get by the bigger and stronger Rusev. However, Kalisto would roll the dice once too many as he would end up getting shoved off the top rope and landed on the side of the ring. The referee told Rusev to back up as he checked on Kalisto, which I thought was really dumb, before Rusev locked in his Accolade and twisting Kalisto into a pretzel. Kalisto immediately tapped and Rusev is once again a champion.
Winner: Rusev
Rating: **
Match 3: WWE Tag Team Championships - The New Day (c) vs. The Vaudevillains
Xavier Woods and Big E are out to represent The New Day while Kofi Kingston is stationed at ringside. Almost weird to see The Vaudevillains as heels, I feel like their gimmick works so much better as babyfaces. And I guess the opposite can be said for The New Day, I think they work better as heels but since they are money machines, here we are. Fun match here that went back and forth before Kofi helped his team secure the victory. Fast action along with some believable nearfalls sprinkled made this a match that made sense but only had me asking for more. It almost felt a bit rushed and certainly could have used a few minutes extra.
Winners: The New Day
Rating: **1/2
Match 4: WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn
This has show stealer written all over it. While the roster was getting really thin around this time due to injuries, we still had these guys healthy and ready to take over the spotlight whenever ready. No pun intended on that "take over" part. Loved the opening part of the match which saw Sami Zayn hit a Helluva Kick on Kevin Owens as soon as the match started followed by Cesaro uppercutting the living daylights out of The Miz. Lots of awesome spots in this match and nearfalls that had me on the edge of my seat and a couple times where I thought for sure it was going to be over. Ending came when Zayn was so distracted in beating up Owens at ringside that The Miz was able to pin a motionless Cesaro to retain the title. Perfect way for him to win. Miz scored a fluke win at Payback and does it again here, completely embracing his role as a heel champion. Credit to all four guys in this match, they truly are superstars at the top level, this will be hard for anyone else on the card to top.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: ****1/4
Match 5: Asylum - Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose
The feud between the two heated up to the point where they were set to end things in the first ever Asylum match... or is it the Ambrose Asylum? I'm not really sure. Either way, this is a cage match with weapons hanging from the top and the only way to win is by pinfall or submission. They built much of the match around them climbing the cage and trying to secure the weapons and it was cool at first, but then it dragged on for a really good chunk of the match. This was to the point where the crowd was sitting on their hands and it almost looked like the match just had no direction. Shocking for me to say this for a match involving Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose. The match finally took a turn when Ambrose set thumbtacks all over the ring and they had a big sequence that helped build up the spot with Ambrose slamming Jericho on them. Ambrose then hit his Dirty Deeds on the tacks to score the win. Fairly boring start to the match that finally went up a notch when the thumbtacks came into play. The spot looked nasty and certainly helped make up for the first half of the match.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: ***
Match 6: WWE Women's Championship - Submission - Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya
With Charlotte's father in Ric Flair being banned from ringside, she doesn't posses the huge advantage against Natalya that helped her retain the title at Payback. With that being said, it really didn't give us a better match than their last time around and it still left room for more dumb shenanigans. I love these two, but their chemistry was just off again and when Dana Brooke came out to impersonate Ric Flair, I cringed harder than when they did a screwjob finish at Payback. Charlotte locks in her Figure Eight to retain as her father then comes out to celebrate with her. Unfortunately, another disappointing match for the two.
Winner:
Rating: *3/4
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Extreme Rules - Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles
I absolutely loved their bout at Payback and had some pretty lofty expectations for this one. Thankfully, they met those expectations as they brought the intensity for this one and beat the living daylights out of each other both in and out of the ring. Of course, the feud turned personal when The Usos and The Club guys became more involved with the story. With that said, you could just feel the hate boiling between both guys as the smaller AJ Styles was giving The Big Dog an absolute run for his money. Roman Reigns used his sheer power to toss Styles around the arena left and right and even drove him through two announcers tables. They were definitely sights to see. It was only fitting to get The Usos and The Club guys involved in the match with Styles beating the crap out of them with a steel chair before trying to hit one last Phenomenal Forearm to seal the fate of Reigns. However, Reigns hits an awesome Spear against Styles in the air and ends the match. Tons of awesome spots sprinkled with believable nearfalls makes this an incredible ending to the show. Or was that the end? Seth Rollins appears out of nowhere and hits a Pedigree on Reigns to send his message loud and clear as the show comes to a close. Personally, I would rather have seen Rollins return the next day on Raw since I felt exhausted from the many stories the match presented. However, it was still well done and a pleasant surprise to the show. But in all seriousness, the hate for Reigns is simply ridiculous. The guy is one of the best in the world and he tore the house down along with another star in AJ Styles.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ****3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Extreme Rules has become one of my favorite PPVs of the year as the WWE seems to treat it as a big card nearly every year. This was a great follow to Payback with the Intercontinental Championship and main event matches absolutely tearing it down. The main event also may have been the best match I have ever seen from Roman Reigns and once again proves that he is more than capable than holding down the company as the main guy.
Rating: 8.25/10
Saturday, July 7, 2018
WWE Payback 2016 Review
After earning a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the night after WrestleMania 32, AJ Styles faces the biggest challenge of his career as he must take down The Big Dog in the main event of Payback!
Match 1: Enzo and Cass vs. The Vaudevillains
With The New Day watching ringside and eating pizza, the winners of this match would go on to face them for the WWE World Tag Team Championships. Of course, the story of this match was the quick ending due to Simon Gotch throwing Enzo Amore out of the ring who inadvertently hit his face directly into the rope and knocking himself out in the process. Something I have never seen before but as tight as those ropes are, this is no joke. The referee checked on a motionless Amore and eventually called for the bell. Scary moment to open up the night.
Winners: n/a
Rating: n/a
Match 2: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
Always a pleasure to watch anything these two are involved in, especially if it is against each other. I really do not even know how many times I have seen them square off, going back to their Ring of Honor days. What is there to say here? Incredible chemistry as usual with the usual spots that are still amazing to see like Sami Zayn diving through the corner of the ring on the outside and hitting a DDT on Kevin Owens. It really never gets old and is probably the most innovative move in the game. Zayn ate a kick from Owens as he was going for a Helluva Kick before falling to a Pop Up Powerbomb. Loved that the company was high on Owens around this time, the dude is simply money and oozes charisma. Zayn will eventually get his due. Owens then forced Byron Saxton to interview him after the match before joining the commentary team for the next match. Such a great heel.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Rating: ***3/4
Match 3: WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs. Cesaro
Hilarious to see these smark fans boo the crap out of The Miz only for them to cheer him about a year later or so. Should also note the pop that Cesaro got was the loudest of the show so far. Cesaro is nursing a shoulder injury and the two built the match around it with The Miz doing a fantastic job of working on it throughout the match. Sami Zayn returned to fight Kevin Owens on commentary as their fight spilled into the ring. Cesaro had The Miz tapping out but the referee had his attention turned away. Miz then rolled Cesaro up with a handful of tights to pick up the win. Another solid match for the PPV with a fun finish that sets up a bigger match between these four guys.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: ***1/4
Match 4: Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose
Chris Jericho looks to continue his momentum from WrestleMania by taking on someone who ate a loss at that event, Dean Ambrose. Much like what I said earlier about Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, you know you are going to get a quality match whenever these two step in the ring against each other. They did just that, great pacing throughout the match along with them revisiting the Walls of Jericho spot on the announcers table like how they did on an episode of Monday Night Raw. Ambrose was able to escape a Lionsault from Jericho before hitting his Dirty Deeds finisher to get the W. Good match that sets up for more matches between the two in the future. Ambrose may have pulled this one off, but if Jericho throwing a fit afterwards means anything, he is far from done.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: WWE Women's Championship - Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya
Since Ric Flair accompanied Charlotte to the ring, Natalya was sure to fight fire with fire by bringing out her uncle in Bret Hart. I have always said that these are probably the two best female wrestlers on the roster but unfortunately, this match cannot attest to that statement. It just seems as if their styles were not meant to click well with each other and much of what they were doing felt forced and unnatural. The crowd themselves had trouble getting into the action and I cringed when Natalya was screaming at Charlotte that she would not tap when a Figure Eight hold was applied. To make matters worse, the match ended when Charlotte put Natalya in a Sharpshooter as the referee called for the bell and what do ya know, another screwjob finish. Seriously, can we stop with these damn screwjob finishes? It was cool the first time but after the next 20 times, it got tiresome. Afterwards, Bret and Natalya both put Ric and Charlotte in their own Sharpshooters. That was definitely a disappointment.
Winner: Charlotte
Rating: **
Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles
This is it, he has been a champion all over the world but never on the biggest stage as The Phenomenal AJ Styles gets his crack at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns in tonight's main event. Absolutely loved the buildup for this match with their beef increasingly becoming personal with Gallows and Anderson helping out Styles as The Usos side with their cousin in Reigns. Loved the start of the match with Styles focusing on the limbs of Reigns as Reigns did a great job in selling the injury and almost looking surprised at how good Styles can actually be. However, Reigns put his brute strength to play and used it as a bigger counter. Of course, many shenanigans came into play here with the match being restarted twice by both Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon on account of a countout and a disqualification. Here, the match was turned into a no disqualification match with no countouts. This allowed for Gallows and Anderson to try and help their boy before The Usos came out to add to the fire. While Styles almost had Reigns beaten, he eventually fell to a sweet Spear. Afterwards, Mr. McMahon is shown on screen with his kids as they book a new match for Extreme Rules. While this match was used as a platform to further the Raw GM storyline, it really didn't deter from me enjoying this from top to bottom. The interference from the two teams added more drama to the match rather than taking it away, a problem that can easily come about from doing them in main events. A great first match between the two that sets up major storylines to follow on the weeks leading into Extreme Rules. Well done on all sides here.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ****1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Despite the annoying chants for CM Punk and a lousy segment during the show where Mr. McMahon put his kids in charge of Monday Night Raw, I thought this was a fairly solid outing from the WWE after their biggest show of the year. The main event was certainly the main spotlight of the show and for good reason, Roman Reigns and AJ Styles delivered the goods and are help ushering in a new era with the company.
Rating: 7.25/10
Match 1: Enzo and Cass vs. The Vaudevillains
With The New Day watching ringside and eating pizza, the winners of this match would go on to face them for the WWE World Tag Team Championships. Of course, the story of this match was the quick ending due to Simon Gotch throwing Enzo Amore out of the ring who inadvertently hit his face directly into the rope and knocking himself out in the process. Something I have never seen before but as tight as those ropes are, this is no joke. The referee checked on a motionless Amore and eventually called for the bell. Scary moment to open up the night.
Winners: n/a
Rating: n/a
Match 2: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
Always a pleasure to watch anything these two are involved in, especially if it is against each other. I really do not even know how many times I have seen them square off, going back to their Ring of Honor days. What is there to say here? Incredible chemistry as usual with the usual spots that are still amazing to see like Sami Zayn diving through the corner of the ring on the outside and hitting a DDT on Kevin Owens. It really never gets old and is probably the most innovative move in the game. Zayn ate a kick from Owens as he was going for a Helluva Kick before falling to a Pop Up Powerbomb. Loved that the company was high on Owens around this time, the dude is simply money and oozes charisma. Zayn will eventually get his due. Owens then forced Byron Saxton to interview him after the match before joining the commentary team for the next match. Such a great heel.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Rating: ***3/4
Match 3: WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs. Cesaro
Hilarious to see these smark fans boo the crap out of The Miz only for them to cheer him about a year later or so. Should also note the pop that Cesaro got was the loudest of the show so far. Cesaro is nursing a shoulder injury and the two built the match around it with The Miz doing a fantastic job of working on it throughout the match. Sami Zayn returned to fight Kevin Owens on commentary as their fight spilled into the ring. Cesaro had The Miz tapping out but the referee had his attention turned away. Miz then rolled Cesaro up with a handful of tights to pick up the win. Another solid match for the PPV with a fun finish that sets up a bigger match between these four guys.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: ***1/4
Match 4: Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose
Chris Jericho looks to continue his momentum from WrestleMania by taking on someone who ate a loss at that event, Dean Ambrose. Much like what I said earlier about Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, you know you are going to get a quality match whenever these two step in the ring against each other. They did just that, great pacing throughout the match along with them revisiting the Walls of Jericho spot on the announcers table like how they did on an episode of Monday Night Raw. Ambrose was able to escape a Lionsault from Jericho before hitting his Dirty Deeds finisher to get the W. Good match that sets up for more matches between the two in the future. Ambrose may have pulled this one off, but if Jericho throwing a fit afterwards means anything, he is far from done.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: WWE Women's Championship - Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya
Since Ric Flair accompanied Charlotte to the ring, Natalya was sure to fight fire with fire by bringing out her uncle in Bret Hart. I have always said that these are probably the two best female wrestlers on the roster but unfortunately, this match cannot attest to that statement. It just seems as if their styles were not meant to click well with each other and much of what they were doing felt forced and unnatural. The crowd themselves had trouble getting into the action and I cringed when Natalya was screaming at Charlotte that she would not tap when a Figure Eight hold was applied. To make matters worse, the match ended when Charlotte put Natalya in a Sharpshooter as the referee called for the bell and what do ya know, another screwjob finish. Seriously, can we stop with these damn screwjob finishes? It was cool the first time but after the next 20 times, it got tiresome. Afterwards, Bret and Natalya both put Ric and Charlotte in their own Sharpshooters. That was definitely a disappointment.
Winner: Charlotte
Rating: **
Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles
This is it, he has been a champion all over the world but never on the biggest stage as The Phenomenal AJ Styles gets his crack at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns in tonight's main event. Absolutely loved the buildup for this match with their beef increasingly becoming personal with Gallows and Anderson helping out Styles as The Usos side with their cousin in Reigns. Loved the start of the match with Styles focusing on the limbs of Reigns as Reigns did a great job in selling the injury and almost looking surprised at how good Styles can actually be. However, Reigns put his brute strength to play and used it as a bigger counter. Of course, many shenanigans came into play here with the match being restarted twice by both Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon on account of a countout and a disqualification. Here, the match was turned into a no disqualification match with no countouts. This allowed for Gallows and Anderson to try and help their boy before The Usos came out to add to the fire. While Styles almost had Reigns beaten, he eventually fell to a sweet Spear. Afterwards, Mr. McMahon is shown on screen with his kids as they book a new match for Extreme Rules. While this match was used as a platform to further the Raw GM storyline, it really didn't deter from me enjoying this from top to bottom. The interference from the two teams added more drama to the match rather than taking it away, a problem that can easily come about from doing them in main events. A great first match between the two that sets up major storylines to follow on the weeks leading into Extreme Rules. Well done on all sides here.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ****1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Despite the annoying chants for CM Punk and a lousy segment during the show where Mr. McMahon put his kids in charge of Monday Night Raw, I thought this was a fairly solid outing from the WWE after their biggest show of the year. The main event was certainly the main spotlight of the show and for good reason, Roman Reigns and AJ Styles delivered the goods and are help ushering in a new era with the company.
Rating: 7.25/10
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
WWE Extreme Rules 2015 Review
Just a few weeks removed from my favorite WrestleMania of all time in WrestleMania 31, the WWE takes things extreme as the newly crowned WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins must defend his gold against Randy Orton inside a steel age. Also, Rusev looks to even the score against John Cena in a Russian Chain match!
Match 1: Chicago Street Fight - Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper
Since Luke Harper tossed Dean Ambrose through a ladder at WrestleMania, they face off in a singles match in the curtain jerker of the show. Good brawling action from the two with kendo sticks and steel chairs being tossed into the fray. The fight spilled to the backstage area before Luke Harper hopped into an SUV as Ambrose jumped in before Harper drove off with Ambrose in the car with him. We then cut to the announcers wondering where they went as the ridiculous CM Punk chants ring in the background. Thought it was a pretty fun way to kick off the show despite the smarky crowd loudly disagreeing with that statement. The match would continue after The New Day was getting interviewed after the match. They take it back into the ring where Ambrose hits a Dirty Deeds on Harper onto a set of chairs to win. Decent match for what it was and pretty creative to have them continue it on later on in the night.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: **
Match 2: Kiss Me Arse - Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus
After making his return on the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania and turning heel, Sheamus takes on Dolph Ziggler with an odd stipulation in place. Despite the chants he was getting, I think Sheamus made a smart move in changing his look and he really looked comfortable as a heel here. Pretty good match here with Sheamus looking dominant before the train ran off the tracks late in the match and finally, he fell victim to Ziggler rolling him up for the surprise win. Afterwards, Sheamus refuses to pucker up for Ziggler as the referee hilariously demands him to kiss his ass. However, Sheamus pretends to lean in for the kiss but instead, hits Ziggler with a low blow and a Brogue Kick. A bit bizarre but an easy way for him to cop some heel heat. Sheamus then forces Ziggler to kiss his ass. Time to move on.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: ***
Match 3: WWE Tag Team Championships - Cesaro and Tyson Kidd (c) vs. The New Day
Funny how these smark fans are, they booed the living daylights out of The New Day during their initial stages before they started cheering their lungs out eventually for them. Chicago was hot for Cesaro and Tysonn Kidd with Cesaro really being the standout of the match as he displayed so much strength and athleticism while he tossed around both Big E and Kofi Kingston with ease. However, some distraction from Xavier Woods at ringside and a handful of tights grabbed by Kingston allowed The New Day to win and secure their first title victory. Fine tag match here that was just the beginning for something big in The New Day.
Winners: The New Day
Rating: ***
Match 4: WWE United States Championship - Russian Chain - John Cena (c) vs. Rusev
Trying to avenge his big WrestleMania loss, Rusev challenges John Cena for his United States Championship in a Russian Chain match. Always was a sucker for these bull rope style matches and this made sense for their heated feud. If you saw their matches previous to this one, you would know what to expect. Regardless, it was enjoyable to watch as Lana left the side of Rusev which forced him to fight his biggest opponent ever by himself. All three corners were touched for both sides as one last corner was left for whoever was first to touch it. Finally, Cena was able to hit an Attitude Adjustment on Rusev and touch the last corner for the win. They made great use of the chain and added some extra drama at the end but it just was not enough for me to hold my interest at a forefront. Still, decent match and something the live crowd still enjoyed. Well, at least the kids did.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: **3/4
Match 5: WWE Divas Championship - Nikki Bella (c) vs. Naomi
Nikki Bella is accompanied by her sister as she takes on Naomi. Very sluggish match that kind of made me cringe at times. Sorry. A little distraction from Brie helped Nikki put Naomi in a Rack Attack to pick up the win. What else do you want from me? Same recycled Divas match as usual.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Rating: 3/4*
Match 6: Last Man Standing - The Big Show vs. Roman Reigns
Putting the hated Roman Reigns against The Big Show in a Last Man Standing match in front of a Chicago crowd sounds like a disaster in the making. They really had to bring out all the bells and whistles for this one to keep the crowd from turning it upside down. And for the most part, they did a great job or keeping their short attention spans in check. They made great use of some sweet table spots that even saw Big Show deliver a huge Chokeslam on Reigns from the inside of the ring to the outside through two tables. Reigns would later follow it up with a Spear through a barricade and then a Spear through one of the announcers table. Finally, Reigns toppled Show with the other announcers table as the referee counted him out. To my surprise and to my delight, that was a great match that certainly exceeded the expectations of everyone while helping Reigns maintain his bright star after his loss at 'Mania.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ***1/2
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Steel Cage - Seth Rollins (c) vs. Randy Orton
With the RKO being banned for this bout and Kane being placed ringside as the gatekeeper, we have another WrestleMania rematch for the night and all the marbles are on the line. I can't be the only one that hates it when the stipulation calls for Randy Orton being unable to hit his RKO. He has one of the best finishers in the game and in my opinion, it takes out much of the drama knowing that he won't be able to hit it out of nowhere... no pun intended. Good action between the two and great utilization of Kane as the gatekeeper who didn't seem too interested in opening the cage door for Rollins while refusing to open it for Orton and one occasion. Finally, hell breaks loose as Kane enters the match and lays waste to everyone before Orton nails him with an RKO. However, Rollins hits Orton with his own version of an RKO and escapes the cage to win. Clever ending there with the surprise RKO from Rollins and once again, stealing another big win. Not the best main event ever but definitely a fitting one to close out the night.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ***1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Match quality, the show was a fairly weak offering for a PPV. But as far as advancement of stories and making sense, the WWE hit it on the nail. The show was average at best until the two main events came around and resulted in saving the face of the show. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are the new stars of the company and for good reason, these guys are as good as it gets.
Rating: 6/10
Match 1: Chicago Street Fight - Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper
Since Luke Harper tossed Dean Ambrose through a ladder at WrestleMania, they face off in a singles match in the curtain jerker of the show. Good brawling action from the two with kendo sticks and steel chairs being tossed into the fray. The fight spilled to the backstage area before Luke Harper hopped into an SUV as Ambrose jumped in before Harper drove off with Ambrose in the car with him. We then cut to the announcers wondering where they went as the ridiculous CM Punk chants ring in the background. Thought it was a pretty fun way to kick off the show despite the smarky crowd loudly disagreeing with that statement. The match would continue after The New Day was getting interviewed after the match. They take it back into the ring where Ambrose hits a Dirty Deeds on Harper onto a set of chairs to win. Decent match for what it was and pretty creative to have them continue it on later on in the night.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: **
Match 2: Kiss Me Arse - Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus
After making his return on the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania and turning heel, Sheamus takes on Dolph Ziggler with an odd stipulation in place. Despite the chants he was getting, I think Sheamus made a smart move in changing his look and he really looked comfortable as a heel here. Pretty good match here with Sheamus looking dominant before the train ran off the tracks late in the match and finally, he fell victim to Ziggler rolling him up for the surprise win. Afterwards, Sheamus refuses to pucker up for Ziggler as the referee hilariously demands him to kiss his ass. However, Sheamus pretends to lean in for the kiss but instead, hits Ziggler with a low blow and a Brogue Kick. A bit bizarre but an easy way for him to cop some heel heat. Sheamus then forces Ziggler to kiss his ass. Time to move on.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: ***
Match 3: WWE Tag Team Championships - Cesaro and Tyson Kidd (c) vs. The New Day
Funny how these smark fans are, they booed the living daylights out of The New Day during their initial stages before they started cheering their lungs out eventually for them. Chicago was hot for Cesaro and Tysonn Kidd with Cesaro really being the standout of the match as he displayed so much strength and athleticism while he tossed around both Big E and Kofi Kingston with ease. However, some distraction from Xavier Woods at ringside and a handful of tights grabbed by Kingston allowed The New Day to win and secure their first title victory. Fine tag match here that was just the beginning for something big in The New Day.
Winners: The New Day
Rating: ***
Match 4: WWE United States Championship - Russian Chain - John Cena (c) vs. Rusev
Trying to avenge his big WrestleMania loss, Rusev challenges John Cena for his United States Championship in a Russian Chain match. Always was a sucker for these bull rope style matches and this made sense for their heated feud. If you saw their matches previous to this one, you would know what to expect. Regardless, it was enjoyable to watch as Lana left the side of Rusev which forced him to fight his biggest opponent ever by himself. All three corners were touched for both sides as one last corner was left for whoever was first to touch it. Finally, Cena was able to hit an Attitude Adjustment on Rusev and touch the last corner for the win. They made great use of the chain and added some extra drama at the end but it just was not enough for me to hold my interest at a forefront. Still, decent match and something the live crowd still enjoyed. Well, at least the kids did.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: **3/4
Match 5: WWE Divas Championship - Nikki Bella (c) vs. Naomi
Nikki Bella is accompanied by her sister as she takes on Naomi. Very sluggish match that kind of made me cringe at times. Sorry. A little distraction from Brie helped Nikki put Naomi in a Rack Attack to pick up the win. What else do you want from me? Same recycled Divas match as usual.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Rating: 3/4*
Match 6: Last Man Standing - The Big Show vs. Roman Reigns
Putting the hated Roman Reigns against The Big Show in a Last Man Standing match in front of a Chicago crowd sounds like a disaster in the making. They really had to bring out all the bells and whistles for this one to keep the crowd from turning it upside down. And for the most part, they did a great job or keeping their short attention spans in check. They made great use of some sweet table spots that even saw Big Show deliver a huge Chokeslam on Reigns from the inside of the ring to the outside through two tables. Reigns would later follow it up with a Spear through a barricade and then a Spear through one of the announcers table. Finally, Reigns toppled Show with the other announcers table as the referee counted him out. To my surprise and to my delight, that was a great match that certainly exceeded the expectations of everyone while helping Reigns maintain his bright star after his loss at 'Mania.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ***1/2
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Steel Cage - Seth Rollins (c) vs. Randy Orton
With the RKO being banned for this bout and Kane being placed ringside as the gatekeeper, we have another WrestleMania rematch for the night and all the marbles are on the line. I can't be the only one that hates it when the stipulation calls for Randy Orton being unable to hit his RKO. He has one of the best finishers in the game and in my opinion, it takes out much of the drama knowing that he won't be able to hit it out of nowhere... no pun intended. Good action between the two and great utilization of Kane as the gatekeeper who didn't seem too interested in opening the cage door for Rollins while refusing to open it for Orton and one occasion. Finally, hell breaks loose as Kane enters the match and lays waste to everyone before Orton nails him with an RKO. However, Rollins hits Orton with his own version of an RKO and escapes the cage to win. Clever ending there with the surprise RKO from Rollins and once again, stealing another big win. Not the best main event ever but definitely a fitting one to close out the night.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ***1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Match quality, the show was a fairly weak offering for a PPV. But as far as advancement of stories and making sense, the WWE hit it on the nail. The show was average at best until the two main events came around and resulted in saving the face of the show. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are the new stars of the company and for good reason, these guys are as good as it gets.
Rating: 6/10
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