WWE Capitol Punishment 2011
June 19, 2011
Washington, D.C.
The first and only Capitol Punishment event ever sees R-Truth challenge John Cena in the main event for the WWE Championship! Also, the war between Randy Orton and Christian continues as they go at it again for the World Heavyweight Championship!
Match 1: WWE United States Championship - Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Fast forward to 2019 and nearly to the date, these two are scheduled against each other for the WWE Championship in Saudi Arabia. Time is a crazy freaking thing. However, Kofi Kingston's steam was seemingly slowing down at this point while Dolph Ziggler looked to be on the rise, almost complete polar opposites of 2019. Solid opening match here as you would imagine from the two here despite the match really just feeling like it was Ziggler's to lose even though Kofi was the champ. And what do ya know... Ziggler puts a sleeper hold on Kofi to put him to sleep as he captures the gold. Dug the finish of the match but the commentators being so confused didn't make any sense to me. Nice way to start the show.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: ***
Match 2: The Miz vs. Alex Riley
I'm gonna say it, Alex Riley had a bangin' entrance theme song. If you forgot about it, look it up on YouTube! Anyway, the two finally meet after The Miz had Riley in his corner for months, he was even there when Miz won the WWE Championship. Miz dominated much of the match and almost made the thing look wrapped up before Riley finally decided to get some offense in. Hilarious moment with Michael Cole yelling at Riley ringside before Riley decided to put his hands on him. However, in the ring, Miz tries to hit Riley with the briefcase before getting it taken away from him and getting a DDT for his troubles. Riley pins Miz and wins. I question having Riley go over The Miz here but also wonder how big the WWE really was on Riley at the time. Soon after, The Miz's role as a main event player would become largely diminished.
Winner: Alex Riley
Rating: **1/2
Match 3: Alberto Del Rio vs. The Big Show
Prior to the match, The Big Show attacks Alberto Del Rio from behind as he finally gets his chance to put his hands on Mexico's greatest export. However, Mark Henry comes out of nowhere to beat down Show and land a World's Strongest Slam through one of the announcers tables before injuring Show's left knee. Despite fighting on one knee, Big Show gave Del Rio a run for his money before finally, the referee declared Show unable to continue and rewards Del Rio with the win after Del Rio had Show locked in a knee lock. Decent for what it was and served its purpose.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Rating: *1/2
Match 4: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Wade Barrett (c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson
We all know the incredible feud between Wade Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson as The Corre disbanded in June of 2011... right? Right? Never mind. The former leader in Barrett defends his gold against Jackson here in the third contest of the night. Disagree with me all you want but I always liked Jackson and for all the flack he got, he really wasn't that bad in the ring. Barrett nearly scores the win here in a pretty quick contest after hitting his Wasteland until Jackson is able to get him in a Torture Rack to submit Barrett and score the win. Totally forgot Jackson was using that as a finisher, it looked great for someone of his size.
Winner: Ezekiel Jackson
Rating: **
Match 5: Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk
Completely forgot these two had a match here, they've had several bouts in the WWE but for whatever reason, they all ended up becoming fairly forgettable. With CM Punk still aligning himself with The Nexus as their leader, Rey Mysterio looks to tackle down their leader. If you've seen any of their bouts against each other, then you really know what to expect here. Solid action from beginning to the end with the two putting in an equal amount of offense against each other. While Mysterio was able to execute a 619 onto Punk, it was one that had Punk on the ring apron before he fell off. Going for another 619 later on, Mysterio would get caught and hung left to dry with a GTS from Punk to seal the match. Probably one of their better matches in the WWE and certainly one not to overlook.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ***3/4
Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian
Interesting to see Christian make the transition back as a heel around this time and his matches against Randy Orton were absolutely stellar. This one was certainly no different. Love watching Christian work the match as a heel and in some ways, this almost reinvigorated Orton in the ring with the incredible chemistry these two had. Like the last match, there's really not much to say because you already know what you're getting from the two. Hard-hitting match here with Christian doing everything in his power to regain the title that took him forever to win. That meant breaking out all the moves including the Spear he took from Edge. Christian finally looked to have the advantage in the match until one wrong turn saw him fall right into an RKO from Orton. However, the referee makes the count for the finish and doesn't notice that Christian had one of his legs under the rope. Solid finish to a solid match, nicely sets up a rematch with Christian having a legitimate reason to complain. Afterwards, Orton bashes Christian in the face with the championship belt. Good stuff.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ****
Match 7: Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne
Bonus match of the night sees Jack Swagger try to take down Evan Bourne as Keith Stone and The Bellas watch at ringside. Yes, you read that right. Pretty good match for what it was, almost something you could just copy and paste from an episode of Monday Night Raw. Bourne is able to get a pretty quick win after rolling up Swagger before missing his Shooting Star Press. Interesting finish but for a PPV, there's really no need for Bourne to not be able to land his finisher.
Winner: Evan Bourne
Rating: **
Match 8: WWE Championship - John Cena (c) vs. R-Truth
As much as I'm not a fan of R-Truth as a heel, it was really cool to finally see him get a shot at main eventing a PPV. Just the thought of that in 2019 just seems so farfetched. Regardless, Truth was going super crazy around this time with his whole Little Jimmy gimmick kicking into gear and as evident with him main eventing the show, it was certainly getting over. Truth more than held his own throughout the buildup to this match and him taking the WWE Championship away from Cena on an episode of Raw was a nice way to score some cheap heat. The match itself here was nothing too special, Truth got in a good amount of offense in against Cena. Truth decided to walk near ringside to a young fan and grab a sip out of their drink before getting it tossed in his face. Cena is able to toss Truth back into the ring and hit an Attitude Adjustment to score the win and get back his belt to close out the night. Really, this was just Truth dominating the whole match before the finish ensued of the kid assisting Cena with the win. Fun to watch but nothing that will blow you away.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: **
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
A pretty bland PPV offering from the WWE with the main stinker here being a man pretending to be Barack Obama in what was possibly one of the worst segments in WWE history. While there were a couple solid matches on the card, there's really nothing too noteworthy for me to suggest someone go back and give this one a viewing.
Rating: 5.5/10
Friday, May 31, 2019
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
WWE One Night Stand 2007 Review
WWE One Night Stand 2007
June 3, 2007
Jacksonville, Florida
A PPV I convinced my parents to order ten years ago before I graduated the 8th grade, One Night Stand! Hard to believe it's been ten years since this event as Bobby Lashley looks to reclaim his ECW Championship against Vince McMahon while John Cena takes on The Great Khali in the main event for the WWE Championship!
Match 1: Stretcher Match - Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam was on his way out of the company at this point as Randy Orton was on the rise to become the company's top heel. Circumstances like this sometimes creates great stories as RVD's health was in jeopardy because of The Legend Killer. Nobody sells injuries better than RVD and with Orton on a head-hunting terror, this made for great stuff. Of course, they built the match around the injury and the commentators did a great job of begging the question if RVD should even be competing. One of the sickest spots of the match saw RVD miss a dive from the outside of the ring and smack his right leg on the stretcher while his back completely smacked the floor. Orton looked to have the match won until a kick to the head by RVD allowed him to push Orton on the stretcher past the line to win. Afterwards, Orton viciously attacks RVD with a punt to the head on a DDT on the floor. Loved the swerve finish despite these matches being a bit ridiculous at times. Like... why couldn't Orton just push the damn stretcher past the line? Why was it so hard for him? Regardless, solid opening match and a nice way to write RVD off with Orton looking like an absolute monster.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Rating: ***1/4
Match 2: Tables Match - The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer & CM Punk vs. The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Matt Striker & Marcus Cor Von)
If you've never seen the Extreme Rules match between The ECW Originals against The New Breed on the ECW after WrestleMania 23, do yourselves a favor and check it out. That match is one of my favorites from the show's run and one that doesn't get the love it deserves. I just had to mention that. This match was pretty odd, it's a Tables Match that started with teams tagging each other in before it spiraled into everybody running around and beating each other up until rules just got thrown out the window. Pretty quick and fun match that ended with CM Punk superplexing Matt Striker through a table that had Elijah Burke laying prone on.
Winners: The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer & CM Punk
Rating: **1/2
Match 3: WWE World Tag Team Championship - Ladder Match - The Hardys (c) vs. World's Greatest Tag Team
We really don't give enough credit to Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy. For that matter, we don't give Shelton Benjamin enough credit, either. All four guys in this match beat the living crap out of each other with some nasty spots that for whatever reason, have gotten completely overlooked over the years. Of course, whenever you get The Hardys in a Ladder Match, good things happen and that was certainly the case here. Dives everywhere and Benjamin getting tossed around the ring and going through ladders was something else. But the match itself really suffered from a fairly dull first half before finally picking up despite some sluggish spots. Loved the ending with Jeff hitting a Swanton Bomb while his partner in Matt retrieved the belts to secure the win. Great Ladder Match that probably underachieved just a tad bit considering the talent in the ring. I mean that in the most respectful manner possible. Either way, check this match out! It has unfortunately become so forgotten.
Winners: The Hardys
Rating: ***3/4
Match 4: Lumberjack Match - Mark Henry vs. Kane
Interesting to see Chris Benoit make his way to the ring as a lumberjack for this match as it would later become his final PPV appearance before his death. With that being put aside, this was a surprisingly solid match from the two that I enjoyed way more than I should. I know not everyone loves to watch two big guys fight each other but with two veterans in the ring like these guys, they certainly used it to their advantage and made every strike and every move count. Mark Henry was in control of the match for the most part with Kane getting in his offense at the right times. However, Henry is able to clench Kane in a bear hug and puts him unconscious for the referee to call for the bell. Interesting finish and I dug it, they're trying to consistently build Henry as a monster and that ending was a fine way to do it. Even if it was at the expense of Kane who would later challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship in the summer.
Winner: Mark Henry
Rating: **3/4
Match 5: ECW World Championship - Street Fight - Mr. McMahon (c) vs. Bobby Lashley
Unpopular opinion: I loved this feud back in the day and I get some serious nostalgia from watching this again here in 2019. Of course, the ECW World Champion in Vincent Kennedy McMahon had both Umaga and Shane McMahon by his side for this one. Loved the start of the match with Bobby Lashley leaping over the top rope in the beginning of the match and diving onto Umaga by barely hitting him with his foot. As you could imagine, they used all the smoke and mirrors here for this one... and it worked. Nicely built match here for Lashley to "overcome the odds" with him taking both Shane and Umaga out of the equation before they finally got back into it and demolished Lashley including an elbow drop from the top rope through the announcers table. However, Lashley was able to escape a Coast to Coast attempt from Shane that resulted in Umaga getting his face smashed in with a trash can. A Spear to both Shane and Vince led to Lashley reclaiming the ECW World Championship. I probably enjoyed this match more than most people and that's fine. Never did and never will understand the hate Lashley was getting from the internet, the dude worked his tail to the bone and this match is a prime example.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: Pudding Match - Candice Michelle vs. Melina
How far have we come with women in the WWE? Look no further than right here as Candice Michelle takes on the Divas Champion in Melina... in a Pudding Match. This was as bad as you could imagine. Candice submits Melina to score the win as Maria attacks Melina in the pudding bowl afterwards along with tossing in the referee. Yikes.
Winner: Candice Michelle
Rating: n/a
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Steel Cage Match - Edge (c) vs. Batista
Funny story, I actually reviewed this match as part of my Batista - I Walk Alone DVD (Disc 3) Review but since that was so long ago, another viewing was needed. Looking back, I'm really not so sure why I gave this match a low score back in the day. This was certainly a joy to watch and the two told a fantastic story throughout the match with Edge trying to sneak his way out of fighting the bigger and stronger Batista. Edge was great in basically playing the role of a mouse that a cat couldn't catch and instead of trying to win the match, he was just focused on not losing. By that, I mean using every opportunity in the books to try and escape the cage. And once Edge got in his offense, he gave Batista a run for his money and made Batista earn his win if he was going to get it. Loved the finish here with an exhausted Batista trying to crawl through the cage door as Edge was on the opposite end of the cage as he tried to climb his way out. Edge narrowly beats Batista out and escapes with his World Heavyweight Championship before he runs out of the arena as Batista was on his tail. Solid finish to the match and loved seeing Batista look so frustrated after the match. Storytelling at its finest.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ***3/4
Match 8: WWE Championship - Falls Count Anywhere Match - John Cena (c) vs. The Great Khali
After John Cena became the first person to ever submit The Great Khali weeks prior at Judgment Day, he must become the first person to pin him here in order to retain his WWE Championship. Leave it to John Cena to bring the best out of Khali and deliver a great match out of him here. Like the ECW World Championship match earlier, they had to use the smoke and mirrors to get the most out of the situation and thankfully, they delivered. Being so limited, Khali must be rely on his opponents to make the match worthy of a viewing and Cena was great in his role and making Khali look like an unstoppable giant throughout. They brought the fight outside the ring with Cena doing everything in his power to stop Khali including hitting him with the camera boom before hitting an FU to Khali off the top of the stage for the win. Take it for what it was considering how limited Khali can be, but it was certainly a passable main event match and a solid way to close out the night and send the fans home happy.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: **1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This may be me being completely bias of the show since it brings me back great memories of my childhood, but I enjoyed this show aside from the Divas match. I was certainly entertained throughout the show and the matches all served their purposes nicely and nothing felt out of place on the card.
Rating: 8/10
June 3, 2007
Jacksonville, Florida
A PPV I convinced my parents to order ten years ago before I graduated the 8th grade, One Night Stand! Hard to believe it's been ten years since this event as Bobby Lashley looks to reclaim his ECW Championship against Vince McMahon while John Cena takes on The Great Khali in the main event for the WWE Championship!
Match 1: Stretcher Match - Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam was on his way out of the company at this point as Randy Orton was on the rise to become the company's top heel. Circumstances like this sometimes creates great stories as RVD's health was in jeopardy because of The Legend Killer. Nobody sells injuries better than RVD and with Orton on a head-hunting terror, this made for great stuff. Of course, they built the match around the injury and the commentators did a great job of begging the question if RVD should even be competing. One of the sickest spots of the match saw RVD miss a dive from the outside of the ring and smack his right leg on the stretcher while his back completely smacked the floor. Orton looked to have the match won until a kick to the head by RVD allowed him to push Orton on the stretcher past the line to win. Afterwards, Orton viciously attacks RVD with a punt to the head on a DDT on the floor. Loved the swerve finish despite these matches being a bit ridiculous at times. Like... why couldn't Orton just push the damn stretcher past the line? Why was it so hard for him? Regardless, solid opening match and a nice way to write RVD off with Orton looking like an absolute monster.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Rating: ***1/4
Match 2: Tables Match - The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer & CM Punk vs. The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Matt Striker & Marcus Cor Von)
If you've never seen the Extreme Rules match between The ECW Originals against The New Breed on the ECW after WrestleMania 23, do yourselves a favor and check it out. That match is one of my favorites from the show's run and one that doesn't get the love it deserves. I just had to mention that. This match was pretty odd, it's a Tables Match that started with teams tagging each other in before it spiraled into everybody running around and beating each other up until rules just got thrown out the window. Pretty quick and fun match that ended with CM Punk superplexing Matt Striker through a table that had Elijah Burke laying prone on.
Winners: The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer & CM Punk
Rating: **1/2
Match 3: WWE World Tag Team Championship - Ladder Match - The Hardys (c) vs. World's Greatest Tag Team
We really don't give enough credit to Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy. For that matter, we don't give Shelton Benjamin enough credit, either. All four guys in this match beat the living crap out of each other with some nasty spots that for whatever reason, have gotten completely overlooked over the years. Of course, whenever you get The Hardys in a Ladder Match, good things happen and that was certainly the case here. Dives everywhere and Benjamin getting tossed around the ring and going through ladders was something else. But the match itself really suffered from a fairly dull first half before finally picking up despite some sluggish spots. Loved the ending with Jeff hitting a Swanton Bomb while his partner in Matt retrieved the belts to secure the win. Great Ladder Match that probably underachieved just a tad bit considering the talent in the ring. I mean that in the most respectful manner possible. Either way, check this match out! It has unfortunately become so forgotten.
Winners: The Hardys
Rating: ***3/4
Match 4: Lumberjack Match - Mark Henry vs. Kane
Interesting to see Chris Benoit make his way to the ring as a lumberjack for this match as it would later become his final PPV appearance before his death. With that being put aside, this was a surprisingly solid match from the two that I enjoyed way more than I should. I know not everyone loves to watch two big guys fight each other but with two veterans in the ring like these guys, they certainly used it to their advantage and made every strike and every move count. Mark Henry was in control of the match for the most part with Kane getting in his offense at the right times. However, Henry is able to clench Kane in a bear hug and puts him unconscious for the referee to call for the bell. Interesting finish and I dug it, they're trying to consistently build Henry as a monster and that ending was a fine way to do it. Even if it was at the expense of Kane who would later challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship in the summer.
Winner: Mark Henry
Rating: **3/4
Match 5: ECW World Championship - Street Fight - Mr. McMahon (c) vs. Bobby Lashley
Unpopular opinion: I loved this feud back in the day and I get some serious nostalgia from watching this again here in 2019. Of course, the ECW World Champion in Vincent Kennedy McMahon had both Umaga and Shane McMahon by his side for this one. Loved the start of the match with Bobby Lashley leaping over the top rope in the beginning of the match and diving onto Umaga by barely hitting him with his foot. As you could imagine, they used all the smoke and mirrors here for this one... and it worked. Nicely built match here for Lashley to "overcome the odds" with him taking both Shane and Umaga out of the equation before they finally got back into it and demolished Lashley including an elbow drop from the top rope through the announcers table. However, Lashley was able to escape a Coast to Coast attempt from Shane that resulted in Umaga getting his face smashed in with a trash can. A Spear to both Shane and Vince led to Lashley reclaiming the ECW World Championship. I probably enjoyed this match more than most people and that's fine. Never did and never will understand the hate Lashley was getting from the internet, the dude worked his tail to the bone and this match is a prime example.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: Pudding Match - Candice Michelle vs. Melina
How far have we come with women in the WWE? Look no further than right here as Candice Michelle takes on the Divas Champion in Melina... in a Pudding Match. This was as bad as you could imagine. Candice submits Melina to score the win as Maria attacks Melina in the pudding bowl afterwards along with tossing in the referee. Yikes.
Winner: Candice Michelle
Rating: n/a
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Steel Cage Match - Edge (c) vs. Batista
Funny story, I actually reviewed this match as part of my Batista - I Walk Alone DVD (Disc 3) Review but since that was so long ago, another viewing was needed. Looking back, I'm really not so sure why I gave this match a low score back in the day. This was certainly a joy to watch and the two told a fantastic story throughout the match with Edge trying to sneak his way out of fighting the bigger and stronger Batista. Edge was great in basically playing the role of a mouse that a cat couldn't catch and instead of trying to win the match, he was just focused on not losing. By that, I mean using every opportunity in the books to try and escape the cage. And once Edge got in his offense, he gave Batista a run for his money and made Batista earn his win if he was going to get it. Loved the finish here with an exhausted Batista trying to crawl through the cage door as Edge was on the opposite end of the cage as he tried to climb his way out. Edge narrowly beats Batista out and escapes with his World Heavyweight Championship before he runs out of the arena as Batista was on his tail. Solid finish to the match and loved seeing Batista look so frustrated after the match. Storytelling at its finest.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ***3/4
Match 8: WWE Championship - Falls Count Anywhere Match - John Cena (c) vs. The Great Khali
After John Cena became the first person to ever submit The Great Khali weeks prior at Judgment Day, he must become the first person to pin him here in order to retain his WWE Championship. Leave it to John Cena to bring the best out of Khali and deliver a great match out of him here. Like the ECW World Championship match earlier, they had to use the smoke and mirrors to get the most out of the situation and thankfully, they delivered. Being so limited, Khali must be rely on his opponents to make the match worthy of a viewing and Cena was great in his role and making Khali look like an unstoppable giant throughout. They brought the fight outside the ring with Cena doing everything in his power to stop Khali including hitting him with the camera boom before hitting an FU to Khali off the top of the stage for the win. Take it for what it was considering how limited Khali can be, but it was certainly a passable main event match and a solid way to close out the night and send the fans home happy.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: **1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This may be me being completely bias of the show since it brings me back great memories of my childhood, but I enjoyed this show aside from the Divas match. I was certainly entertained throughout the show and the matches all served their purposes nicely and nothing felt out of place on the card.
Rating: 8/10
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
WWE Money in the Bank 2014 Review
Two big Ladder Matches dictate the landscape of the WWE. The Money in the Bank Ladder Match gives the winner the opportunity to launch themselves into a new level while the main event sees the biggest Superstars of the company fight for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Match 1: WWE Team Championship - The Usos (c) vs. The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper & Erick Rowan)
This is such a cool match, two of the hottest teams in the WWE at the time opening up what looks to be a banger of a card. The Wyatt Family have a lot on their plate here, a win here and a win from Bray Wyatt later could make them one very shiny team. This was a war, almost reminiscent of The Shield going against The Wyatt Family. Tons of cool spots, dives and kicks that had the crowd absolutely reeling for more. I swear I wasn't watching a Young Bucks match. Usos pick up the pretty surprising win here with a couple of splashes on Erick Rowan once they took Luke Harper out of the equation. Just what the doctor ordered, a fun tag match to kick start the night. We really don't give enough credit to The Usos.
Winners: The Usos
Rating: ****
Match 2: WWE Divas Championship - Paige (c) vs. Naomi
The bigger story in the match is if Naomi is having beef with her tag partner in Cameron. As for the actual match, this was pretty tough to watch. Much respect to the women in the ring but this was as sloppy as you could get at way too many points during the match. Mercifully, the match ends as Paige picks up the win with Cameron celebrating the Naomi loss in the background. Tough to watch, amazing to see where the division currently is now in 2019.
Winner: Paige
Rating: 3/4*
Match 3: Damien Sandow vs. Adam Rose
Damien Sandow comes out to the ring dressed as Paul Revere to take on Adam Rose who had his rosebuds accompany him to the ring... Yes, this really happened on a PPV. The commentators were more interested in cracking jokes than calling the match and for good reason, this whole thing just really insults your intelligence. The crowd could really care less about the match and even decided to cheer for Sandow at some points. However, Rose is able to score the win after hitting a Party Foul and got to celebrate with his rosebuds afterwards.
Winner: Adam Rose
Rating: 1/2*
Match 4: Money in the Bank Ladder Match - Seth Rollins vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Dean Ambrose
This edition's Money in the Bank match was headlined with a feud between Triple H's boy in Seth Rollins trying to win the match with a heated Dean Ambrose being the biggest speed bump in his way. As expected, a fun Money in the Bank Ladder Match here with action from everybody that had the crowd fired up. If anyone took the biggest beating in this match, it was easily Rollins himself. If he was going to be the one to win here, he was going to have to earn it and the other competitors in the ring made him feel. From taking a superplex off the top of a ladder to being dropped off the ladder and through another ladder, he took a beating. Fortunately for him, Kane made an appearance to stop Ambrose from winning the match as he then helped Rollins secure the biggest win of his career. Super forgotten Money in the Bank Match that for whatever reason, just doesn't get the love it deserves. Was it the best one ever? Absolutely not, but it was definitely a fun ride and one that doesn't take away too much from the other Ladder Match happening later on. Also, always interesting to see how badly Kofi Kingston was being looked at around this time to finally becoming a WWE Champion years later.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ****
Match 5: RybAxel (Ryback & Curtis Axel) vs. Goldust & Stardust
This is basically the match of two teams consisting of guys the WWE didn't really know what to do with so alas, a match for the PPV has been made. Despite the crowd crapping all over the match, the action in the ring wasn't that bad and anytime I get to see Goldust compete, it's a treat for me. The dude seriously never ages. The crowd was definitely becoming restless once Ryback was taking control of the match until thankfully, Stardust, otherwise known as Cody Rhodes, came in to make the save. Rhodes... I mean, Stardust is able to have Ryback knock Curtis Axel off the ring apron and score a roll up to pick up the win. Afterwards, Goldust and Stardust hit their finisher on Axel for his troubles. Goldust and Stardust then awkwardly pose for the fans in the middle of the ring. Definitely one of the strangest gimmicks in this generation.
Winner: Goldust & Stardust
Rating: **1/4
Match 6: Rusev vs. Big E
Almost forgot how corny Big E was before The New Day became a thing. He tries to defend the honor of America as he takes on the undefeated Rusev. This was certainly more exciting than I had thought it was going to be, the two did a great job of meshing their similar styles together and making Rusev look like he was legitimately in trouble for once. Loved the spot where Big E speared Rusev out of the ring and seemingly had things in control. However, Rusev was able to lock Big E in a serious Accolade submission to win the match and continue his unstoppable streak.
Winner: Rusev
Rating: **1/2
Match 7: Special Guest Referee (Fandango) - Summer Rae vs. Layla
The love triangle reaches its peak as Fandango's ladies in Summer Rae and Layla clash here before the main event. Seriously, what do you want me to say about these damn Divas matches? The crowd could not care less about the match and this was almost a chore to watch. Layla scores the win with a big kick to the head as she then makes out with Fandango after the match. Moving on.
Winner: Layla
Rating: 1/2*
Match 8: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Ladder Match - Sheamus vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Cesaro vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kane
A pretty loaded main event here with the winner winning the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship that Daniel Bryan had to sadly relinquish due to neck surgery. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon came out to root on their hopeful winner in Randy Orton as Kane was also in the match to ensure Orton winning. This match was almost like a mess of a Ladder Match and never really seemed to click. Everybody got a good amount of exchanges within the match. Loved seeing the exchanges between Sheamus and Cesaro throughout the match, the two have some great chemistry and it was no surprise they would later team up to form The Bar a few years later. Roman Reigns looked like an absolute star here and truly held his own against the bigger names as he used this as a great platform to really push himself even further. However, the main course of the match was John Cena overcoming the odds and taking out a bloody Randy Orton with an Attitude Adjustment onto the prone body of Kane to win his 15th world championship. A bit of a disappointing main event considering all the talent in here. It also almost feels like we're back to square one with Cena winning the championship after Bryan had to surrender it.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This card featured some good stuff and some really bad stuff. And when I say bad stuff, there was some really bad stuff. However, the two Ladder Matches and the opening match were definitely the saving grace of the card and really helped picked up the trash on the floor. However, this has quickly become one of the more forgettable Money in the Bank events of all time and it's for good reason.
Rating: 6.75/10
Match 1: WWE Team Championship - The Usos (c) vs. The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper & Erick Rowan)
This is such a cool match, two of the hottest teams in the WWE at the time opening up what looks to be a banger of a card. The Wyatt Family have a lot on their plate here, a win here and a win from Bray Wyatt later could make them one very shiny team. This was a war, almost reminiscent of The Shield going against The Wyatt Family. Tons of cool spots, dives and kicks that had the crowd absolutely reeling for more. I swear I wasn't watching a Young Bucks match. Usos pick up the pretty surprising win here with a couple of splashes on Erick Rowan once they took Luke Harper out of the equation. Just what the doctor ordered, a fun tag match to kick start the night. We really don't give enough credit to The Usos.
Winners: The Usos
Rating: ****
Match 2: WWE Divas Championship - Paige (c) vs. Naomi
The bigger story in the match is if Naomi is having beef with her tag partner in Cameron. As for the actual match, this was pretty tough to watch. Much respect to the women in the ring but this was as sloppy as you could get at way too many points during the match. Mercifully, the match ends as Paige picks up the win with Cameron celebrating the Naomi loss in the background. Tough to watch, amazing to see where the division currently is now in 2019.
Winner: Paige
Rating: 3/4*
Match 3: Damien Sandow vs. Adam Rose
Damien Sandow comes out to the ring dressed as Paul Revere to take on Adam Rose who had his rosebuds accompany him to the ring... Yes, this really happened on a PPV. The commentators were more interested in cracking jokes than calling the match and for good reason, this whole thing just really insults your intelligence. The crowd could really care less about the match and even decided to cheer for Sandow at some points. However, Rose is able to score the win after hitting a Party Foul and got to celebrate with his rosebuds afterwards.
Winner: Adam Rose
Rating: 1/2*
Match 4: Money in the Bank Ladder Match - Seth Rollins vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Dean Ambrose
This edition's Money in the Bank match was headlined with a feud between Triple H's boy in Seth Rollins trying to win the match with a heated Dean Ambrose being the biggest speed bump in his way. As expected, a fun Money in the Bank Ladder Match here with action from everybody that had the crowd fired up. If anyone took the biggest beating in this match, it was easily Rollins himself. If he was going to be the one to win here, he was going to have to earn it and the other competitors in the ring made him feel. From taking a superplex off the top of a ladder to being dropped off the ladder and through another ladder, he took a beating. Fortunately for him, Kane made an appearance to stop Ambrose from winning the match as he then helped Rollins secure the biggest win of his career. Super forgotten Money in the Bank Match that for whatever reason, just doesn't get the love it deserves. Was it the best one ever? Absolutely not, but it was definitely a fun ride and one that doesn't take away too much from the other Ladder Match happening later on. Also, always interesting to see how badly Kofi Kingston was being looked at around this time to finally becoming a WWE Champion years later.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ****
Match 5: RybAxel (Ryback & Curtis Axel) vs. Goldust & Stardust
This is basically the match of two teams consisting of guys the WWE didn't really know what to do with so alas, a match for the PPV has been made. Despite the crowd crapping all over the match, the action in the ring wasn't that bad and anytime I get to see Goldust compete, it's a treat for me. The dude seriously never ages. The crowd was definitely becoming restless once Ryback was taking control of the match until thankfully, Stardust, otherwise known as Cody Rhodes, came in to make the save. Rhodes... I mean, Stardust is able to have Ryback knock Curtis Axel off the ring apron and score a roll up to pick up the win. Afterwards, Goldust and Stardust hit their finisher on Axel for his troubles. Goldust and Stardust then awkwardly pose for the fans in the middle of the ring. Definitely one of the strangest gimmicks in this generation.
Winner: Goldust & Stardust
Rating: **1/4
Match 6: Rusev vs. Big E
Almost forgot how corny Big E was before The New Day became a thing. He tries to defend the honor of America as he takes on the undefeated Rusev. This was certainly more exciting than I had thought it was going to be, the two did a great job of meshing their similar styles together and making Rusev look like he was legitimately in trouble for once. Loved the spot where Big E speared Rusev out of the ring and seemingly had things in control. However, Rusev was able to lock Big E in a serious Accolade submission to win the match and continue his unstoppable streak.
Winner: Rusev
Rating: **1/2
Match 7: Special Guest Referee (Fandango) - Summer Rae vs. Layla
The love triangle reaches its peak as Fandango's ladies in Summer Rae and Layla clash here before the main event. Seriously, what do you want me to say about these damn Divas matches? The crowd could not care less about the match and this was almost a chore to watch. Layla scores the win with a big kick to the head as she then makes out with Fandango after the match. Moving on.
Winner: Layla
Rating: 1/2*
Match 8: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Ladder Match - Sheamus vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Cesaro vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kane
A pretty loaded main event here with the winner winning the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship that Daniel Bryan had to sadly relinquish due to neck surgery. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon came out to root on their hopeful winner in Randy Orton as Kane was also in the match to ensure Orton winning. This match was almost like a mess of a Ladder Match and never really seemed to click. Everybody got a good amount of exchanges within the match. Loved seeing the exchanges between Sheamus and Cesaro throughout the match, the two have some great chemistry and it was no surprise they would later team up to form The Bar a few years later. Roman Reigns looked like an absolute star here and truly held his own against the bigger names as he used this as a great platform to really push himself even further. However, the main course of the match was John Cena overcoming the odds and taking out a bloody Randy Orton with an Attitude Adjustment onto the prone body of Kane to win his 15th world championship. A bit of a disappointing main event considering all the talent in here. It also almost feels like we're back to square one with Cena winning the championship after Bryan had to surrender it.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This card featured some good stuff and some really bad stuff. And when I say bad stuff, there was some really bad stuff. However, the two Ladder Matches and the opening match were definitely the saving grace of the card and really helped picked up the trash on the floor. However, this has quickly become one of the more forgettable Money in the Bank events of all time and it's for good reason.
Rating: 6.75/10
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
WWE Money in the Bank 2010 Review
Before we head into 2019's edition of the Money in the Bank PPV, take a stroll down memory lane and look back at the very first Money in the Bank PPV back in 2010. John Cena looks to capture the WWE Championship against Sheamus in a Steel Cage match with The Nexus looming in the background. Also, the first Money in the Bank Ladder matches outside of WrestleMania go down!
Match 1: SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder - Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. The Big Show
This is the first Money in the Bank Ladder match outside WrestleMania and if we fast forward to 2019, it's interesting to see where the guys on this match currently are. From the current WWE Champion to the new face of a new company called AEW to a mayor... wild. This match had all the makings to start the show off with a bang... and that they did. Tons of sweet spots with everybody getting their hand in the cookie jar here with Kofi Kingston being the shining light as he hit a Boom Drop to Drew McIntyre off a ladder through one of the announcers tables. Amazing and underrated spot that never really got the love it deserved. Funny how these two became intricate parts of WrestleMania in 2019. The Big Show also had his cool moments during the match as he brought out the reinforced ladder into the ring before getting buried within a slew of ladders by his opponents. Finally, Kane is able to be the lone one in the ring and grab the briefcase and score an opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship. Solid opening match here that gives enough time between the two Ladder matches. Kane was an interesting pick at the time considering how much love Christian was getting from the audience.
Winner: Kane
Rating: ****
Match 2: WWE Divas Championship - Alicia Fox (c) vs. Eve Torres
Alicia Fox tries to prove that her Divas Championship victory a month ago wasn't a fluke as she puts the title on the line against the former champion in Eve Torres. Better Divas match than I had expected here, the two definitely aren't he most polished ones in the ring but they were great here in their short contest. Eve looked to score the big win with a swanton bomb from the top rope until Fox hit her straight in the back with knees. That looked pretty nasty. Fox then followed it up with an axe kick to the back of the head of Eve to secure the win. Pretty good for what it was.
Winner: Alicia Fox
Rating: *1/2
Match 3: WWE Unified Tag Team Championship - The Hart Dynasty (c) vs. The Usos
Watching this in 2019, almost hard to believe The Usos have been in the company for nearly a decade. Feels like yesterday I saw them make their debut. Working as heels, they get the chance of their careers against The Hart Dynasty. Despite them still being new to the scene, The Usos looked great in the ring and almost as if they had been wrestling in the WWE for years. They came in with an explosive and fun style of action in the ring and were great here in putting that at a forefront against The Hart Dynasty. Tamina intervened in the match and tried to distract David Hart Smith until Natalya inserted herself and dropped Tamina on the outside. This allowed Tyson Kidd to clear the ring for Smith to apply the Sharpshooter for the win. Solid tag match here that would have really benefited with a few more minutes.
Winners: The Hart Dynasty
Rating: **3/4
Match 4: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Jack Swagger
With several ambushes from Jack Swagger onto Rey Mysterio leading into this match, the left ankle of Mysterio can be the reason why Swagger might be able to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. Credit to Mysterio for selling the injury masterfully before and throughout the match with Swagger targeting it throughout the match to set him up for an ankle lock. Mysterio truly is a magician, busting out tons of moves from his arsenal here including ones that we haven't seen in ages like a split-legged moonsault. Breaking out all the stops out of desperation. Mysterio would end up getting the last laugh as he would channel his inner Eddie Guerrero by loosening up his boot for an ankle lock attempt by Swagger. Of course, the boot comes right off and Mysterio is able to roll Swagger up for the win. Just over 10 minutes, these two prove that you can have a seriously great match with a fairly short amount of time and still manage to tell a great story around it. Kudos to them both.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ****
Match 5: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Kane
After the match, Swagger beat down Mysterio out of frustration and locked Mysterio in the ankle lock for good measure. However, the newest Mr. Money in the Bank in Kane came out to make the save... until he decided it was time to cash in. Mysterio ate a Chokeslam and for the first time in about a decade, Kane is a World Heavyweight Champion. This was also the first time someone had cashed in their Money in the Bank contract on the night it was won. Good stuff.
Winner: Kane
Rating: n/a
Match 6: WWE Women's Championship - Layla (c) vs. Kelly Kelly
With her co-champion in Michelle McCool accompanying Layla to the ring, Layla defends the Women's Championship against he veteran in Kelly Kelly... I'm only kidding about that veteran part. Lots of screaming and lots of hair pulling here with Kelly being able to eliminate McCool from the equation but not being able to do so against her actual opponent in Layla. Layla escapes with the quick win in your typical Divas PPV match. By the way, Matt Striker is the absolute worst. I just had to mention that for clarification to anyone who is going to watch this.
Winner: Layla
Rating: 1/2*
Match 7: Raw Money in the Bank Ladder - Randy Orton vs. The Miz vs. Mark Henry vs. Ted DiBiase vs. John Morrison vs. Chris Jericho vs. Evan Bourne vs. Edge
Here we go, the second Money in the Bank Ladder match of the night with this time, the Raw superstars being the spotlight. Much like the first one, this was a fun ride with cool ladder spots and finishers galore. However, many of the spots throughout the match just came off as so forced and almost as if it was just everyone taking turns at getting in their offense. And unlike the first match, there really was no standout moment here like Kofi jumping off the ladder onto McIntyre. With Randy Orton being the only one left, he looked to have the match locked up... until The Miz appeared out of nowhere and dropped him off the ladder. Much to the chagrin of the audience, The Miz would unhook the briefcase and would become the second Mr. Money in the Bank of the night. Miz would get on the mic right after and cut what an "awesome" promo that really showed that he was ready for the next step. Also, funny to note that Maryse was tending to Ted DiBiase right next to Miz as he was cutting his promo. Who would have guessed that the two would later become married and even have their own reality show one day. I'm so glad the WWE decided to only have one Money in the Bank Ladder match in the future because two of them is just overkill. The match was definitely enjoyable and featured some sweet spots but it comes off as repetitive despite having about five matches in between. As for The Miz, this would go on to be the victory that would propel him to the top of the company as he would cash in against Orton in November later in the year.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: ***1/2
Match 8: WWE Championship - Steel Cage - Sheamus (c) vs. John Cena
The buildup to this match was pretty interesting with The Nexus looming in the back and Sheamus having to side with John Cena at one point in their efforts to get them out of the way. These two have always had pretty good chemistry in the ring and it showed here. Definitely not the type of action to blow you away but the type to keep you invested throughout with Sheamus landing some heavy blows on Cena. But the match really picked up later on when The Nexus came out with some bolt cutters. Hilariously, one of the referees takes it out of Michael Tarver's hands and runs off with it. Next, The Nexus try to take the keys for the padlock away from the referee... only for him to throw it in the crowd. They looked like absolute buffoons. Just climb the damn thing. Meanwhile, a referee bump in the ring led to Cena submitting Sheamus in the middle of the ring to no avail. Nexus members begin scaling the cage as Cena and Sheamus both had to fight them off. Sheamus escapes the cage first and runs off as he is declared the winner. Out of frustration, Cena beats down some of the remaining members of The Nexus. Fine match to close out the night but the ending was just pretty stupid. Where did Wade Barrett and the rest of The Nexus guys go? Why were they so stupid in trying to enter the cage? Regardless, Cena looked more frustrated than ever after the match and of course, would go on to pave the way for a big Summerslam main event.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ***
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Although this wasn't the best PPV ever, this was pretty good considering the crap the WWE was churning out back in 2010. The two Money in the Bank Ladder matches were fun with the second one being overkill and the two championship matches delivered on their promises.
Rating: 7.25/10
Match 1: SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder - Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. The Big Show
This is the first Money in the Bank Ladder match outside WrestleMania and if we fast forward to 2019, it's interesting to see where the guys on this match currently are. From the current WWE Champion to the new face of a new company called AEW to a mayor... wild. This match had all the makings to start the show off with a bang... and that they did. Tons of sweet spots with everybody getting their hand in the cookie jar here with Kofi Kingston being the shining light as he hit a Boom Drop to Drew McIntyre off a ladder through one of the announcers tables. Amazing and underrated spot that never really got the love it deserved. Funny how these two became intricate parts of WrestleMania in 2019. The Big Show also had his cool moments during the match as he brought out the reinforced ladder into the ring before getting buried within a slew of ladders by his opponents. Finally, Kane is able to be the lone one in the ring and grab the briefcase and score an opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship. Solid opening match here that gives enough time between the two Ladder matches. Kane was an interesting pick at the time considering how much love Christian was getting from the audience.
Winner: Kane
Rating: ****
Match 2: WWE Divas Championship - Alicia Fox (c) vs. Eve Torres
Alicia Fox tries to prove that her Divas Championship victory a month ago wasn't a fluke as she puts the title on the line against the former champion in Eve Torres. Better Divas match than I had expected here, the two definitely aren't he most polished ones in the ring but they were great here in their short contest. Eve looked to score the big win with a swanton bomb from the top rope until Fox hit her straight in the back with knees. That looked pretty nasty. Fox then followed it up with an axe kick to the back of the head of Eve to secure the win. Pretty good for what it was.
Winner: Alicia Fox
Rating: *1/2
Match 3: WWE Unified Tag Team Championship - The Hart Dynasty (c) vs. The Usos
Watching this in 2019, almost hard to believe The Usos have been in the company for nearly a decade. Feels like yesterday I saw them make their debut. Working as heels, they get the chance of their careers against The Hart Dynasty. Despite them still being new to the scene, The Usos looked great in the ring and almost as if they had been wrestling in the WWE for years. They came in with an explosive and fun style of action in the ring and were great here in putting that at a forefront against The Hart Dynasty. Tamina intervened in the match and tried to distract David Hart Smith until Natalya inserted herself and dropped Tamina on the outside. This allowed Tyson Kidd to clear the ring for Smith to apply the Sharpshooter for the win. Solid tag match here that would have really benefited with a few more minutes.
Winners: The Hart Dynasty
Rating: **3/4
Match 4: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Jack Swagger
With several ambushes from Jack Swagger onto Rey Mysterio leading into this match, the left ankle of Mysterio can be the reason why Swagger might be able to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. Credit to Mysterio for selling the injury masterfully before and throughout the match with Swagger targeting it throughout the match to set him up for an ankle lock. Mysterio truly is a magician, busting out tons of moves from his arsenal here including ones that we haven't seen in ages like a split-legged moonsault. Breaking out all the stops out of desperation. Mysterio would end up getting the last laugh as he would channel his inner Eddie Guerrero by loosening up his boot for an ankle lock attempt by Swagger. Of course, the boot comes right off and Mysterio is able to roll Swagger up for the win. Just over 10 minutes, these two prove that you can have a seriously great match with a fairly short amount of time and still manage to tell a great story around it. Kudos to them both.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ****
Match 5: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Kane
After the match, Swagger beat down Mysterio out of frustration and locked Mysterio in the ankle lock for good measure. However, the newest Mr. Money in the Bank in Kane came out to make the save... until he decided it was time to cash in. Mysterio ate a Chokeslam and for the first time in about a decade, Kane is a World Heavyweight Champion. This was also the first time someone had cashed in their Money in the Bank contract on the night it was won. Good stuff.
Winner: Kane
Rating: n/a
Match 6: WWE Women's Championship - Layla (c) vs. Kelly Kelly
With her co-champion in Michelle McCool accompanying Layla to the ring, Layla defends the Women's Championship against he veteran in Kelly Kelly... I'm only kidding about that veteran part. Lots of screaming and lots of hair pulling here with Kelly being able to eliminate McCool from the equation but not being able to do so against her actual opponent in Layla. Layla escapes with the quick win in your typical Divas PPV match. By the way, Matt Striker is the absolute worst. I just had to mention that for clarification to anyone who is going to watch this.
Winner: Layla
Rating: 1/2*
Match 7: Raw Money in the Bank Ladder - Randy Orton vs. The Miz vs. Mark Henry vs. Ted DiBiase vs. John Morrison vs. Chris Jericho vs. Evan Bourne vs. Edge
Here we go, the second Money in the Bank Ladder match of the night with this time, the Raw superstars being the spotlight. Much like the first one, this was a fun ride with cool ladder spots and finishers galore. However, many of the spots throughout the match just came off as so forced and almost as if it was just everyone taking turns at getting in their offense. And unlike the first match, there really was no standout moment here like Kofi jumping off the ladder onto McIntyre. With Randy Orton being the only one left, he looked to have the match locked up... until The Miz appeared out of nowhere and dropped him off the ladder. Much to the chagrin of the audience, The Miz would unhook the briefcase and would become the second Mr. Money in the Bank of the night. Miz would get on the mic right after and cut what an "awesome" promo that really showed that he was ready for the next step. Also, funny to note that Maryse was tending to Ted DiBiase right next to Miz as he was cutting his promo. Who would have guessed that the two would later become married and even have their own reality show one day. I'm so glad the WWE decided to only have one Money in the Bank Ladder match in the future because two of them is just overkill. The match was definitely enjoyable and featured some sweet spots but it comes off as repetitive despite having about five matches in between. As for The Miz, this would go on to be the victory that would propel him to the top of the company as he would cash in against Orton in November later in the year.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: ***1/2
Match 8: WWE Championship - Steel Cage - Sheamus (c) vs. John Cena
The buildup to this match was pretty interesting with The Nexus looming in the back and Sheamus having to side with John Cena at one point in their efforts to get them out of the way. These two have always had pretty good chemistry in the ring and it showed here. Definitely not the type of action to blow you away but the type to keep you invested throughout with Sheamus landing some heavy blows on Cena. But the match really picked up later on when The Nexus came out with some bolt cutters. Hilariously, one of the referees takes it out of Michael Tarver's hands and runs off with it. Next, The Nexus try to take the keys for the padlock away from the referee... only for him to throw it in the crowd. They looked like absolute buffoons. Just climb the damn thing. Meanwhile, a referee bump in the ring led to Cena submitting Sheamus in the middle of the ring to no avail. Nexus members begin scaling the cage as Cena and Sheamus both had to fight them off. Sheamus escapes the cage first and runs off as he is declared the winner. Out of frustration, Cena beats down some of the remaining members of The Nexus. Fine match to close out the night but the ending was just pretty stupid. Where did Wade Barrett and the rest of The Nexus guys go? Why were they so stupid in trying to enter the cage? Regardless, Cena looked more frustrated than ever after the match and of course, would go on to pave the way for a big Summerslam main event.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ***
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Although this wasn't the best PPV ever, this was pretty good considering the crap the WWE was churning out back in 2010. The two Money in the Bank Ladder matches were fun with the second one being overkill and the two championship matches delivered on their promises.
Rating: 7.25/10
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
WWE Over the Limit 2010 Review
The inaugural Over the Limit PPV sees the final chapter to the John Cena and Batista rivalry as the two meet in an I Quit match for the WWE Championship. Also, Jack Swagger puts his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against The Big Show.
Match 1: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Kofi Kingston
Look how far we have come, Drew McIntyre defends his Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston in the opening contest. Also a little strange to think Kingston would become a WWE Champion before McIntyre. At this point, McIntyre was still fairly green and despite the praises from Vince McMahon himself, McIntyre just wasn't connecting very well with the audience. His offense here against Kingston certainly wasn't the flashiest thing ever and never once did I really feel like this dude was the hottest thing to come. Kingston is able to hit an S.O.S. on McIntyre to score the win and the Intercontinental Championship. Fairly basic opening match here between the two, always nice to see Kingston win some gold. Still so crazy to think he would finally break out as a WWE Champion nearly a decade later.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: **1/2
Match 2: R-Truth vs. Ted DiBiase
Being accompanied by Virgil, Ted DiBiase still has his hands full with R-Truth after the two have been beefing for weeks on Raw. Definitely a filler of a match here and one the crowd just couldn't really get behind. Truth is able to hit his Lie Detector finisher to score the fairly quick win. Interesting to see DiBiase take the L here, such an odd career he had in the WWE and almost as if the steam behind him completely disappeared once he left Randy Orton's side.
Winner: R-Truth
Rating: *1/4
Match 3: CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
Interesting match here with CM Punk having to shave his head upon a Rey Mysterio victory. However, a CM Punk victory would result in Mysterio having to join the Straight Edge Society. As expected, great action here from the two that was slowed down a bit once Punk had a bloody cut that had to be taken of right when the two were getting out of the first gear. Regardless, they were still able to pick the action up afterwards and despite not breaking out all the stops, they still provided us with a great performance. Loved the ending with Mysterio hitting a 619 on Punk but being unable to pin Punk as Punk dodged the splash from Mysterio right after. However, a quick recovery from Mysterio allowed him to roll Punk up for the victory out of nowhere. Loved Punk's reaction after the match as he was in complete shambles from the finish. His partners come out to attack Mysterio until Kane arrived to the scene to save the day. Afterwards, Mysterio handcuffed Punk to the ropes and shaved his long hair. Great scene with Mysterio celebrating the biggest hit Punk's Straight Edge Society had taken.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ***1/4
Match 4: WWE Unified Tag Team Championship - The Hart Dynasty (c) vs. The Miz & Chris Jericho
How many tag partners have The Miz and Chris Jericho have had in their careers? Would certainly be an interesting stat. They take on David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd of The Hart Dynasty with Natalya leading their charge. Almost seems pretty odd to just pair up Miz and Jericho to pit them in a match against The Hart Dynasty. Regardless, decent tag match for what it was with the young Hart Dynasty team still trying to find their feet with the crowd as babyfaces. Hart Dynasty are able to tackle the tandem of Miz and Jericho with a Hart Attack on The Miz to score the win. Forgettable match for the night. The Miz definitely deserved better than this. For someone they were trying to hype to the moon, he was certainly booked like a chump.
Winners: The Hart Dynasty
Rating: **3/4
Match 5: Edge vs. Randy Orton
Edge's run as a babyface in the beginning of 2010 didn't last long when he was drafted to Monday Night Raw and delivered a Spear to Randy Orton that cost him the WWE Championship. With Orton fuming, it looked like he was ready to eviscerate Edge here. Dig the big word? Unfortunately, this match wasn't exactly as clean and thrilling as the bouts they've had against each other in years past. Edge was diligent in focusing on the midsection but eventually, Orton would lure Edge right where he wanted him for an RKO. Unfortunately for Orton, he appeared to inadvertently injure himself as he was taunting Edge before hitting the RKO by slamming his arms on the canvas. The action spilled to the outside where Edge missed a Spear and went right into the barricade outside. The referee then counted both of them out as Orton was taken to the back with some medical attention. Such a disappointing match with an odd finish. Almost sad to see a match with such great talent really fall flat on its face.
Winner: n/a (double countout)
Rating: **
Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Jack Swagger (c) vs. The Big Show
Jack Swagger gets another big test as the World Heavyweight Champion in a bout here against the newest member of SmackDown, The Big Show. Unfortunately, like the previous match, this one suffered with a finish that had me scratching my head. They wrestled for less than about five minutes and Swagger did a great job in making Show feel like the dominant giant that he is. However, Swagger decided to end the match early by hitting Show with the title belt for the disqualification finish. Afterwards, Big Show gives two Chokeslams to Swagger and followed it with a Knockout Punch for his troubles. What a disappointment, they couldn't at least have Swagger try to do all this behind the referee's back? Building up a big match for a PPV and having it finish like this almost felt like a slap to the face of the customer.
Winner: The Big Show (via disqualification)
Rating: *
Match 7: WWE Divas Championship - Eve Torres (c) vs. Maryse
Maryse gets a crack at the Divas Championship against Eve Torres in a match to bridge the gap between the main events. Per usual, short contest here but surprisingly pretty solid for what it was. Maryse actually works very well as a heel and loved her taunts throughout the match here. Unfortunately for her, Eve is able to lock her knees between the head of Maryse and drive her head straight into the canvas for the win.
Winner: Eve Torres
Rating: *1/4
Match 8: WWE Championship - I Quit - John Cena (c) vs. Batista (Taken from Batista - The Animal Unleashed DVD (Disc 3) Review)
This would later go on to be Batista's final match in the WWE before returning to the company four years later. Love how Batista starts the match on the mic as he gives John Cena a chance at quitting before the match even begins. Of course, Cena politely declines by slamming the mic to Batista's skull. Like Last Man Standing matches, I Quit matches can tend to drag with the referee constantly becoming a factor in stopping the pace of the match. That wasn't much of a problem here as the action flowed nicely and the two got a pretty equal amount of offense in with the high spots in Batista slamming Cena through the announce table and Cena tossing Batista off a ledge as he landed onto security. Ending saw Batista try to ram the car on the set into Cena who got out of the way and hit an Attitude Adjustment onto Batista atop the hood of the car. Batista then quit as Cena looked to give him another AA off the top of the car. However, Cena went ahead and gave him the AA as he drove Batista through the stage. Fun match and a decisive way for Cena to cap off his feud against The Animal. Interesting fact in Batista noting in interviews four years later that the finish ended up breaking his back. Fortunately for him, Batista would go on to take a long break from the company soon after.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Aside from the main event and maybe the CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio match, this was such a forgettable and bland PPV offering from the WWE. 2010 was certainly a weak year in terms of PPV quality for the WWE and this one is definitely a reminder of that fact.
Rating: 5.25/10
Match 1: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Kofi Kingston
Look how far we have come, Drew McIntyre defends his Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston in the opening contest. Also a little strange to think Kingston would become a WWE Champion before McIntyre. At this point, McIntyre was still fairly green and despite the praises from Vince McMahon himself, McIntyre just wasn't connecting very well with the audience. His offense here against Kingston certainly wasn't the flashiest thing ever and never once did I really feel like this dude was the hottest thing to come. Kingston is able to hit an S.O.S. on McIntyre to score the win and the Intercontinental Championship. Fairly basic opening match here between the two, always nice to see Kingston win some gold. Still so crazy to think he would finally break out as a WWE Champion nearly a decade later.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: **1/2
Match 2: R-Truth vs. Ted DiBiase
Being accompanied by Virgil, Ted DiBiase still has his hands full with R-Truth after the two have been beefing for weeks on Raw. Definitely a filler of a match here and one the crowd just couldn't really get behind. Truth is able to hit his Lie Detector finisher to score the fairly quick win. Interesting to see DiBiase take the L here, such an odd career he had in the WWE and almost as if the steam behind him completely disappeared once he left Randy Orton's side.
Winner: R-Truth
Rating: *1/4
Match 3: CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
Interesting match here with CM Punk having to shave his head upon a Rey Mysterio victory. However, a CM Punk victory would result in Mysterio having to join the Straight Edge Society. As expected, great action here from the two that was slowed down a bit once Punk had a bloody cut that had to be taken of right when the two were getting out of the first gear. Regardless, they were still able to pick the action up afterwards and despite not breaking out all the stops, they still provided us with a great performance. Loved the ending with Mysterio hitting a 619 on Punk but being unable to pin Punk as Punk dodged the splash from Mysterio right after. However, a quick recovery from Mysterio allowed him to roll Punk up for the victory out of nowhere. Loved Punk's reaction after the match as he was in complete shambles from the finish. His partners come out to attack Mysterio until Kane arrived to the scene to save the day. Afterwards, Mysterio handcuffed Punk to the ropes and shaved his long hair. Great scene with Mysterio celebrating the biggest hit Punk's Straight Edge Society had taken.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ***1/4
Match 4: WWE Unified Tag Team Championship - The Hart Dynasty (c) vs. The Miz & Chris Jericho
How many tag partners have The Miz and Chris Jericho have had in their careers? Would certainly be an interesting stat. They take on David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd of The Hart Dynasty with Natalya leading their charge. Almost seems pretty odd to just pair up Miz and Jericho to pit them in a match against The Hart Dynasty. Regardless, decent tag match for what it was with the young Hart Dynasty team still trying to find their feet with the crowd as babyfaces. Hart Dynasty are able to tackle the tandem of Miz and Jericho with a Hart Attack on The Miz to score the win. Forgettable match for the night. The Miz definitely deserved better than this. For someone they were trying to hype to the moon, he was certainly booked like a chump.
Winners: The Hart Dynasty
Rating: **3/4
Match 5: Edge vs. Randy Orton
Edge's run as a babyface in the beginning of 2010 didn't last long when he was drafted to Monday Night Raw and delivered a Spear to Randy Orton that cost him the WWE Championship. With Orton fuming, it looked like he was ready to eviscerate Edge here. Dig the big word? Unfortunately, this match wasn't exactly as clean and thrilling as the bouts they've had against each other in years past. Edge was diligent in focusing on the midsection but eventually, Orton would lure Edge right where he wanted him for an RKO. Unfortunately for Orton, he appeared to inadvertently injure himself as he was taunting Edge before hitting the RKO by slamming his arms on the canvas. The action spilled to the outside where Edge missed a Spear and went right into the barricade outside. The referee then counted both of them out as Orton was taken to the back with some medical attention. Such a disappointing match with an odd finish. Almost sad to see a match with such great talent really fall flat on its face.
Winner: n/a (double countout)
Rating: **
Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Jack Swagger (c) vs. The Big Show
Jack Swagger gets another big test as the World Heavyweight Champion in a bout here against the newest member of SmackDown, The Big Show. Unfortunately, like the previous match, this one suffered with a finish that had me scratching my head. They wrestled for less than about five minutes and Swagger did a great job in making Show feel like the dominant giant that he is. However, Swagger decided to end the match early by hitting Show with the title belt for the disqualification finish. Afterwards, Big Show gives two Chokeslams to Swagger and followed it with a Knockout Punch for his troubles. What a disappointment, they couldn't at least have Swagger try to do all this behind the referee's back? Building up a big match for a PPV and having it finish like this almost felt like a slap to the face of the customer.
Winner: The Big Show (via disqualification)
Rating: *
Match 7: WWE Divas Championship - Eve Torres (c) vs. Maryse
Maryse gets a crack at the Divas Championship against Eve Torres in a match to bridge the gap between the main events. Per usual, short contest here but surprisingly pretty solid for what it was. Maryse actually works very well as a heel and loved her taunts throughout the match here. Unfortunately for her, Eve is able to lock her knees between the head of Maryse and drive her head straight into the canvas for the win.
Winner: Eve Torres
Rating: *1/4
Match 8: WWE Championship - I Quit - John Cena (c) vs. Batista (Taken from Batista - The Animal Unleashed DVD (Disc 3) Review)
This would later go on to be Batista's final match in the WWE before returning to the company four years later. Love how Batista starts the match on the mic as he gives John Cena a chance at quitting before the match even begins. Of course, Cena politely declines by slamming the mic to Batista's skull. Like Last Man Standing matches, I Quit matches can tend to drag with the referee constantly becoming a factor in stopping the pace of the match. That wasn't much of a problem here as the action flowed nicely and the two got a pretty equal amount of offense in with the high spots in Batista slamming Cena through the announce table and Cena tossing Batista off a ledge as he landed onto security. Ending saw Batista try to ram the car on the set into Cena who got out of the way and hit an Attitude Adjustment onto Batista atop the hood of the car. Batista then quit as Cena looked to give him another AA off the top of the car. However, Cena went ahead and gave him the AA as he drove Batista through the stage. Fun match and a decisive way for Cena to cap off his feud against The Animal. Interesting fact in Batista noting in interviews four years later that the finish ended up breaking his back. Fortunately for him, Batista would go on to take a long break from the company soon after.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Aside from the main event and maybe the CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio match, this was such a forgettable and bland PPV offering from the WWE. 2010 was certainly a weak year in terms of PPV quality for the WWE and this one is definitely a reminder of that fact.
Rating: 5.25/10
Friday, May 10, 2019
WWE Greatest Royal Rumble 2018 Review (Part 2)
The fallout from WrestleMania spills into Saudi Arabia as WWE brings
its biggest Royal Rumble event ever with the Greatest Royal Rumble. John
Cena and Triple H face off once again in their first match in nearly a
decade, Brock Lesnar defends his Universal Championship against Roman
Reigns in a Steel Cage and 50 men battle each other in the biggest Royal
Rumble match ever!
Match 6: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Ladder - Seth Rollins (c) vs. The Miz vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor
Seth Rollins defends his Intercontinental Championship in a WrestleMania rematch with Samoa Joe being added to the mix to spice things up. This is certainly an internet wrestling fan's dream with all the internet favorites being in one match. Who would have guessed I would being saying that about The Miz. Fun match here with the crowd really getting behind Rollins here. I mean, whenever you add these guys and ladders to a ring, you get good stuff. Wish this was given a few more minutes and we probably could have gotten a real show stealer here. Finn Balor looked to capture the win and the championship before Rollins would spring out of nowhere onto a ladder and grabbed the title right in front of Balor to retain the gold. Again, really fun match despite them not really breaking out all the stops.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ***1/2
Match 7: WWE Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
These two had a fairly disappointing match at WrestleMania and the rematch sees Shinsuke Nakamura going against AJ Styles as a heel. Of course, Nakamura's new finisher is the devastating low blow and had been using it to perfection leading up to this match. Although the crowd barely payed any attention to the action in the ring, they were treated to a solid display of action and a nice balance of offense from each side. Nakamura went back to his mischievous ways as he gave Styles another one of his patented low blows as the referee had his back turned. Here, Styles absolutely snapped and gave Nakamura a beating outside the ring as the referee counted them both out. Afterwards, Styles continued his onslaught and capped it off with a Phenomenal Forearm to Nakamura outside the ring. Solid match here as expected from the two. Loved the double countout finish as this helps build their feud and gives them a reason to have another rematch with a stipulation added at the next PPV.
Winner: n/a (double countout)
Rating: ***1/4
Match 8: Casket - Rusev vs. The Undertaker
This is The Undertaker's first Casket match since 2008 where he went against The Big Show at Survivor Series. His newest victim... Rusev. As expected, this match was more style than actual substance. Rusev was very intimidated by The Deadman and the casket early on before somewhat getting into his groove and supplying a tad bit of offense. Undertaker was able to hit a Chokeslam on Rusev before hitting a Tombstone on Aiden English where he placed both of them in the casket to win the match. This was basically just The Undertaker squashing the popular team of Rusev and Aiden English. Sucks that somebody had to eat the L against The Undertaker here but The Phenom is like a god in Saudi Arabia, they gotta throw him a cookie. As much as I love The Undertaker, I think we are all ready to move on.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: *1/4
Match 9: WWE Universal Championship - Steel Cage - Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns
While this is only their third encounter ever, the internet fans still had their panties in a bunch at this point because they were so tired of this same match happening again. Like their previous encounter, this match consisted of the two delivering their biggest blows with F5s, Superman Punches and Spears galore throughout. I mean, I can't really be the only one who enjoys these two heavyweights beating the crap out of each other? For the life of me, I will never understand the hate for these guys. Maybe because they don't do any flips, that'd be my only assumption. After the two beat the crap out of each other, Reigns finally gets the upper hand and goes for a Spear on Lesnar who is lodged between the ring ropes and the steel cage. The Spear breaks through the cage and Lesnar is declared the winner as he "touches the floor first" over Reigns. Interesting finish that certainly sets up a rematch down the line which I love considering how much it annoyed the internet fans.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ***1/4
Match 10: 2018 Greatest Royal Rumble
50 men enter the main event here to declare the winner of the biggest Royal Rumble match in the history of the WWE. I don't really even know where to get started with this one. Let's just start off by saying... 50 entrants is way too much and after a very long show, an extremely long match like this one doesn't particularly sound too appetizing. With 50 entrants, you get a good amount of talent that you've never heard of or seen before. While it could be a solid way to get some of these guys over, they were usually just quickly tossed out before I could even remember their names. Keep in mind that everybody's music just about sounds the same and the crowd could not care to even differentiate some of them. The best moments of the match were the times I has hit with nostalgia as guys like Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Shane McMahon and even The Great Khali gave some sparks to the match. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention the names of Daniel Bryan and Titus O'Neil. Bryan shined throughout the match and lasted longer than any other Rumble competitor, fine way to get his star going again since making his return. And of course, Titus gave us the entrance of the century where he slid under the ring when he was running down from his entrance. Truly made this Rumble match stand out from all the other ones. But of course, the biggest star of the show was Braun Strowman who tore everybody apart and even threw Shane through an announcers table from the top rope. Strowman was able to toss Big Cass out of the ring to win the match and close out the night to an impressive display of fireworks. Long and fairly boring for the better part of the match before finally picking up later on. No reason why Strowman shouldn't have been given a title shot after this.
Winner: Braun Strowman
Rating: **3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
While certainly one of the biggest spectacles the WWE has ever presented, the quality of the show wasn't able to match that energy. There was some good and some bad here, almost like this was the biggest house show the WWE ever rolled out. Watch it for the pageantry of the event and not so much the actual quality of the matches.
Rating: 7.25/10
Match 6: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Ladder - Seth Rollins (c) vs. The Miz vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor
Seth Rollins defends his Intercontinental Championship in a WrestleMania rematch with Samoa Joe being added to the mix to spice things up. This is certainly an internet wrestling fan's dream with all the internet favorites being in one match. Who would have guessed I would being saying that about The Miz. Fun match here with the crowd really getting behind Rollins here. I mean, whenever you add these guys and ladders to a ring, you get good stuff. Wish this was given a few more minutes and we probably could have gotten a real show stealer here. Finn Balor looked to capture the win and the championship before Rollins would spring out of nowhere onto a ladder and grabbed the title right in front of Balor to retain the gold. Again, really fun match despite them not really breaking out all the stops.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ***1/2
Match 7: WWE Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
These two had a fairly disappointing match at WrestleMania and the rematch sees Shinsuke Nakamura going against AJ Styles as a heel. Of course, Nakamura's new finisher is the devastating low blow and had been using it to perfection leading up to this match. Although the crowd barely payed any attention to the action in the ring, they were treated to a solid display of action and a nice balance of offense from each side. Nakamura went back to his mischievous ways as he gave Styles another one of his patented low blows as the referee had his back turned. Here, Styles absolutely snapped and gave Nakamura a beating outside the ring as the referee counted them both out. Afterwards, Styles continued his onslaught and capped it off with a Phenomenal Forearm to Nakamura outside the ring. Solid match here as expected from the two. Loved the double countout finish as this helps build their feud and gives them a reason to have another rematch with a stipulation added at the next PPV.
Winner: n/a (double countout)
Rating: ***1/4
Match 8: Casket - Rusev vs. The Undertaker
This is The Undertaker's first Casket match since 2008 where he went against The Big Show at Survivor Series. His newest victim... Rusev. As expected, this match was more style than actual substance. Rusev was very intimidated by The Deadman and the casket early on before somewhat getting into his groove and supplying a tad bit of offense. Undertaker was able to hit a Chokeslam on Rusev before hitting a Tombstone on Aiden English where he placed both of them in the casket to win the match. This was basically just The Undertaker squashing the popular team of Rusev and Aiden English. Sucks that somebody had to eat the L against The Undertaker here but The Phenom is like a god in Saudi Arabia, they gotta throw him a cookie. As much as I love The Undertaker, I think we are all ready to move on.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: *1/4
Match 9: WWE Universal Championship - Steel Cage - Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns
While this is only their third encounter ever, the internet fans still had their panties in a bunch at this point because they were so tired of this same match happening again. Like their previous encounter, this match consisted of the two delivering their biggest blows with F5s, Superman Punches and Spears galore throughout. I mean, I can't really be the only one who enjoys these two heavyweights beating the crap out of each other? For the life of me, I will never understand the hate for these guys. Maybe because they don't do any flips, that'd be my only assumption. After the two beat the crap out of each other, Reigns finally gets the upper hand and goes for a Spear on Lesnar who is lodged between the ring ropes and the steel cage. The Spear breaks through the cage and Lesnar is declared the winner as he "touches the floor first" over Reigns. Interesting finish that certainly sets up a rematch down the line which I love considering how much it annoyed the internet fans.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ***1/4
Match 10: 2018 Greatest Royal Rumble
50 men enter the main event here to declare the winner of the biggest Royal Rumble match in the history of the WWE. I don't really even know where to get started with this one. Let's just start off by saying... 50 entrants is way too much and after a very long show, an extremely long match like this one doesn't particularly sound too appetizing. With 50 entrants, you get a good amount of talent that you've never heard of or seen before. While it could be a solid way to get some of these guys over, they were usually just quickly tossed out before I could even remember their names. Keep in mind that everybody's music just about sounds the same and the crowd could not care to even differentiate some of them. The best moments of the match were the times I has hit with nostalgia as guys like Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Shane McMahon and even The Great Khali gave some sparks to the match. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention the names of Daniel Bryan and Titus O'Neil. Bryan shined throughout the match and lasted longer than any other Rumble competitor, fine way to get his star going again since making his return. And of course, Titus gave us the entrance of the century where he slid under the ring when he was running down from his entrance. Truly made this Rumble match stand out from all the other ones. But of course, the biggest star of the show was Braun Strowman who tore everybody apart and even threw Shane through an announcers table from the top rope. Strowman was able to toss Big Cass out of the ring to win the match and close out the night to an impressive display of fireworks. Long and fairly boring for the better part of the match before finally picking up later on. No reason why Strowman shouldn't have been given a title shot after this.
Winner: Braun Strowman
Rating: **3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
While certainly one of the biggest spectacles the WWE has ever presented, the quality of the show wasn't able to match that energy. There was some good and some bad here, almost like this was the biggest house show the WWE ever rolled out. Watch it for the pageantry of the event and not so much the actual quality of the matches.
Rating: 7.25/10
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
WWE Greatest Royal Rumble 2018 Review (Part 1)
The fallout from WrestleMania spills into Saudi Arabia as WWE brings its biggest Royal Rumble event ever with the Greatest Royal Rumble. John Cena and Triple H face off once again in their first match in nearly a decade, Brock Lesnar defends his Universal Championship against Roman Reigns in a Steel Cage and 50 men battle each other in the biggest Royal Rumble match ever!
Match 1: Triple H vs. John Cena
I am definitely in the minority here when I say how much I loved the singles matches between Triple H and John Cena. Also, the WWE has done such a great job of using this match for bigger situations and not letting this become such a milked thing. Incredible to see the sights and sounds of the opening followed by the two coming out to such grand entrances. Of course, I wasn't expecting a classic match here like their first two singles matches, but they did have a fun match to open the show with the crowd just being super hyped to see the two superstars live. After a third Attitude Adjustment on Triple H, Cena walks away with the win and shows love for the Saudi Arabia audience. Again, not their greatest match ever but it served its purpose very well. Smart match to open the night.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***1/4
Match 2: WWE Cruiserweight Championship - Cedric Alexander (c) vs. Kalisto
After capturing the Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania, Cedric Alexander was defend it against the former champion in Kalisto. Like most cruiserweight matches, this one really went under the radar and despite all the big moves and tricks, the crowd unfortunately just wasn't too invested into it. These two are easily some of the most athletic guys on the scene right now and seeing them dive all over the place was certainly a treat to watch. Despite Kalisto bringing everything he had to the table, Alexander was able to land a Lumbar Check to secure the win and retain the championship. Solid match.
Winner: Cedric Alexander
Rating: ***1/4
Match 3: WWE Raw Tag Team Championships - Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy vs. The Bar
Cesaro & Sheamus of The Bar get another opportunity at capturing the Raw Tag Team Championships against the newest team of Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy here in Jeddah. Also cool to see the huge crowd light their phones up for Wyatt as both he and Hardy made their way to the ring. The match itself left a little more to be desired but again, the finish was the main story here with Wyatt holding up Sheamus as Hardy gave Sheamus an elevated Twist of Fate to win the quick match and score the Raw Tag Team Championships for his team. Passable match here but definitely cool to see Hardy win more gold with a new partner. Has anyone had an odder journey than him?
Winners: Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy
Rating: **
Match 4: WWE United States Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Jinder Mahal
With Jinder Mahal quickly losing his United States Championship to Jeff Hardy just a little over a week after capturing it, he gets his rematch here with a chance to regain the gold. But really, this match was simply another basic match on the card before leading into the bigger ones later on in the night. You get your usual fix of Hardy moves here with Jinder nearly pulling off the win with some help of Samir Singh at ringside. However, Hardy is able to land a Swanton Bomb to seal the win as he and his brother both score wins for the night. After this, the experiment known as Jinder Mahal basically came to a screeching halt. Shame considering he was so rushed into the main event scene and was starting to really come into his own. Let the hate begin, I stand by what I just typed.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Rating: **1/4
Match 5: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships - The Bludgeon Brothers (c) vs. The Usos
After winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania, The Bludgeon Brothers get their chance to defend them against a tough team in The Usos. More than anything, this was a glorified squash match with The Usos getting a bit of offense here but ultimately failing to tackle the bigger and stronger team of Harper & Rowan. Again, the crowd was really not involved too much with the action as Harper & Rowan continued their onslaught across the tag division and retain the belts here. The run of The Bludgeon Brothers wouldn't continue much longer after this and for shame. Like Mahal, they were really finally getting to come onto their own and finally leaving their Wyatt Family personas behind. Shame how injuries can really throw things off.
Winners: The Bludgeon Brothers
Rating: *1/4
Match 1: Triple H vs. John Cena
I am definitely in the minority here when I say how much I loved the singles matches between Triple H and John Cena. Also, the WWE has done such a great job of using this match for bigger situations and not letting this become such a milked thing. Incredible to see the sights and sounds of the opening followed by the two coming out to such grand entrances. Of course, I wasn't expecting a classic match here like their first two singles matches, but they did have a fun match to open the show with the crowd just being super hyped to see the two superstars live. After a third Attitude Adjustment on Triple H, Cena walks away with the win and shows love for the Saudi Arabia audience. Again, not their greatest match ever but it served its purpose very well. Smart match to open the night.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***1/4
Match 2: WWE Cruiserweight Championship - Cedric Alexander (c) vs. Kalisto
After capturing the Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania, Cedric Alexander was defend it against the former champion in Kalisto. Like most cruiserweight matches, this one really went under the radar and despite all the big moves and tricks, the crowd unfortunately just wasn't too invested into it. These two are easily some of the most athletic guys on the scene right now and seeing them dive all over the place was certainly a treat to watch. Despite Kalisto bringing everything he had to the table, Alexander was able to land a Lumbar Check to secure the win and retain the championship. Solid match.
Winner: Cedric Alexander
Rating: ***1/4
Match 3: WWE Raw Tag Team Championships - Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy vs. The Bar
Cesaro & Sheamus of The Bar get another opportunity at capturing the Raw Tag Team Championships against the newest team of Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy here in Jeddah. Also cool to see the huge crowd light their phones up for Wyatt as both he and Hardy made their way to the ring. The match itself left a little more to be desired but again, the finish was the main story here with Wyatt holding up Sheamus as Hardy gave Sheamus an elevated Twist of Fate to win the quick match and score the Raw Tag Team Championships for his team. Passable match here but definitely cool to see Hardy win more gold with a new partner. Has anyone had an odder journey than him?
Winners: Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy
Rating: **
Match 4: WWE United States Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Jinder Mahal
With Jinder Mahal quickly losing his United States Championship to Jeff Hardy just a little over a week after capturing it, he gets his rematch here with a chance to regain the gold. But really, this match was simply another basic match on the card before leading into the bigger ones later on in the night. You get your usual fix of Hardy moves here with Jinder nearly pulling off the win with some help of Samir Singh at ringside. However, Hardy is able to land a Swanton Bomb to seal the win as he and his brother both score wins for the night. After this, the experiment known as Jinder Mahal basically came to a screeching halt. Shame considering he was so rushed into the main event scene and was starting to really come into his own. Let the hate begin, I stand by what I just typed.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Rating: **1/4
Match 5: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships - The Bludgeon Brothers (c) vs. The Usos
After winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania, The Bludgeon Brothers get their chance to defend them against a tough team in The Usos. More than anything, this was a glorified squash match with The Usos getting a bit of offense here but ultimately failing to tackle the bigger and stronger team of Harper & Rowan. Again, the crowd was really not involved too much with the action as Harper & Rowan continued their onslaught across the tag division and retain the belts here. The run of The Bludgeon Brothers wouldn't continue much longer after this and for shame. Like Mahal, they were really finally getting to come onto their own and finally leaving their Wyatt Family personas behind. Shame how injuries can really throw things off.
Winners: The Bludgeon Brothers
Rating: *1/4
Monday, May 6, 2019
WWE Backlash 2008 Review
The battles after WrestleMania continue with a stacked Backlash card. Randy Orton defends his WWE Championship against three other superstars in the main event while Edge looks to regain his World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker.
Match 1: WWE United States Championship - MVP (c) vs. Matt Hardy
These two had one of the best feuds of 2007 and with Matt Hardy returning at WrestleMania to ruin MVP's chances of winning the Money in the Bank Ladder match, the beef needed to be settled here. Very nice action here between the two to start off the show as the chemistry they had from their feud the previous year continued to shine here. MVP misses a kick in the corner and falls right into a Twist of Fate as Hardy comes back from his injury with a bang and captures the title that had been so elusive to him. I cannot remember if they had a bigger blow off to their feud but this was certainly a cool way to have Hardy get the last laugh if it was. However, with the awesome feud they had in 2007, I kind of wish this match would have been inside a steel cage or something.
Winner: ***1/4
Rating: Matt Hardy
Match 2: ECW Championship - Kane (c) vs. Chavo Guerrero
For those who forgot, Mike Adamle is on the call for this one and as brutal as it was to listen to him, Tazz did a fantastic job and adjusting the drive and allowing me to really enjoy the action here. Chavo Guerrero gets his WrestleMania rematch and another shot at the ECW Championship. Chavo had his bodyguard in Bam Neely nearby for any help and despite the huge size differential, Chavo was fantastic in looking believable in stacking the odds against the champion. Once Chavo had an opening to hit a Frog Splash on Kane, Kane caught him with a Chokeslam to win the match and retain his title. That completely blew away any expectations I had coming into this, very well done!
Winner: Kane
Rating: ***1/4
Match 3: The Great Khali vs. The Big Show
Unfortunately for The Big Show, he comes off the biggest match of his career to go straight into a PPV match against The Great Khali in a pretty silly feud. Despite the low expectations and the crowd crapping all over this one, the match itself was actually pretty good considering how short it was. Show looks so much healthier than he did during his previous 2006 run and really made Khali look like a believable and respectable giant. Show would eventually go on to land a Chokeslam on Khali to seal the win and be able to move on to bigger things... no pun intended.
Winner: The Big Show
Rating: *1/4
Match 4: Batista vs. Shawn Michaels
This is the beginning of the greatest feud the WWE had ever seen between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho as Jericho served as the special guest referee in a match between Michaels and Batista. Batista was angry at Michaels for ending the career of Ric Flair and the buildup towards this match was nothing short of excellent. Their little feud gets lost in the scuffle because it gets overshadowed by the feud between Michaels and Jericho. Solid match here with a great amount of offense from the two. Awesome ending to the match where Michaels seemingly hurt his knee before hitting a Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere on Batista to seal the win. Of course, it would later be revealed that Michaels faked the injury and it led to an incredible roller coaster of emotions between him and Jericho. Such an underrated match with a great ending of Michaels basically playing chess against a guy who was playing checkers in Batista.
Winner: Shawn Michaels
Rating: ***3/4
Match 5: Beth Phoenix, Melina, Victoria, Jillian, Natalya & Layla vs. Mickie James, Maria, Michelle McCool, Ashley, Cherry & Kelly Kelly
The Divas from all brands jumble up together to form a cluster of a tag match before we head into the main event matches. Quick match here with all the Divas getting a move in at the end with Beth Phoenix being the only real standout of the match by suplexing Ashley to seal the win for her team. The former champion looks as dominant as ever.
Winners: Beth Phoenix, Melina, Victoria, Jillian, Natalya & Layla
Rating: *
Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - The Undertaker (c) vs. Edge
This is the forgotten rematch from their classic bout a month prior at WrestleMania XXIV. While the mystique and ambiance of the match wasn't as present like their first match, there was still definitely a lot of hype behind this rematch with Vickie Guerrero putting The Undertaker through a rigorous string of matches on SmackDown before facing Edge in the rematch. While it wasn't as dramatic as their first encounter, the action here was still solid as Edge is fantastic in his role in making himself a believable competitor against the bigger Undertaker. The story, however, with this match was much different than the first time around. The level of hate The Undertaker held against Edge was certainly at a higher level and they really built the match around that. Despite Edge getting help from his Edgeheads, Undertaker was able to lock Edge in his Hell's Gate submission to secure the win. After Edge tapped, Undertaker refused to let go of the submission and put Edge out of consciousness. Afterwards, Vickie Guerrero comes out and screams at the sight of blood pouring out of the mouth of Edge. This feud just went up another notch...
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: ***1/2
Match 7: WWE Championship - Elimination - Randy Orton (c) vs. Triple H vs. JBL vs. John Cena
With Randy Orton retaining the WWE Championship at WrestleMania in a triple threat match, I guess the company didn't really have too much of a creative idea on what to do afterwards here. So... they just put those three guys back in the main event and added JBL to the equation. As predicted, JBL is eliminated first as John Cena takes him out of the fray. However, a punt to the head by Orton then puts Cena out of the chase for the gold. Pretty crazy how fast they killed Cena's momentum from his amazing Royal Rumble return. Finally, it came down to Randy Orton and Triple H. A match we have seen so many times and a match that we would continue to watch for so many more times after this. While the action between the two here was enjoyable, it didn't feel fresh at all and it almost became hard for me to invest my time into it considering I've seen these two go against each other so many times. Triple H is able to Pedigree Orton to score the win and win another WWE Championship. You really gotta question the decision to why exactly they had Orton score the win at WrestleMania. Was it to swerve us? It just seemed like Orton was destined for such a long title reign and this loss felt like such an underwhelming and abrupt ending.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ***1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
While this was certainly a solid follower to WrestleMania and another solid 2008 PPV, it also felt like a pretty lazy card put together with much of the card just really feeling like a lesser WrestleMania. Despite that, the matches that carried the show delivered and helped lead feuds into bigger things.
Rating: 7.75/10
Match 1: WWE United States Championship - MVP (c) vs. Matt Hardy
These two had one of the best feuds of 2007 and with Matt Hardy returning at WrestleMania to ruin MVP's chances of winning the Money in the Bank Ladder match, the beef needed to be settled here. Very nice action here between the two to start off the show as the chemistry they had from their feud the previous year continued to shine here. MVP misses a kick in the corner and falls right into a Twist of Fate as Hardy comes back from his injury with a bang and captures the title that had been so elusive to him. I cannot remember if they had a bigger blow off to their feud but this was certainly a cool way to have Hardy get the last laugh if it was. However, with the awesome feud they had in 2007, I kind of wish this match would have been inside a steel cage or something.
Winner: ***1/4
Rating: Matt Hardy
Match 2: ECW Championship - Kane (c) vs. Chavo Guerrero
For those who forgot, Mike Adamle is on the call for this one and as brutal as it was to listen to him, Tazz did a fantastic job and adjusting the drive and allowing me to really enjoy the action here. Chavo Guerrero gets his WrestleMania rematch and another shot at the ECW Championship. Chavo had his bodyguard in Bam Neely nearby for any help and despite the huge size differential, Chavo was fantastic in looking believable in stacking the odds against the champion. Once Chavo had an opening to hit a Frog Splash on Kane, Kane caught him with a Chokeslam to win the match and retain his title. That completely blew away any expectations I had coming into this, very well done!
Winner: Kane
Rating: ***1/4
Match 3: The Great Khali vs. The Big Show
Unfortunately for The Big Show, he comes off the biggest match of his career to go straight into a PPV match against The Great Khali in a pretty silly feud. Despite the low expectations and the crowd crapping all over this one, the match itself was actually pretty good considering how short it was. Show looks so much healthier than he did during his previous 2006 run and really made Khali look like a believable and respectable giant. Show would eventually go on to land a Chokeslam on Khali to seal the win and be able to move on to bigger things... no pun intended.
Winner: The Big Show
Rating: *1/4
Match 4: Batista vs. Shawn Michaels
This is the beginning of the greatest feud the WWE had ever seen between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho as Jericho served as the special guest referee in a match between Michaels and Batista. Batista was angry at Michaels for ending the career of Ric Flair and the buildup towards this match was nothing short of excellent. Their little feud gets lost in the scuffle because it gets overshadowed by the feud between Michaels and Jericho. Solid match here with a great amount of offense from the two. Awesome ending to the match where Michaels seemingly hurt his knee before hitting a Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere on Batista to seal the win. Of course, it would later be revealed that Michaels faked the injury and it led to an incredible roller coaster of emotions between him and Jericho. Such an underrated match with a great ending of Michaels basically playing chess against a guy who was playing checkers in Batista.
Winner: Shawn Michaels
Rating: ***3/4
Match 5: Beth Phoenix, Melina, Victoria, Jillian, Natalya & Layla vs. Mickie James, Maria, Michelle McCool, Ashley, Cherry & Kelly Kelly
The Divas from all brands jumble up together to form a cluster of a tag match before we head into the main event matches. Quick match here with all the Divas getting a move in at the end with Beth Phoenix being the only real standout of the match by suplexing Ashley to seal the win for her team. The former champion looks as dominant as ever.
Winners: Beth Phoenix, Melina, Victoria, Jillian, Natalya & Layla
Rating: *
Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - The Undertaker (c) vs. Edge
This is the forgotten rematch from their classic bout a month prior at WrestleMania XXIV. While the mystique and ambiance of the match wasn't as present like their first match, there was still definitely a lot of hype behind this rematch with Vickie Guerrero putting The Undertaker through a rigorous string of matches on SmackDown before facing Edge in the rematch. While it wasn't as dramatic as their first encounter, the action here was still solid as Edge is fantastic in his role in making himself a believable competitor against the bigger Undertaker. The story, however, with this match was much different than the first time around. The level of hate The Undertaker held against Edge was certainly at a higher level and they really built the match around that. Despite Edge getting help from his Edgeheads, Undertaker was able to lock Edge in his Hell's Gate submission to secure the win. After Edge tapped, Undertaker refused to let go of the submission and put Edge out of consciousness. Afterwards, Vickie Guerrero comes out and screams at the sight of blood pouring out of the mouth of Edge. This feud just went up another notch...
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: ***1/2
Match 7: WWE Championship - Elimination - Randy Orton (c) vs. Triple H vs. JBL vs. John Cena
With Randy Orton retaining the WWE Championship at WrestleMania in a triple threat match, I guess the company didn't really have too much of a creative idea on what to do afterwards here. So... they just put those three guys back in the main event and added JBL to the equation. As predicted, JBL is eliminated first as John Cena takes him out of the fray. However, a punt to the head by Orton then puts Cena out of the chase for the gold. Pretty crazy how fast they killed Cena's momentum from his amazing Royal Rumble return. Finally, it came down to Randy Orton and Triple H. A match we have seen so many times and a match that we would continue to watch for so many more times after this. While the action between the two here was enjoyable, it didn't feel fresh at all and it almost became hard for me to invest my time into it considering I've seen these two go against each other so many times. Triple H is able to Pedigree Orton to score the win and win another WWE Championship. You really gotta question the decision to why exactly they had Orton score the win at WrestleMania. Was it to swerve us? It just seemed like Orton was destined for such a long title reign and this loss felt like such an underwhelming and abrupt ending.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ***1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
While this was certainly a solid follower to WrestleMania and another solid 2008 PPV, it also felt like a pretty lazy card put together with much of the card just really feeling like a lesser WrestleMania. Despite that, the matches that carried the show delivered and helped lead feuds into bigger things.
Rating: 7.75/10
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