WWE Super Show-Down 2018 Review (Part 1)

WWE Super Show-Down 2018
October 6, 2018
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The WWE goes down under! A stacked card sees AJ Styles put his WWE Championship on the line against Samoa Joe before Triple H wages war against The Undertaker one last time!

Match 1: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The New Day (c) vs. The Bar
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods represent The New Day as they gold the titles on the line against both Sheamus and Cesaro of The Bar. Crowd is hot for this opening match and ate up seeing The New Day come down to the ring as they tossed out pancakes... no pun intended. Solid match here as you get your usual stuff from the two teams with The Bar using their strength to take advantage of the smaller New Day members. However, a Trouble in Paradise from Kingston to Sheamus on the outside let to Kingston and Woods teaming up to take out a lone Cesaro in the ring to score the win. Big win for New Day before Kingston would later receive the push of a lifetime a few months following this.
Winners: The New Day
Rating: ***

Match 2: WWE SmackDown Women's Championship - Becky Lynch (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
This is probably the 100th encounter between the two as the heated feud between two former best friends continues. This was right before Becky Lynch took off as the biggest star in the game and watching her go at it as a heel against the babyface Charlotte Flair seems so strange. Good action for what it was despite the match being fairly short, the two made plenty of use of it and got the message across that their feud was far from over. Lynch works so great as a heel and the turning point of the match saw her walk outside to grab her belt and try to walk away from the fight before Charlotte dragged her back in. Charlotte was able to sink in her Figure Eight submission on Lynch who then disqualifies herself by hitting Charlotte with the championship belt. Afterwards, Becky gives Charlotte an extra beating for her troubles. Fine match that helps sets up a bigger rematch between the two soon after.
Winner: Charlotte Flair (via disqualification)
Rating: **3/4

Match 3: Elias & Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Lashley & John Cena
Let's clear the air, Elias is a star and if you haven't realized that by now, then you're simply a fool. His ability to connect with the audience before the match on the guitar was and always will be a joy to watch. John Cena finally makes an appearance back in the squared circle as his former foe in Bobby Lashley basically gets beaten up the entire match. With Lashley having to really fight the fight on his own, it was a joy to watch Kevin Owens jaw at Cena while Owens and Elias put their focus and energy on Lashley. However, Cena is able to get tagged in and lands his big moves on Elias before debuting his new punch finisher to seal the win. Really, I'm giving this match its *3/4 just for the overall fun of the match despite Cena just finishing it off in the last minute of the match. Apparently, it had something to do with not having him risk injury for a movie he was filming. Afterwards, Cena gets on the mic and gives an emotional promo to the audience about the unknowing direction of his career. Again, not the greatest match ever but certainly fun to watch from the beginning to the end and always interesting to see Cena in this stage of his career.
Winners: Bobby Lashley & John Cena
Rating: *3/4

Match 4: The IIconics vs. Asuka & Naomi
The IIconics come back home to their native country of Australia and have a big test ahead of them in both Asuka and Naomi. But poor Asuka, she went from being the most unstoppable force in the division to almost an afterthought as she dances with Naomi and looking less and less serious as time goes on. Regardless, fun match here that much like the last tag match, felt more like something you would really see on a house show. Regardless, nice to see The IIconics pick up the big win in front of their home fans. They have certainly become a joy to watch.
Winners: The IIconics
Rating: **

Match 5: WWE Championship - No Disqualification - AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe
I can't even tell you how many times I've seen these two wrestle against each other. I also can't tell you enough how much I love watching them go at it. They meet once more here in a no disqualification and no countouts match in front of 70,000 people. Funny how things work. Despite the storyline heading into this match being a bit odd, you can still sense the intensity these two were going to bring from the start as they began the fight in the middle of the walkway headed to the ring from the stage. Solid action from the two as usual with chairs and a table being used since there was no disqualifications. Even with AJ Styles beating Samoa Joe up with a chair and driving him through a table, Joe was relentless in his pursuit of the gold as he was able to put Styles in a Coquina Clutch numerous times throughout the match. Despite Joe fighting back, Styles locks Joe up in a Calf Crusher to seal the win and retain the gold. Probably a bit longer than it needed it to be and at times, I forgot this was even a no disqualification match. Regardless, still an enjoyable title match between the two and always good to see Styles continue his reign as champion.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ***3/4