Free WWE Match Review: AJ Styles vs. John Cena (Summerslam 2016)

Review taken from WWE Summerslam 2016 Review (Part 1)

AJ Styles vs. John Cena
After a fluke victory over John Cena at Money in the Bank, AJ Styles gets a chance to right his wrongs here at Summerslam in one of the biggest marquee matches of the night. I am going to include myself when I say this match gets completely overlooked by so many because of their classic bout at Royal Rumble 2017. For whatever reason, Cena and Styles had some unreal chemistry and truly brought the best out of each other like no other. The case was no different here, the crowd was absolutely electric for the action here that really just saw them stepping on the gas from the very beginning. The nearfalls throughout the match were a joy to watch and seeing Styles kick out of an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment nearly blew the roof off the building. Despite Cena kicking out of everything Styles gave him, Styles finally sealed the deal after hitting a Styles Clash and immediately following it with a Phenomenal Forearm. Styles pins Cena clean. Incredible performance from the two and a shame that this match has become almost forgotten.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ****3/4

WWE Smackville 2019 Review

WWE Smackville 2019
July 27, 2019
Nashville, Tennessee

The SmackDown Live brand comes to Nashville for a special WWE Network exclusive on a Saturday night in July. Kofi Kingston must defend his WWE Championship against his two latest foes in Dolph Ziggler and Samoa Joe before heading into Summerslam to take on Randy Orton.

Match 1: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Ali
With Finn Balor being out of commission due to injury, Ali serves as the replacement to face Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship. Nakamura forces the referee to begin the match against Balor as the referee then calls for the bell and proceeds to count out Balor. Here, Ali comes out and steps in for the injured Balor. Despite the crowd being pretty quiet throughout the contest, the action was still pretty fast and certainly fun to watch. The two used their unique offenses nicely here to really help the viewers remember just how good Ali can be in the ring. However, a Kinshasa from Nakamura put an end to Ali and his big return.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Rating: ***

Match 2: Elias vs. Kevin Owens
Elias came out for his big performance and as usual, did a great job of getting heat from the crowd while claiming Johnny Cash once told him that the Tennessee Titans will never win a Super Bowl. Kevin Owens interrupts Elias from behind and calls for a referee as an impromptu match has now begun. Pretty solid match here between the two as watching Owens wrestle as a babyface is definitely working better than the first time around. Elias is able to get in a decent amount of offense before getting hit with a Stunner by Owens to end the match. Fun to watch Elias on the guitar and fun to watch these two go at it in a short match before heading into the main event.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Rating: **1/4

Match 3: WWE Championship - Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Samoa Joe
Seeing Kofi Kingston as the top dog and WWE Champion never gets old to me. Also seeing Dolph Ziggler and Samoa Joe in the main event will never get old to me as well. Ziggler and Joe try to coexist early on to eliminate Kingston from the equation until animosity between the two grow pretty fast. Seriously, when does that ever work? Definitely cool to see the exchanges between all three guys with everyone doing a great job in making the match believable despite everyone pretty much knowing what the outcome would be. After a failed attempt of a Coquina Clutch, Joe walks right into a Trouble in Paradise for the the finish. While I enjoyed the match and enjoyed having this show in general on The Network, I question having Kingston having a random title defense right before Summerslam. In some ways, it kind of feels like it waters down the title's legitimacy with all these defenses. Would it really hurt to just get Kingston a partner and make this a big tag match? What do you guys think?
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: ***1/2

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
If you know me, you love I love these WWE Network specials and how much I love to rave about them. Solid show here to continue the build towards the biggest show of the summer. While it was a little too short for my liking, it was still an enjoyable watch and really cool to see the WWE continuing to make efforts in putting out house shows on their Network.
Rating: 7/10

WWE Summerslam 2016 Review (Part 1)

WWE Summerslam 2016
August 21, 2016
Brooklyn, New York

The Beast Incarnate clashes with The Viper in the main event of the biggest event of the summer! Will Randy Orton be able to take down the imposing Brock Lesnar? Also, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor fight for a chance to become the first Universal Champion.

Match 1: Enzo & Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
Enzo & Big Cass come out to open the show in front of their New York fans as Enzo cuts a slick promo before the match. Hate him all you want but the dude really could really throw out some dope stuff on the mic. If I'm correct, this was the first time Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens had a big tag team match and of course, they meshed well so nicely here. Loved their trash talking throughout the match and Owens mocking Enzo was a sight to see. With Big Cass getting eliminated from the action, Enzo was left to fend for himself as he got launched by Owens to Jericho for a Codebreaker. Jericho & Owens pick up the big win in a solid opening match.
Winners: Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
Rating: **3/4

Match 2: WWE Raw Women's Championship - Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
After Sasha Banks won the Raw Women's Championship from Charlotte Flair a few weeks prior to this on an episode of Monday Night Raw, Charlotte gets her big rematch here. Really solid action from the two here, they were able to truly display their athleticism and abilities in the ring while teasing us for more matches down the line. This was around the time the women's division was picking up and the crowd was definitely eating up all the cool spots throughout the match. Banks looks to seal the deal with a Bank Statement until Charlotte is able to roll her up with a surprise win and steal the victory and regain her Women's Championship. Great match between the two and a great way for them to lead into bigger matches down the road soon after.
Winner: Charlotte Flair
Rating: ***3/4

Match 3: WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs. Apollo Crews
At this point, The Miz was really coming back into his own as a star and certainly becoming one of the company's top heels for the first time in a long time. Mauro Ranallo notes on commentary how the Intercontinental Championship has changed hands many times at Summerslam which could possibly mean trouble for the current champ. Decent match here with Apollo Crews showcasing a bit of his cool offense while The Miz tries to walk away from the fight before hitting a Skull Crushing Finale out of nowhere to seal the win and retain the title.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: **

Match 4: AJ Styles vs. John Cena
After a fluke victory over John Cena at Money in the Bank, AJ Styles gets a chance to right his wrongs here at Summerslam in one of the biggest marquee matches of the night. I am going to include myself when I say this match gets completely overlooked by so many because of their classic bout at Royal Rumble 2017. For whatever reason, Cena and Styles had some unreal chemistry and truly brought the best out of each other like no other. The case was no different here, the crowd was absolutely electric for the action here that really just saw them stepping on the gas from the very beginning. The nearfalls throughout the match were a joy to watch and seeing Styles kick out of an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment nearly blew the roof off the building. Despite Cena kicking out of everything Styles gave him, Styles finally sealed the deal after hitting a Styles Clash and immediately following it with a Phenomenal Forearm. Styles pins Cena clean. Incredible performance from the two and a shame that this match has become almost forgotten.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ****3/4

Match 5: WWE Tag Team Championship - The New Day (c) vs. Gallows & Anderson
With Big E out of action, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods defend their titles against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Oh, and Jon Stewart is in the corner for The New Day. When are we going to get rid of this damn guy? The crowd could seriously not care any less for this dude and him talking for just two minutes on the mic prior to the match was such an annoyance. Decent tag match here with Stewart involving himself in the match and nearly getting destroyed by Gallows and Anderson before Big E returns to come and make the save. The match ends in a disqualification against The New Day but they still retain the belts.
Winners: Gallows & Anderson (via disqualification)
Rating: **

Free WWE Match Review: Team Bella vs. Team B.A.D. vs. PCB (Summerslam 2015)

Review taken from WWE Summerslam 2015 Review

Match 8: Elimination - Team Bella vs. Team B.A.D. vs. PCB
Around this time is when the Divas Revolution was starting to really come into its own as these three teams get their chance to shine on the summer's biggest stage. Brie Bella is able to pin Tamina to eliminate Team B.A.D. from the equation before going up against the team of Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch of PCB. Once it's down to these two teams, the action certainly picks up a notch. Nonstop action with the six ladies in the ring with Lynch being able to pin Brie to score the win for her side. Great win for the newcomers and placing a new emphasis on PCB. Good match.
Winners: PCB
Rating: **1/2

WWE Elimination Chamber 2018 Review

WWE Elimination Chamber 2018
February 25, 2018
Paradise, Nevada

The road to WrestleMania stops in Las Vegas for the annual Elimination Chamber PPV. Two Elimination Chamber matches headline the night with huge WrestleMania implications on the line. Who will walk in to WrestleMania as the Raw Women's Champion and who will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship?

Match 1: WWE Raw Women's Championship - Elimination Chamber - Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Mickie James vs. Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville vs. Bayley
For the first time ever, the women grace the Elimination Chamber as Alexa Bliss must defend her Raw Women's Championship against five other competitors if she has any desire to enter WrestleMania with the gold around her waist. They built the match around Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville of Absolution working together, Sasha Banks and Mickie James working together, Mickie James fighting for her own self and Alexa Bliss trying not to lose the match rather than trying to actually win it. The structure worked and it kept the match flowing nicely throughout with things really picking up when it finally came down to Banks, Bayley and Bliss. Bliss tried to escape the two before Banks turns on Bayley which then shifted their focus onto each other instead of focusing on the champ. This little opening gives Bliss enough room for her to take advantage of things before last eliminating Banks with an elevated DDT to secure the win and escape the chamber as the champion. Solid opening match, nothing that will blow you away but certainly a nicely constructed and nicely executed match that makes sense as Bliss walks into WrestleMania as the champ with this big win.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
Rating: ***3/4

Match 2: WWE Raw Tag Team Championship - The Bar (c) vs. Titus Worldwide
Titus O'Neil and his partner in Apollo Crews get their biggest opportunity as a team by facing Sheamus and Cesaro here for the Raw Tag Team Championship. Good match for what it was, basic tag action here with Crews really getting the chance to showcase his amazing athleticism. However, a sneaky tag from Sheamus led to a very costly mistake as The Bar hit their finisher on a surprised Crews to pick up the win. We really don't give The Bar enough credit as champions, their chemistry together is phenomenal and at this point, they have really etched themselves as one of the most legitimate tag teams of the past few years.
Winners: The Bar
Rating: *3/4

Match 3: Nia Jax vs. Asuka
With Alexa Bliss keeping a close eye on this one from the backstage area, she watches her potential WrestleMania opponent in Asuka take on Nia Jax. Sometimes we tend to forget just how good Asuka can be in the ring and this is a great example of that fact. Doesn't matter the size of her opponent, she's great in adjusting her style to make the match both believable and fun to watch. Fun exchanges from the two with Jax being able to show off her strength and quickness at the same time throughout. However, Asuka is able to score a fairly quick win out of nowhere with a roll up. However, Asuka isn't able to celebrate for long as Jax attacks her from behind before ramming her through the barricade outside the ring. Solid match here as Asuka is able to gain a big win heading into WrestleMania while Jax still looks like a monster after all this.
Winner: Asuka
Rating: **3/4

Match 4: Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt
The two had their wars on episodes of Monday Night Raw as they continue their war here before the Ronda Rousey appearance as well as the main event. Matt Hardy plays mind games with Bray Wyatt before the match by disappearing from the ring during Wyatt's entrance and attacking him from behind. Basic match for what it was with Hardy hitting a Twist of Fate to score the win and basically complete the burial of Bray Wyatt. Weird this was even on the card but considering there's only four other matches, I guess they needed something to fill the card.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Rating: **1/4

Match 5: Elimination Chamber - Elias vs. Braun Strowman vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
Love the different approach to this Elimination Chamber match with having three guys begin the match, makes things a little more exciting and it's a solid way to get all the top guys on the brand featured in the match. Eliminations don't occur until all seven men enter the ring with Braun Strowman absolutely wrecking havoc throughout the entire match along with kicking out of just about everybody's finisher. There's no doubting that Strowman was red hot at this point and the crowd was simply eating up everything he gave them. He was certainly the biggest shining star of the match and no matter what his opponents fed him, he would not give in... until it was down to him and Roman Reigns. The two had a great exchange with Strowman nearly hitting his Running Powerslam before getting hit with a quick Spear by Reigns. Reigns is now headed back to WrestleMania with another opportunity to take down Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. After the match, Strowman attacks Reigns and hits him with a couple Running Powerslams before tossing him through one of the pods. Two things that really came out of this here with WWE solidifying Reigns as their top guy and the company also has huge stock in Strowman. They wanted Reigns to get he win but also wanted to protect Strowman at all costs which is why he eliminated everybody else. Looking back at this now, it's a shame they didn't continue to roll the ball on Strowman and pull the trigger on him because he was over big time with the audience. Could they not have just inserted him into the main event match at WrestleMania? That would have been a much better option and he would have a solid argument to be added to the mix.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ***3/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This is supposed to be one of Raw's biggest headliners going into the biggest show of the year and it felt very underwhelming. The Chamber matches were fun but certainly nothing that blew me away while the middle of the card was also nothing to write home about. They really put all their chips on the two Chamber matches along with the Ronda Rousey contract signing except they all didn't deliver too hard on their promises.
Rating: 5.75/10

Free WWE Match Review: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (Summerslam 2015)

Review taken from WWE Summerslam 2015 Review

WWE World Heavyweight Championship - WWE United States Championship - John Cena (c) vs. Seth Rollins (c)
This is certainly a dream match of sorts for me as I recall watching Seth Rollins wrestle as Tyler Black back in the day and wondering what a match against John Cena would look like. So many stories heading into this one with Rollins breaking the nose of Cena on episode of Raw prior to this along with Cena looking to tie Ric Flair as a 16 time world champion. The two brought out their best here with some really innovative spots along with an incredible display of athleticism such as Rollins diving through the ropes three times in succession. One of the coolest points in the match saw Cena lock Rollins in a Figure Four, a callback to Flair. How cool would it be to see Cena tie Flair's record with that submission? Also interesting to note how Rollins has changed his style in the ring after getting injured later in 2015, his style was certainly reminiscent of his days of Ring of Honor with an emphasis on so many dives and big spots. The biggest story from this match was Jon Stewart coming in to hit Cena with a steel chair and letting Rollins plant Cena with a Pedigree on that chair to pick up the win. Rollins becomes the first individual to simultaneously hold both the World Heavyweight and United States Championships. I get that the WWE wanted to get some sort of noteriety with that finish, but man, I really can't be the only one who gets annoyed as hell whenever Stewart is on my television. This is supposed to be one of the biggest matches in WWE history and we have to settle with a political comedian being the deciding factor? Come on! Even still, I will try not to let it spoil the taste in the mouth and understand how great of a contest it was before that.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ****1/4

WWE Battleground 2017 Review

WWE Battleground 2017
July 23, 2017
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

It's the return of the Punjabi Prison... WWE Champion Jinder Mahal puts everything on the line against Randy Orton as they clash in the first Punjabi Prison Match in a decade. Will The Viper be able to escape the Prison with another WWE Championship reign?

Match 1: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The Usos (c) vs. The New Day
2017 was a solid year for the tag team division in the WWE and these two teams were front and center of that statement. The New Day come out in their best Uncle Sam outfits as they open up the night in search of their third reign as tag team champions against The Usos. As usual, fun action from the two teams here with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston representing their team as Big E cheered on at ringside. Usos are able to gain control of much of the match and eliminating Kingston from the equation early on as The Usos turned much of their attention to Woods. However, a missed splash from Jimmy Uso allowed Kingston to hit a Trouble in Paradise as Woods followed it up with an elbow drop to seal the win. The New Day become the first team to hold both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Solid opener.
Winners: The New Day
Rating: ***1/2

Match 2: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin completely derailed any plans Shinsuke Nakamura had of winning the Money in the Bank Ladder Match a month prior after a sneak attack from behind. Nakamura gets hits chance to get some revenge here at Battleground. Loved watching the two strikers go to work here and just exchange some sweet kicks and punches throughout he match. At one point, Corbin hit Nakamura with one of the sickest clotheslines I have seen in the longest time. Fun match here with Corbin low blowing Nakamura which forced the referee to call for the bell and disqualify Corbin. Hate the finish all you want but it completely makes sense if you want to protect both guys from taking a real loss. Plus, Corbin gets some extra heat from the match as he was desperately trying to claw away from the nonstop striking of Nakamura. Afterwards, Corbin lays Nakamura out with his Money in the Bank briefcase before hitting an End of Days.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (via disqualification)
Rating: ***

Match 3: Elimination Match - Becky Lynch vs. Tamina vs. Natalya vs. Lana vs. Charlotte Flair
Winner of this elimination match gets the opportunity to face Naomi at Summerslam for her SmackDown Women's Championship. Pretty sluggish match from the beginning with everyone trying to get their hands in the cookie jar. The five women in the match lasted pretty much throughout the entire contest before Becky Lynch eliminated both Lana and Tamina as Natalya quickly took out Lynch soon after. This narrowed things down to Natalya and Charlotte Flair, Charlotte missed a moonsault as Natalya took advantage of the situation by driving Charlotte into the turnbuckle to seal the win and a chance to beat Naomi at Summerslam. Certainly not the best match considering the talent in the ring here.
Winner: Natalya
Rating: *3/4

Match 4: WWE United States Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens
At this point, Kevin Owens is still rocking his odd "Face of America" gimmick and looks to regain his United States Championship after losing it to AJ Styles in Madison Square Garden. I'm not really sure what it was but this match left a lot left more to be desired when it was all said and done. Owens worked one of the shoulders of Styles and tried using that to his advantage throughout the match by possibly eliminating the Styles Clash from the equation. After an inadvertent referee bump that left the referee a bit dazed, Owens rolled up Styles as Styles had a crossface locked in to get the pinfall and victory. However, it looked as if both men had their shoulders on the mat but since the referee was dazed from the hit, he wasn't able to catch it. This definitely sets up another rematch but either way, definitely a disappointing affair from the two. Almost as if they couldn't get out of first gear from the start.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Rating: **3/4

Match 5: Flag Match - Rusev vs. John Cena
Interesting to note how these two feuded just two years prior to this before reliving their beef once again in the summer of 2017. But really, a Flag Match between the two made sense here since they restarted their beef on July 4th before finally clashing here at Battleground. Unfortunately, this was just a very long match that never got going from the start with Rusev beating down John Cena convincingly throughout the match. This Flag Match differed from others in the past as once a competitor retrieved their respective flag, they would have to take it to their respective pedestal on the stage. Solid adjustment as simply having the two fight to retrieve their flag from a corner just led to some awkward moments. The two had their flags ready to be placed on the pedestals on the stage as they stopped each other from doing so until Cena gave an Attitude Adjustment to Rusev through two tables. Long and fairly boring match with a stipulation that is just so hard to get over in this day and age. Nonetheless, they wanted to have a gimmick to go along with the match and if there was ever a time to bring back a Flag Match, I guess this was it.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: *3/4

Match 6: Mike Kanellis vs. Sami Zayn
I can't be the only one who enjoys watching Mike Kanellis get some TV/PPV time... right? Anyway, he gets another match against Sami Zayn here after beating him on an edition of SmackDown Live with the help of Maria Kanellis. Fairly quick match here with Kanellis getting in a decent amount of offense before falling to Zayn and his Helluva Kick. Zayn is able to avenge his loss and Kanellis basically goes back to a pit of nothing after all of this. 
Winner: Sami Zayn
Rating: *3/4

Match 7: WWE Championship - Punjabi Prison Match - Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Randy Orton
I have heard and read so much flack about this match (including from Randy Orton on his Twitter) and I was so excited to see how this turned out as I finally got the opportunity to watch it here in 2019. This is the first Punjabi Prison Match since 2007 when Batista defeated The Great Khali at No Mercy in Chicago. Apparently, Vince McMahon had spent so much money on this structure and was adamant in making use of it again because of that fact. Despite the match being kind of annoying to watch through two structures and an odd set of rules that would leave the not-so-intellectual fans a bit lost, the action in the first cage was pretty good. Jinder Mahal is such a fantastic heel and The Singh Brothers do a great job in giving him extra heat. Once Orton was able to escape the first cage to meet Mahal on the outer cage, the action definitely picked up. Of course, we have to have a spot where a Singh brother nearly dies via Randy Orton as Orton tossed Samir off the outer cage and through the announcers table for a pretty sweet scene. Orton then handled Sunil and Mahal with a steel chair before finally looking to make his way out... until The Great Khali comes out. Yes. The Great freaking Khali comes out and shakes the outer cage to force Orton to go flip upside down and get choked by Khali as Mahal escapes while boasting in the face of Orton on the way out. A million dollars to anyone who had Khali coming out to make the save for Mahal. That was just so damn random and I'm here for it. Hate me all you want. Perhaps it's because I came in to this match with such low expectations but I really enjoyed the match for what it was and while I understand some of the complaints people had, they didn't really bother me too much. The camera crew did a great job of letting the viewers AT HOME see the action while the commentators did a great job for the viewers AT HOME to really understand the rules. I can only imagine what it was like for those in attendance. Not even going to lie, I wouldn't mind seeing another go at this.
Winner: Jinder Mahal
Rating: ***1/2

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Welp... this was something. The show opened up nicely with the tag match but completely unraveled throughout the night with bland matches with the exception of the main event. They relied heavily on the Flag Match along with the Punjabi Prison Match as the main attractions. Unfortunately, the Flag Match was pretty ridiculous and plenty had some negative reactions towards the main event. Can't recommend this show to anyone unless you want to watch the rare Punjabi Prison Match. 
Rating: 4.75/10