WWE Backlash 2017
May 21, 2017
Rosemont, Illinois
Jinder Mahal gains the chance of a lifetime as he challenges Randy Orton for the coveted WWE Championship. Also, Kevin Owens puts his United States Championship on the line against AJ Styles.
Match 1: Dolph Ziggler vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Dolph Ziggler is the perfect guy for Shinsuke Nakamura to make his WWE PPV debut against since Ziggler is a proven talent and someone who works well with just about everyone. Unfortunately for him, he's about to be the sacrificial lamb for Nakamura. Great choice to have these two open the night up, get the ball rolling with two guys who know how to work a crowd and let Nakamura showcase himself in a better spotlight instead of having them go at it in the middle of the show with a quieter audience. Pace was pretty slow in the beginning but they were definitely working nicely with the already rowdy crowd. However, once the pace picked up, the ball would not stop rolling. Believable nerafalls and fun action before Nakamura was able to hit a Kinshasa for the win. Great way to introduce Nakamura to the main roster fans in his PPV debut. They had the right match to kickstart the show and also did a fantastic job of displaying how brutal a Kinshasa kick can be.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Rating: ***3/4
Match 2: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The Usos (c) vs. Breezango
Tyler Breeze & Fandango of Breezango were pretty hot at this point and them making a case as legit challengers against The Usos was serious. This was definitely more of a comedy match above anything but it absolutely worked. Tyler Breeze came into the match dressed up as a janitor with a mop in his hands before later changing into an old lady which certainly had the crowd going. Despite getting the upperhand on The Usos a couple times, The Usos were able to finally eliminate Breeze from the match and isolate Fandango in the ring to score the win. Like I said, more of a comedy match than anything but they made it work and the crowd enjoyed it. Fun would be the right word and there's nothing wrong with that.
Winners: The Usos
Rating: **1/2
Match 3: Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin
Getting through some of these midcard matches can be a chore when it came to the brand-exclusive PPVs. While this is not the most exciting match ever on paper, the two here gave us a quality match and made use of the extended time they were given for the PPV which was definitely one of the upsides to these PPVs. Solid match here between two guys who probably didn't get the love they deserved around this time so they took advantage of having a match here on PPV. Both guys got in a good amount of offense against each other throughout the match with Baron Corbin getting the slight advantage. However, one costly mistake at the end of the match led to Sami Zayn hitting a Helluva Kick in the corner to seal the win. Solid midcard match here to keep the ball rolling for the night, Zayn picks up a big win but seeing how much better he works later on as a heel, it's literally night and day.
Winner: Sami Zayn
Rating: ***1/4
Match 4: The Welcoming Committee vs. Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair & Naomi
I'm probably in the minority when I say that I actually don't mind not having titles defended on PPVs all the time. I almost feel like frequent title defenses make the matches less meaningful and putting the champions in tag matches like this help build up those matches and feuds. With that being said, the champion in Naomi teams up with both Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair to handle some business against Carmella, Tamina & Natalya of The Welcoming Committee. A pretty standard tag match here, just interesting to see how interactions between Natalya and Charlotte, I don't recall the two having a big match against each other. Natalya is able to submit Becky with the Sharpshooter to pick up the win and gain some momentum in her efforts to take down Naomi as the champion. Again, just a standard tag match here, also interesting to see how much Becky and Charlotte have grown since this.
Winners: The Welcoming Committee
Rating: **3/4
Match 5: WWE United States Championship - Kevin Owens (c) vs. AJ Styles
Kevin Owens' run as "The Face of America" was just so strange to me, the dude went from being the top guy in the company to having such an odd gimmick that wasn't getting over too well with the audience. AJ Styles challenges Owens here for the gold in a match that internet wrestling fans had their panties wet over. Anyway, great match between the two here with Owens doing a fantastic job of constantly working on one of Styles' legs throughout the match. This created some extra drama for the match and Styles did a great job of selling the onslaught. Lots of fun action between the two here that saw some pretty sick spots including Styles suplexing Owens on the side of the ring and Owens hitting a running cannonball to the leg of Styles in the corner. Because of Owens putting his attention on that leg of Styles throughout the match, Styles wasn't able to land a Phenomenal Forearm later in the match and finally, got his leg stuck in the announcers table that led to a countout victory for Owens. Love the finish, reward the fans with smart wrestling. Owens isolated a part of the body and it eventually paid off for him in the end. Many weren't happy with the finish but I thought it worked, Owens picks up more steam going into their rematch. Matches don't always have to end with a pin for it to make sense.
Winner: Kevin Owens (via countout)
Rating: ***3/4
Match 6: Luke Harper vs. Erick Rowan
Such a bummer that these two didn't get a bigger and better payoff for all their years teaming together. As soon as Bray Wyatt stepped out of the picture, these two were left scrambling with a whole lot of nothing. Very physical match between the two but with the crowd having no real reason to care for anyone to win this match, it created a pretty tough environment for the two to work in. Aside from such a dead crowd, I enjoyed watching the two going at it for a bit and doing their best to work with the situation. Luke Harper is able to escape with the victory in a pretty underwhelming match. Just disappointing that these two were sort of tossed in this position. They were teaming for years, why couldn't this feud extend beyond just a quick match here? Why did Bray have to leave so abruptly? Either way, on to the main event.
Winner: Luke Harper
Rating: **1/4
Match 7: WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Jinder Mahal
First off, who would have ever guessed that this would actually happen? Jinder Mahal was propelled into this main event spot shortly after WrestleMania and finds himself in the opportunity of a lifetime. With The Singh Brothers by his side, Mahal looks to take down The Viper for his prestigious championship. There's no way Randy Orton is actually going to lose here, right? RIGHT? Welp, Orton tried to gain the advantage early on when he attacked Mahal from behind in retaliation for all the weeks that Mahal had been tormenting Orton. During the match, Mahal did a great job of working on the left shoulder of Orton and Orton was excellent in selling the injury throughout. The dude is subtly a master at this. Orton gets distracted by The Singh Brothers during the match so he takes things into his own hands by tossing them around before finally eliminating them out of the equation with a double DDT in the ring. However, Mahal capitalizes on the situation and naild Orton with the Kallaus to seal the victory! The camera crew does a great job of finding all the shocked faces in the arena as the crowd erupts in disbelief over the win. Wow. Mahal then celebrates around the arena and in the ring with his newly won championship as both Orton and The Singh Brothers lay on the floor. Say what you want about Mahal as the champion but that was awesome and he had some serious heel heat rolling into and out of this match. If you hated everything about his title reign, then I hope you can at least enjoy him coming full circle and winning the biggest prize in the industry.
Winner: Jinder Mahal
Rating: ***1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Aside from Jinder Mahal winning the WWE Championship, this was pretty much just a bland and forgettable PPV. There's a lot of good and a lot of bad with these brand-exclusive PPVs and this event should be a good example. You get some matches that aren't PPV worthy and you get some matches that get the proper time that they deserve. However, you get a lot of forgettable and just downright unflavored shows like this. It's another case of quantity not always being better than quality.
Rating: 6.75/10
Monday, April 13, 2020
Thursday, April 2, 2020
WWE WrestleMania 22 Review (Part 2)
WWE WrestleMania 22
April 2, 2006
Rosemont, Illinois
The biggest show of the year features a stacked card with championships and personal bragging rights on the line. John Cena faces his biggest challenge yet as he defends his WWE Championship against Triple H in the main event. Rey Mysterio must tackle both Kurt Angle and Randy Orton to earn his first World Heavyweight Championship and Shawn Michaels looks to put an end to his personal beef with Vince McMahon.
Match 6: WWE Women's Championship - Trish Stratus (c) vs. Mickie James
We don't talk about this feud enough, super underrated feud of this era. I know nobody likes to really look back at the Ruthless Aggression Era for the Divas but you have to talk about these two and their feud leading into WrestleMania. Mickie James' admiration for Trish Stratus slowly turned into a crush on her before she finally kissed her and turned on her before their match here. James did a great job of working on the left leg of Trish throughout the match and finally capping it off by driving her into the ropes off the top rope. James was able to hit Trish with her own Chick Kick to seal the big win. Great match with a great finish that unfortunately felt a little underwhelming due to a poor reaction from both the crowd and the commentators. Regardless, great call to have the heel leave with a championship.
Winner: Mickie James
Rating: ***
Match 7: Casket Match - Mark Henry vs. The Undertaker
First time a Casket Match is ever taking place at a WrestleMania as Mark Henry looks to snap the undefeated streak of The Undertaker. As you would expect, a fairly short match here but certainly one that didn't really need to go any longer than it did. Henry was physical from the start and was handling The Deadman pretty well until Undertaker turned the tides. Once Undertaker was able to hit a Last Ride from the corner, the match was pretty much in the bag. Undertaker was able to hit an impressive Tombstone on Henry and rolled him into the casket right after to win the match and keep his streak alive. Good match for what it was and a remarkable finish that had the crowd on their feet with that Tombstone. They didn't need to go over 20 minutes and drag this out, they went in for a little over 10 minutes and gave us a match that was great for what it was. Not every match has to tear the house down.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: **3/4
Match 8: No Holds Barred Match - Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. McMahon
If you've never seen the match between Shawn Michaels and Shane McMahon on Saturday Night's Main Event leading into this, do yourselves a favor and do so! Such an underrated match and a fantastic way to lead into this one. Loved the start to this match that had Mr. McMahon confidently march his way to the ring and pose with his Muscle & Fitness magazine cover before Michaels drilled him over the head with it. Of course, McMahon tried every trick in the bag by bringing out the Spirit Squad and Shane out for help. Michaels was able to easily take them out of the equation along with handcuffing Shane to the bottom rope outside the ring. Hilarious moment came when Michaels shoved Shane's face into the rear side of Vince while Vince was laughing thinking it was Shawn's face. Once Michaels busted McMahon open, it was pretty much a wrap. Michaels landed an elbow from the top of a tall ladder through McMahon on a table. Oh, and McMahon had a trashcan covering him the whole time. Finally, Michaels delivers a hard Sweet Chin Music to wrap up the match. Afterwards, McMahon flips off the camera as he is rolled out in a stretcher. Great match that really shows off how deep Michaels' range is with who he is able to work with in the ring. Their feud would stretch out for a few more months with Michaels eventually reuniting with Triple H later in the summer. However, I really thought that this would be the perfect ending.
Winner: Shawn Michaels
Rating: ***1/2
Match 9: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Kurt Angle (c) vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble to score his opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship while Randy Orton inserted himself into the match with a win over Mysterio at No Way Out a month later. Finally, here we are. Mysterio's career is set to culminate with the biggest match of his life. Unfortunately for him, the spoiled Chicago crowd was more interested in having Kurt Angle retain his gold. Even still, this match was packed with tons of action from the start of the match to the very end. Angle was a suplexing machine as he was tossing the two around like toys while the crowd kept eating it up. Loved the spot of Angle hitting a German suplex on both Orton and Mysterio that had Mysterio flying in the air. Mysterio was later able to escape an Angle Slam and toss Angle out of the ring before hitting a 619 on Orton to secure the incredible win. Had this match gone another five or so minutes, I really think we could have been looking at an all-time classic. Instead, it was just less than ten minutes and things felt so damn rushed. However, the match was still super fun to watch and a great chapter in the epic book of Rey Mysterio. But damn, Angle was such a beast at this time.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ***1/4
Match 10: Playboy Pillow Fight Match - Candice Michelle vs. Torrie Wilson
So we need something to bridge the gap between the two biggest matches on the card... and we get this. There is a bed in the middle of the ring as these two start the match off in dresses before losing them down to their bra and panties. Torrie Wilson scores the win by rolling up Candice Michelle. That was bad... really bad. Either way, on to the main event.
Winner: Torrie Wilson
Rating: 1/4*
Match 11: WWE Championship - John Cena (c) vs. Triple H
This is the first singles contest between the two hottest stars in the company and in my opinion, they gave us one of the most underrated main evens in WrestleMania history. Loved the build to this match, Triple H was clamoring over having the easiest challenge of his WrestleMania career with the newer and younger John Cena not backing down from the challenge. By this point, we had seen Cena have to go through guys like JBL, Kurt Angle, Edge and Chris Jericho, but nobody like The Game. Jim Ross was at his best on commentary, doing a fantastic job throughout the match as building the narrative of Cena being outmatched for this and letting the viewers know that him falling to somebody as rugged and experienced as Triple H was a strong possibility. The Chicago crowd was hot for this match as they were booing Cena out of the building and both men in the ring were eating it up and milking it for every drip that they could. With the crowd being so hot, they didn't have to give us flashy spots or anything but instead had a slower paced match that would gradually pick up until Cena nearly fell to a sledgehammer hit after a referee bump. From there, Cena was able to hit an FU before locking Triple H in an STFU. Crowd was on the edge as Cena applied the hold before Triple H had no choice but to tap. If there was any doubt, this showed why Cena was not only the face of the company, but simply the right choice to be the face of the company. He works at his finest with hostile crowds against him and he really knows how to play with the crowd, even here when he was just reaching his peak. I can't believe how overlooked this match gets, every nearfall was convincing and every spot was so nicely calculated. The only reason I don't give this ***** is because I feel like it could have gone a couple minutes longer but then again, this had me itching for the rematch immediately after this. Apparently, a rematch was in the works for next year's WrestleMania before Triple H eventually went down with an injury. Regardless, fantastic match and a perfect one to kick start Cena's WrestleMania main event belt.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ****3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This was personally one of my favorite WrestleManias ever. It flowed nicely from the very beginning and you get your mix of different styles of wrestling. While this certainly isn't the best WrestleMania in terms of wrestling quality, it's certainly up there as one of the most fun ones ever. There might be a couple bad matches on here but it's nothing that truly takes away from the rest of the card.
Rating: 8.5/10
April 2, 2006
Rosemont, Illinois
The biggest show of the year features a stacked card with championships and personal bragging rights on the line. John Cena faces his biggest challenge yet as he defends his WWE Championship against Triple H in the main event. Rey Mysterio must tackle both Kurt Angle and Randy Orton to earn his first World Heavyweight Championship and Shawn Michaels looks to put an end to his personal beef with Vince McMahon.
Match 6: WWE Women's Championship - Trish Stratus (c) vs. Mickie James
We don't talk about this feud enough, super underrated feud of this era. I know nobody likes to really look back at the Ruthless Aggression Era for the Divas but you have to talk about these two and their feud leading into WrestleMania. Mickie James' admiration for Trish Stratus slowly turned into a crush on her before she finally kissed her and turned on her before their match here. James did a great job of working on the left leg of Trish throughout the match and finally capping it off by driving her into the ropes off the top rope. James was able to hit Trish with her own Chick Kick to seal the big win. Great match with a great finish that unfortunately felt a little underwhelming due to a poor reaction from both the crowd and the commentators. Regardless, great call to have the heel leave with a championship.
Winner: Mickie James
Rating: ***
Match 7: Casket Match - Mark Henry vs. The Undertaker
First time a Casket Match is ever taking place at a WrestleMania as Mark Henry looks to snap the undefeated streak of The Undertaker. As you would expect, a fairly short match here but certainly one that didn't really need to go any longer than it did. Henry was physical from the start and was handling The Deadman pretty well until Undertaker turned the tides. Once Undertaker was able to hit a Last Ride from the corner, the match was pretty much in the bag. Undertaker was able to hit an impressive Tombstone on Henry and rolled him into the casket right after to win the match and keep his streak alive. Good match for what it was and a remarkable finish that had the crowd on their feet with that Tombstone. They didn't need to go over 20 minutes and drag this out, they went in for a little over 10 minutes and gave us a match that was great for what it was. Not every match has to tear the house down.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: **3/4
Match 8: No Holds Barred Match - Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. McMahon
If you've never seen the match between Shawn Michaels and Shane McMahon on Saturday Night's Main Event leading into this, do yourselves a favor and do so! Such an underrated match and a fantastic way to lead into this one. Loved the start to this match that had Mr. McMahon confidently march his way to the ring and pose with his Muscle & Fitness magazine cover before Michaels drilled him over the head with it. Of course, McMahon tried every trick in the bag by bringing out the Spirit Squad and Shane out for help. Michaels was able to easily take them out of the equation along with handcuffing Shane to the bottom rope outside the ring. Hilarious moment came when Michaels shoved Shane's face into the rear side of Vince while Vince was laughing thinking it was Shawn's face. Once Michaels busted McMahon open, it was pretty much a wrap. Michaels landed an elbow from the top of a tall ladder through McMahon on a table. Oh, and McMahon had a trashcan covering him the whole time. Finally, Michaels delivers a hard Sweet Chin Music to wrap up the match. Afterwards, McMahon flips off the camera as he is rolled out in a stretcher. Great match that really shows off how deep Michaels' range is with who he is able to work with in the ring. Their feud would stretch out for a few more months with Michaels eventually reuniting with Triple H later in the summer. However, I really thought that this would be the perfect ending.
Winner: Shawn Michaels
Rating: ***1/2
Match 9: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Kurt Angle (c) vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble to score his opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship while Randy Orton inserted himself into the match with a win over Mysterio at No Way Out a month later. Finally, here we are. Mysterio's career is set to culminate with the biggest match of his life. Unfortunately for him, the spoiled Chicago crowd was more interested in having Kurt Angle retain his gold. Even still, this match was packed with tons of action from the start of the match to the very end. Angle was a suplexing machine as he was tossing the two around like toys while the crowd kept eating it up. Loved the spot of Angle hitting a German suplex on both Orton and Mysterio that had Mysterio flying in the air. Mysterio was later able to escape an Angle Slam and toss Angle out of the ring before hitting a 619 on Orton to secure the incredible win. Had this match gone another five or so minutes, I really think we could have been looking at an all-time classic. Instead, it was just less than ten minutes and things felt so damn rushed. However, the match was still super fun to watch and a great chapter in the epic book of Rey Mysterio. But damn, Angle was such a beast at this time.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ***1/4
Match 10: Playboy Pillow Fight Match - Candice Michelle vs. Torrie Wilson
So we need something to bridge the gap between the two biggest matches on the card... and we get this. There is a bed in the middle of the ring as these two start the match off in dresses before losing them down to their bra and panties. Torrie Wilson scores the win by rolling up Candice Michelle. That was bad... really bad. Either way, on to the main event.
Winner: Torrie Wilson
Rating: 1/4*
Match 11: WWE Championship - John Cena (c) vs. Triple H
This is the first singles contest between the two hottest stars in the company and in my opinion, they gave us one of the most underrated main evens in WrestleMania history. Loved the build to this match, Triple H was clamoring over having the easiest challenge of his WrestleMania career with the newer and younger John Cena not backing down from the challenge. By this point, we had seen Cena have to go through guys like JBL, Kurt Angle, Edge and Chris Jericho, but nobody like The Game. Jim Ross was at his best on commentary, doing a fantastic job throughout the match as building the narrative of Cena being outmatched for this and letting the viewers know that him falling to somebody as rugged and experienced as Triple H was a strong possibility. The Chicago crowd was hot for this match as they were booing Cena out of the building and both men in the ring were eating it up and milking it for every drip that they could. With the crowd being so hot, they didn't have to give us flashy spots or anything but instead had a slower paced match that would gradually pick up until Cena nearly fell to a sledgehammer hit after a referee bump. From there, Cena was able to hit an FU before locking Triple H in an STFU. Crowd was on the edge as Cena applied the hold before Triple H had no choice but to tap. If there was any doubt, this showed why Cena was not only the face of the company, but simply the right choice to be the face of the company. He works at his finest with hostile crowds against him and he really knows how to play with the crowd, even here when he was just reaching his peak. I can't believe how overlooked this match gets, every nearfall was convincing and every spot was so nicely calculated. The only reason I don't give this ***** is because I feel like it could have gone a couple minutes longer but then again, this had me itching for the rematch immediately after this. Apparently, a rematch was in the works for next year's WrestleMania before Triple H eventually went down with an injury. Regardless, fantastic match and a perfect one to kick start Cena's WrestleMania main event belt.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ****3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This was personally one of my favorite WrestleManias ever. It flowed nicely from the very beginning and you get your mix of different styles of wrestling. While this certainly isn't the best WrestleMania in terms of wrestling quality, it's certainly up there as one of the most fun ones ever. There might be a couple bad matches on here but it's nothing that truly takes away from the rest of the card.
Rating: 8.5/10
Saturday, March 28, 2020
WWE WrestleMania 22 Review (Part 1)
WWE WrestleMania 22
April 2, 2006
Rosemont, Illinois
The biggest show of the year features a stacked card with championships and personal bragging rights on the line. John Cena faces his biggest challenge yet as he defends his WWE Championship against Triple H in the main event. Rey Mysterio must tackle both Kurt Angle and Randy Orton to earn his first World Heavyweight Championship and Shawn Michaels looks to put an end to his personal beef with Vince McMahon.
Match 1: WWE World Tag Team Championship - Kane & The Big Show (c) vs. Carlito & Chris Masters
Remember when Carlito and Chris Masters were a thing in the WWE? Well, they opened up the night here to challenge the two biggest monsters in the WWE for the World Tag Team Championship. Safe choice to open up the night, there really wouldn't be a better spot on the card for these guys. Decent match for what it was, short and to the point. Carlito & Masters were able to get in a bit of offense but Kane & The Big Show but after Masters inadvertently took out Carlito from the top rope, Kane hit Carlito with a Chokeslam to secure the win for his team. Would have been cool to see Carlito & Masters sneak out a win against these two considering how high the company seemed to be on them in 2005-2006. Either way, on to the rest of the show because it's about to really pick up.
Winners: Kane & The Big Show
Rating: *1/4
Match 2: Money in the Bank Ladder Match - Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Finlay vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Ric Flair
I've probably seen this match more times than any other Money in the Bank match so giving it a score might be pretty difficult here. This is exactly how a Money in the Bank match should be constructed, not too many guys so it doesn't create such a clutter and a match that's full of guys who are just inches away from being back or new to the main event scene. Also, this match didn't drag out longer than it needed to, it went on for nearly 15 minutes and they made use of every single minute in the match. Tons of new spots and old spots with Shelton Benjamin continuing to be the shining spot for these matches. However, no better spot for me came when Ric Flair was suplexed off the top of a ladder by Matt Hardy. I can clearly recall my 7th grade self watching this match and wondering if Flair was really hurt or not. Good times. Anyway, Rob Van Dam secures the big win by pushing both Hardy and Benjamin off a ladder before retrieving the briefcase up top. Perfect choice to win this match as the ECW One Night Stand event a couple months after this needed a big main event and now, they got it. Easily one of my favorite Money in the Bank matches ever.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Rating: ****1/4
Match 3: WWE United States Championship - Chris Benoit (c) vs. JBL
Interesting to see these two go at it here on the mid-card after being in marquee matches the past couple years. As you would expect, very physical match. Those chops that Chris Benoit would deliver to his opponents were no joke, I could almost feel JBL's pain as I watched through my screen. They didn't want to overstay their welcome here with bigger matches on the card coming up and needing more time so they went straight to the point. Physical from the start and JBL was being his usual heel self by using Jillian at ringside as a shield. Benoit was in control for the better part of the match and finally locked in his Crippler Crossface in the middle of the ring before JBL was able to roll him up and score the win with some help of grabbing the ring ropes. Good match for what it was, nobody was expecting a classic here but they certainly gave us a nice match to transition into one of the bigger matches for the night.
Winner: JBL
Rating: **3/4
Match 4: Hardcore Match - Edge vs. Mick Foley
Man... I haven't seen this match in years. I just remember watching this match on loop as a kid to the point where I remembered the match in its entirety. Edge is coming off the biggest win of his career with a WWE Championship victory over John Cena in January. He tries to rebound his loss a few weeks later here with a huge match against Mick Foley in a Hardcore Match. Great build to the match in the preceding weeks with Lita playing a fantastic role in making everyone hate Edge that much more. Almost scary to go back and watch these old hardcore matches where shots to the head came a dime a dozen. It made for some sick sounds and spots but man... they looked brutal. Loved how Foley disguised some barbed wire beneath one of his flannels which allowed Edge to injure himself on a Spear. From there, the blood began to pour from both parties. The two did not hold back at all throughout this match with thumbtacks being brought in the match along with Mr. Socko covered in barbed wire to help push the pain a little more. But of course, the biggest and most legendary spot of the match came when Edge Speared Foley through a flaming table to put the nail in the coffin. Incredible finish to the match that has truly carried on for years after this. Both Edge and Foley get their marquee WrestleMania moments and what a moment it was.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ****1/4
Match 5: Booker T & Sharmell vs. The Boogeyman
WrestleMania 22 is my favorite WrestleMania ever and I just wish there was a way for me to forget that this match happened. Seriously, what did Booker T do to deserve this? I tried finding a video of him discussing this match on his podcast or something but to no avail. So if anyone can find that, that would be great. This was a silly squash match that saw The Boogeyman break out the worms and deliver a kiss to Sharmell with a mouth full of them. Finally, Boogeyman drops Booker T with his finisher to secure the win. Moving on.
Winner: The Boogeyman
Rating: 1/4*
April 2, 2006
Rosemont, Illinois
The biggest show of the year features a stacked card with championships and personal bragging rights on the line. John Cena faces his biggest challenge yet as he defends his WWE Championship against Triple H in the main event. Rey Mysterio must tackle both Kurt Angle and Randy Orton to earn his first World Heavyweight Championship and Shawn Michaels looks to put an end to his personal beef with Vince McMahon.
Match 1: WWE World Tag Team Championship - Kane & The Big Show (c) vs. Carlito & Chris Masters
Remember when Carlito and Chris Masters were a thing in the WWE? Well, they opened up the night here to challenge the two biggest monsters in the WWE for the World Tag Team Championship. Safe choice to open up the night, there really wouldn't be a better spot on the card for these guys. Decent match for what it was, short and to the point. Carlito & Masters were able to get in a bit of offense but Kane & The Big Show but after Masters inadvertently took out Carlito from the top rope, Kane hit Carlito with a Chokeslam to secure the win for his team. Would have been cool to see Carlito & Masters sneak out a win against these two considering how high the company seemed to be on them in 2005-2006. Either way, on to the rest of the show because it's about to really pick up.
Winners: Kane & The Big Show
Rating: *1/4
Match 2: Money in the Bank Ladder Match - Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Finlay vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Ric Flair
I've probably seen this match more times than any other Money in the Bank match so giving it a score might be pretty difficult here. This is exactly how a Money in the Bank match should be constructed, not too many guys so it doesn't create such a clutter and a match that's full of guys who are just inches away from being back or new to the main event scene. Also, this match didn't drag out longer than it needed to, it went on for nearly 15 minutes and they made use of every single minute in the match. Tons of new spots and old spots with Shelton Benjamin continuing to be the shining spot for these matches. However, no better spot for me came when Ric Flair was suplexed off the top of a ladder by Matt Hardy. I can clearly recall my 7th grade self watching this match and wondering if Flair was really hurt or not. Good times. Anyway, Rob Van Dam secures the big win by pushing both Hardy and Benjamin off a ladder before retrieving the briefcase up top. Perfect choice to win this match as the ECW One Night Stand event a couple months after this needed a big main event and now, they got it. Easily one of my favorite Money in the Bank matches ever.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Rating: ****1/4
Match 3: WWE United States Championship - Chris Benoit (c) vs. JBL
Interesting to see these two go at it here on the mid-card after being in marquee matches the past couple years. As you would expect, very physical match. Those chops that Chris Benoit would deliver to his opponents were no joke, I could almost feel JBL's pain as I watched through my screen. They didn't want to overstay their welcome here with bigger matches on the card coming up and needing more time so they went straight to the point. Physical from the start and JBL was being his usual heel self by using Jillian at ringside as a shield. Benoit was in control for the better part of the match and finally locked in his Crippler Crossface in the middle of the ring before JBL was able to roll him up and score the win with some help of grabbing the ring ropes. Good match for what it was, nobody was expecting a classic here but they certainly gave us a nice match to transition into one of the bigger matches for the night.
Winner: JBL
Rating: **3/4
Match 4: Hardcore Match - Edge vs. Mick Foley
Man... I haven't seen this match in years. I just remember watching this match on loop as a kid to the point where I remembered the match in its entirety. Edge is coming off the biggest win of his career with a WWE Championship victory over John Cena in January. He tries to rebound his loss a few weeks later here with a huge match against Mick Foley in a Hardcore Match. Great build to the match in the preceding weeks with Lita playing a fantastic role in making everyone hate Edge that much more. Almost scary to go back and watch these old hardcore matches where shots to the head came a dime a dozen. It made for some sick sounds and spots but man... they looked brutal. Loved how Foley disguised some barbed wire beneath one of his flannels which allowed Edge to injure himself on a Spear. From there, the blood began to pour from both parties. The two did not hold back at all throughout this match with thumbtacks being brought in the match along with Mr. Socko covered in barbed wire to help push the pain a little more. But of course, the biggest and most legendary spot of the match came when Edge Speared Foley through a flaming table to put the nail in the coffin. Incredible finish to the match that has truly carried on for years after this. Both Edge and Foley get their marquee WrestleMania moments and what a moment it was.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ****1/4
Match 5: Booker T & Sharmell vs. The Boogeyman
WrestleMania 22 is my favorite WrestleMania ever and I just wish there was a way for me to forget that this match happened. Seriously, what did Booker T do to deserve this? I tried finding a video of him discussing this match on his podcast or something but to no avail. So if anyone can find that, that would be great. This was a silly squash match that saw The Boogeyman break out the worms and deliver a kiss to Sharmell with a mouth full of them. Finally, Boogeyman drops Booker T with his finisher to secure the win. Moving on.
Winner: The Boogeyman
Rating: 1/4*
Saturday, March 21, 2020
WWE WrestleMania 34 Review (Part 2)
WWE WrestleMania 34
April 8, 2018
New Orleans, Louisiana
WrestleMania returns to The Big Easy! The 2018 edition of WrestleMania emanates from New Orleans where Ronda Rousey teams up with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H & Stephanie McMahon in a highly anticipated match. Also, The Undertaker answers John Cena's call for a match while Brock Lesnar puts his Universal Championship on the line against Roman Reigns in the main event.
Match 7: Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Perhaps the coolest backstory to any match for tonight is this one right here. Daniel Bryan stepping away from the ring due to injury but finally returning in the exact spot where he had his biggest career moment in 2014 was just perfect. Interesting to see three former Ring of Honor guys in a marquee match, seriously takes me back to the good days. Awesome to see Bryan make his way to the ring with the crowd roaring for him like it was 2014 all over again. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn attack both Bryan and Shane McMahon before the match and temporarily take Bryan out of the equation which left McMahon to fend for himself before Bryan was finally able to make his return. Once Bryan was able to insert himself into the fray, he took over the match and led his team to victory by submitting Zayn after hitting him with a Running Knee. Good match for what it was, nothing crazy but definitely served its purpose. A great way to get Bryan back in the picture and allowing him to overcome the odds and score the big win.
Winners: Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan
Rating: **3/4
Match 8: WWE Raw Women's Championship - Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax
Before the bell even rings, Nia Jax attacks Mickie James to take her out of the equation. The match is finally just between Jax and Alexa Bliss. Interesting story leading to this one with Bliss basically ridiculing Jax for her size, almost like the WWE was trying to do a "feel good" type of story here with Jax defeating her bully at the biggest show of the year. The match really just saw Jax dominate Bliss for the most part throughout the match with Bliss getting a little bit of offense in but never did I feel like Jax was in any real struggle. Jax hits a Samoan Drop from the second rope to score the biggest win of her career as she breaks down in tears following the pin. Another decent match but another one that also worked for what it needed to be. Nobody was expecting or even probably wanting a long match between the two considering how deep we were into the show already so they delivered with what they were given. Great moment for Nia.
Winner: Nia Jax
Rating: **
Match 9: WWE Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
This was the match the internet was begging for, their two favorites going at it for the WWE Championship on the biggest stage. One of the biggest memories I have of watching this match live was how dead the crowd was. It certainly wasn't knocking anything against the two in the ring, just a long show and the majority of the fans were simply ready to move on to the main event already. Despite that, the action in the ring was actually pretty damn good. The action between the two was a slow build from the start with the two almost playing mind games with each other to score an upper hand. Once things picked up a bit, AJ Styles put an emphasis on working on the left knee of Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura did a fantastic job in selling the attack throughout the match as the injury would eventually prevent him from pinning Styles or even throwing effective knees. Finally, Nakamura seemingly had Styles lined up for a Kinshasa before Styles reversed it into a Styles Clash. Awesome ending sequence there and a perfect ending to the match. Never mind the internet warriors putting down this match, it was a great battle between two great competitors that didn't have to rely on fancy flips and dives to do it right. Afterwards, Nakamura hands Styles his title before giving him a low blow for his troubles. Awesome stuff from the very beginning. If you were gonna have Styles go over, then something had to give and that was Nakamura turning heel. Shame this match has a pretty bad reputation. I enjoyed it a lot.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ****1/4
Match 10: WWE Raw Tag Team Championship - The Bar (c) vs. Braun Strowman & Nicholas
Welp, we needed something to bridge the gap between the two world championship matches so here we are. Cesaro and Sheamus of The Bar come out on a Mardi Gras flavored float for their entrance which Braun Strowman would hilariously destroy soon after. Strowman walked through the crowd to pick his partner for the match and decided to choose a random kid in the stands named Nicholas. Apparently, he was the son of a WWE referee. Strowman basically wrestled the entire match and finally was able to pin Cesaro to score the win for himself and Nicholas. Quick match as you would expect, the main story here was Strowman winning the belts for himself and Nicholas. Served its purpose, on to the main event.
Winners: Braun Strowman & Nicholas
Rating: 3/4*
Match 11: WWE Universal Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns
Let me start off by saying how much I LOVED their encounter a few years back at WrestleMania 31. I was there live for that match and it was absolutely electric. I was one of the few fans who was actually looking forward to this match, the same cannot be said for so many others watching this. The build for this match was a little more personal and since we've seen the two go at it a few times before, the mystery and mystique of it all just wasn't as apparent compared to the first time. This was as physical as you could get in a pro wrestling match. Brock Lesnar was seemingly having his way with Roman Reigns for a better chunk of the match, suplexing him and hitting F5s left and right. As much as the two tried to win the crowd over, it just wasn't happening. They could literally do a dive off the top of the stadium and the nerdy fans would still be screaming for CM Punk somehow. Lesnar cut Reigns up with some nasty elbow strikes which made for a pretty gruesome scene of blood pouring out of Roman's forehead. Despite giving Lesnar a few Spears at the end of the match, Reigns would still fall to one last F5. Great match that was unfortunately ruined by spoiled fans in the stadium. They were physical from the start and gave it all they had. Great scene at the end with Reigns walking on his own terms as the show closed. At the time, it was unsure if Lesnar was going to ever return to wrestling again so Vince definitely threw us a curveball here and left the wrestling world wondering what would happen next. Smart, leaves more intrigue to what would happen in the proceeding weeks.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Underwhelming? Sure. But I still enjoyed this show for what it was worth. However, I still question if having such a long show is beneficial or not for the show. It almost felt like the train was running out of steam as it continued to progress. Regardless, there's still a lot of good in this event to definitely look back at it with fond memories. This is far from the best offering the WWE has given us but it's certainly still a great installment to WrestleMania.
Rating: 7/10
April 8, 2018
New Orleans, Louisiana
WrestleMania returns to The Big Easy! The 2018 edition of WrestleMania emanates from New Orleans where Ronda Rousey teams up with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H & Stephanie McMahon in a highly anticipated match. Also, The Undertaker answers John Cena's call for a match while Brock Lesnar puts his Universal Championship on the line against Roman Reigns in the main event.
Match 7: Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Perhaps the coolest backstory to any match for tonight is this one right here. Daniel Bryan stepping away from the ring due to injury but finally returning in the exact spot where he had his biggest career moment in 2014 was just perfect. Interesting to see three former Ring of Honor guys in a marquee match, seriously takes me back to the good days. Awesome to see Bryan make his way to the ring with the crowd roaring for him like it was 2014 all over again. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn attack both Bryan and Shane McMahon before the match and temporarily take Bryan out of the equation which left McMahon to fend for himself before Bryan was finally able to make his return. Once Bryan was able to insert himself into the fray, he took over the match and led his team to victory by submitting Zayn after hitting him with a Running Knee. Good match for what it was, nothing crazy but definitely served its purpose. A great way to get Bryan back in the picture and allowing him to overcome the odds and score the big win.
Winners: Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan
Rating: **3/4
Match 8: WWE Raw Women's Championship - Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax
Before the bell even rings, Nia Jax attacks Mickie James to take her out of the equation. The match is finally just between Jax and Alexa Bliss. Interesting story leading to this one with Bliss basically ridiculing Jax for her size, almost like the WWE was trying to do a "feel good" type of story here with Jax defeating her bully at the biggest show of the year. The match really just saw Jax dominate Bliss for the most part throughout the match with Bliss getting a little bit of offense in but never did I feel like Jax was in any real struggle. Jax hits a Samoan Drop from the second rope to score the biggest win of her career as she breaks down in tears following the pin. Another decent match but another one that also worked for what it needed to be. Nobody was expecting or even probably wanting a long match between the two considering how deep we were into the show already so they delivered with what they were given. Great moment for Nia.
Winner: Nia Jax
Rating: **
Match 9: WWE Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
This was the match the internet was begging for, their two favorites going at it for the WWE Championship on the biggest stage. One of the biggest memories I have of watching this match live was how dead the crowd was. It certainly wasn't knocking anything against the two in the ring, just a long show and the majority of the fans were simply ready to move on to the main event already. Despite that, the action in the ring was actually pretty damn good. The action between the two was a slow build from the start with the two almost playing mind games with each other to score an upper hand. Once things picked up a bit, AJ Styles put an emphasis on working on the left knee of Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura did a fantastic job in selling the attack throughout the match as the injury would eventually prevent him from pinning Styles or even throwing effective knees. Finally, Nakamura seemingly had Styles lined up for a Kinshasa before Styles reversed it into a Styles Clash. Awesome ending sequence there and a perfect ending to the match. Never mind the internet warriors putting down this match, it was a great battle between two great competitors that didn't have to rely on fancy flips and dives to do it right. Afterwards, Nakamura hands Styles his title before giving him a low blow for his troubles. Awesome stuff from the very beginning. If you were gonna have Styles go over, then something had to give and that was Nakamura turning heel. Shame this match has a pretty bad reputation. I enjoyed it a lot.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ****1/4
Match 10: WWE Raw Tag Team Championship - The Bar (c) vs. Braun Strowman & Nicholas
Welp, we needed something to bridge the gap between the two world championship matches so here we are. Cesaro and Sheamus of The Bar come out on a Mardi Gras flavored float for their entrance which Braun Strowman would hilariously destroy soon after. Strowman walked through the crowd to pick his partner for the match and decided to choose a random kid in the stands named Nicholas. Apparently, he was the son of a WWE referee. Strowman basically wrestled the entire match and finally was able to pin Cesaro to score the win for himself and Nicholas. Quick match as you would expect, the main story here was Strowman winning the belts for himself and Nicholas. Served its purpose, on to the main event.
Winners: Braun Strowman & Nicholas
Rating: 3/4*
Match 11: WWE Universal Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns
Let me start off by saying how much I LOVED their encounter a few years back at WrestleMania 31. I was there live for that match and it was absolutely electric. I was one of the few fans who was actually looking forward to this match, the same cannot be said for so many others watching this. The build for this match was a little more personal and since we've seen the two go at it a few times before, the mystery and mystique of it all just wasn't as apparent compared to the first time. This was as physical as you could get in a pro wrestling match. Brock Lesnar was seemingly having his way with Roman Reigns for a better chunk of the match, suplexing him and hitting F5s left and right. As much as the two tried to win the crowd over, it just wasn't happening. They could literally do a dive off the top of the stadium and the nerdy fans would still be screaming for CM Punk somehow. Lesnar cut Reigns up with some nasty elbow strikes which made for a pretty gruesome scene of blood pouring out of Roman's forehead. Despite giving Lesnar a few Spears at the end of the match, Reigns would still fall to one last F5. Great match that was unfortunately ruined by spoiled fans in the stadium. They were physical from the start and gave it all they had. Great scene at the end with Reigns walking on his own terms as the show closed. At the time, it was unsure if Lesnar was going to ever return to wrestling again so Vince definitely threw us a curveball here and left the wrestling world wondering what would happen next. Smart, leaves more intrigue to what would happen in the proceeding weeks.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Underwhelming? Sure. But I still enjoyed this show for what it was worth. However, I still question if having such a long show is beneficial or not for the show. It almost felt like the train was running out of steam as it continued to progress. Regardless, there's still a lot of good in this event to definitely look back at it with fond memories. This is far from the best offering the WWE has given us but it's certainly still a great installment to WrestleMania.
Rating: 7/10
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
WWE WrestleMania 34 Review (Part 1)
WWE WrestleMania 34
April 8, 2018
New Orleans, Louisiana
WrestleMania returns to The Big Easy! The 2018 edition of WrestleMania emanates from New Orleans where Ronda Rousey teams up with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H & Stephanie McMahon in a highly anticipated match. Also, The Undertaker answers John Cena's call for a match while Brock Lesnar puts his Universal Championship on the line against Roman Reigns in the main event.
Match 1: WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
Absolutely perfect choice to open up the night, much respect to these three for bringing back some legitimacy to the Intercontinental Championship. The Miz was at his peak at this point, shame he never got to challenge for a World Championship around this time. Unfortunately for The Miz, Seth Rollins was pretty much destined to win this match here to open the night. Add Finn Balor to the mix and you get a recipe for a match that would steal the show on any day of the year. Fun action from the beginning to the very end here with everyone getting in their offense and giving us believable nearfalls. Loved the finishing sequence here with Balor not having enough energy to flip Miz over for a pin as he would then get struck with a Stomp from Rollins. Soon after, Rollins gave Miz a Stomp and boom, Rollins walks out as the Intercontinental Champion. Great stuff here, nothing too over the top but good enough to set the pace for the rest of the night.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ***3/4
Match 2: WWE SmackDown Women's Championship - Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Asuka
Before I get into this, let me just state that all of these matches are my first viewing since watching it live in attendance. This was my favorite match of the night, let's see how it holds up here. Fantastic build to this match with Asuka winning the Royal Rumble and wanting the biggest challenge she could possibly have in Charlotte Flair. Great action from the start, the two really going at it and definitely making this feel like a big match despite just being second on the card. They didn't have to rely on silly nearfalls scattered throughout the entire match, they built the match from scratch and gradually tuned things up a few notches as the match progressed. Awesome ending to the match with Charlotte hitting Asuka with a Spear before making her submit to a Figure Eight. The submission at the end was long enough to have us wonder or not if this was really the end of the streak and not too long to the point where it let the hype die down, it was just perfect. Awesome ending with the two embracing each other after Asuka exclaimed on the mic that Charlotte was ready for her. Great stuff.
Winner: Charlotte Flair
Rating: ****1/4
Match 3: WWE United States Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Rusev vs. Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Live counters Raw's Intercontinental Championship match with this loaded United States Championship match. Originally, it was supposed to be a triple threat match until the rising popularity of Rusev forced things to change. Great way to get all these guys on the card and give us a solid filler for the night. As you would expect, not the greatest match ever but certainly one that never bored me at all. It got its point across and didn't overstay its welcome, everybody got in their offenses and the crowd was pretty hot for everyone. They especially loved having Rusev on the card and the atmosphere was pretty electric for him here. Unfortunately for him, a distraction from Sunil Singh led to Mahal hitting a Khallas to secure the big win. Solid match for what it was and enjoyed seeing Mahal get the rub here. You gotta have your heels get wins at the biggest show of the year and a win from here was a great swerve to everyone.
Winner: Jinder Mahal
Rating: **3/4
Match 4: Triple H & Stephanie McMahon vs. Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey
This was probably the most hyped match of the night with Ronda Rousey making her in-ring debut with Kurt Angle by her side. Triple H is a master of these matches, nobody is able to play smoke and mirrors better than him, go back and watch his match with Sting if you don't know what I'm talking about. The hype around this match was obviously for Rousey and how well she was going to perform in this match. Welp, she delivered. As a matter of fact, she delivered big time and completely blew away all my expectations. She was hopping around the ring like she's been doing this for years and they did a great job in making her look like an animal as Stephanie McMahon did her best to get away from her throughout the match. Finally, Rousey was able to get Stephanie alone in the ring as Stephanie begged for mercy until Rousey submitted her in a split second. Fun match and a fantastic debut for Rousey as she gets the big WrestleMania victory. Had my doubts leading into this one but they more than surpassed my expectations, kept me on my edge throughout. Good stuff.
Winners: Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle
Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers
Giving us a break between the last match and the upcoming match between John Cena and The Undertaker sees the SmackDown Tag Team Championship on the line. Finally for The Usos, they get a chance to showcase their skills on the main card of WrestleMania after being with the company for years. These are arguably the three best tag teams on the SmackDown brand so it's always cool to see them get some shine. Good match for what it was, just about what you would expect from these guys in the short time they were allotted. Kofi Kingston falls to a big powerbomb from the top rope by The Bludgeon Brothers. Great to see Erick Rowan & Luke Harper celebrate as they score the biggest wins of their careers. Sucks that Kofi had to eat the pin but at least he got his big moment a year later...
Winners: The Bludgeon Brothers
Rating: **1/2
Match 6: John Cena vs. The Undertaker
This match almost breaks my heart. I always felt like since the WWE didn't capitalize on this match years ago that this match was just better left off as one of those "what if" kind of things. Despite that, the build to this match was fantastic with John Cena losing two big matches that would have guaranteed him a spot on the card. With that, he called out The Undertaker and after weeks and weeks of no appearances, The Deadman finally came out to face off against Cena after Cena had taken out an interrupting Elias. This match was the first for The Undertaker since losing to Roman Reigns a year ago and he needed something quick to get back on the wagon. His match here against Cena was the biggest squash match in the career of Cena as Undertaker was able to hit a Tombstone fairly quickly on Cena to pick up the win. There it is, we finally get a match between the two here at WrestleMania and it was nowhere near what anybody wanted. The feud was great and this was a great way to not only get both guys on the card, but also give Undertaker back some credibility after taking a huge loss. Fine moment for the night but definitely one that I could've lived without.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: n/a
April 8, 2018
New Orleans, Louisiana
WrestleMania returns to The Big Easy! The 2018 edition of WrestleMania emanates from New Orleans where Ronda Rousey teams up with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H & Stephanie McMahon in a highly anticipated match. Also, The Undertaker answers John Cena's call for a match while Brock Lesnar puts his Universal Championship on the line against Roman Reigns in the main event.
Match 1: WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
Absolutely perfect choice to open up the night, much respect to these three for bringing back some legitimacy to the Intercontinental Championship. The Miz was at his peak at this point, shame he never got to challenge for a World Championship around this time. Unfortunately for The Miz, Seth Rollins was pretty much destined to win this match here to open the night. Add Finn Balor to the mix and you get a recipe for a match that would steal the show on any day of the year. Fun action from the beginning to the very end here with everyone getting in their offense and giving us believable nearfalls. Loved the finishing sequence here with Balor not having enough energy to flip Miz over for a pin as he would then get struck with a Stomp from Rollins. Soon after, Rollins gave Miz a Stomp and boom, Rollins walks out as the Intercontinental Champion. Great stuff here, nothing too over the top but good enough to set the pace for the rest of the night.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ***3/4
Match 2: WWE SmackDown Women's Championship - Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Asuka
Before I get into this, let me just state that all of these matches are my first viewing since watching it live in attendance. This was my favorite match of the night, let's see how it holds up here. Fantastic build to this match with Asuka winning the Royal Rumble and wanting the biggest challenge she could possibly have in Charlotte Flair. Great action from the start, the two really going at it and definitely making this feel like a big match despite just being second on the card. They didn't have to rely on silly nearfalls scattered throughout the entire match, they built the match from scratch and gradually tuned things up a few notches as the match progressed. Awesome ending to the match with Charlotte hitting Asuka with a Spear before making her submit to a Figure Eight. The submission at the end was long enough to have us wonder or not if this was really the end of the streak and not too long to the point where it let the hype die down, it was just perfect. Awesome ending with the two embracing each other after Asuka exclaimed on the mic that Charlotte was ready for her. Great stuff.
Winner: Charlotte Flair
Rating: ****1/4
Match 3: WWE United States Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Rusev vs. Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Live counters Raw's Intercontinental Championship match with this loaded United States Championship match. Originally, it was supposed to be a triple threat match until the rising popularity of Rusev forced things to change. Great way to get all these guys on the card and give us a solid filler for the night. As you would expect, not the greatest match ever but certainly one that never bored me at all. It got its point across and didn't overstay its welcome, everybody got in their offenses and the crowd was pretty hot for everyone. They especially loved having Rusev on the card and the atmosphere was pretty electric for him here. Unfortunately for him, a distraction from Sunil Singh led to Mahal hitting a Khallas to secure the big win. Solid match for what it was and enjoyed seeing Mahal get the rub here. You gotta have your heels get wins at the biggest show of the year and a win from here was a great swerve to everyone.
Winner: Jinder Mahal
Rating: **3/4
Match 4: Triple H & Stephanie McMahon vs. Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey
This was probably the most hyped match of the night with Ronda Rousey making her in-ring debut with Kurt Angle by her side. Triple H is a master of these matches, nobody is able to play smoke and mirrors better than him, go back and watch his match with Sting if you don't know what I'm talking about. The hype around this match was obviously for Rousey and how well she was going to perform in this match. Welp, she delivered. As a matter of fact, she delivered big time and completely blew away all my expectations. She was hopping around the ring like she's been doing this for years and they did a great job in making her look like an animal as Stephanie McMahon did her best to get away from her throughout the match. Finally, Rousey was able to get Stephanie alone in the ring as Stephanie begged for mercy until Rousey submitted her in a split second. Fun match and a fantastic debut for Rousey as she gets the big WrestleMania victory. Had my doubts leading into this one but they more than surpassed my expectations, kept me on my edge throughout. Good stuff.
Winners: Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle
Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers
Giving us a break between the last match and the upcoming match between John Cena and The Undertaker sees the SmackDown Tag Team Championship on the line. Finally for The Usos, they get a chance to showcase their skills on the main card of WrestleMania after being with the company for years. These are arguably the three best tag teams on the SmackDown brand so it's always cool to see them get some shine. Good match for what it was, just about what you would expect from these guys in the short time they were allotted. Kofi Kingston falls to a big powerbomb from the top rope by The Bludgeon Brothers. Great to see Erick Rowan & Luke Harper celebrate as they score the biggest wins of their careers. Sucks that Kofi had to eat the pin but at least he got his big moment a year later...
Winners: The Bludgeon Brothers
Rating: **1/2
Match 6: John Cena vs. The Undertaker
This match almost breaks my heart. I always felt like since the WWE didn't capitalize on this match years ago that this match was just better left off as one of those "what if" kind of things. Despite that, the build to this match was fantastic with John Cena losing two big matches that would have guaranteed him a spot on the card. With that, he called out The Undertaker and after weeks and weeks of no appearances, The Deadman finally came out to face off against Cena after Cena had taken out an interrupting Elias. This match was the first for The Undertaker since losing to Roman Reigns a year ago and he needed something quick to get back on the wagon. His match here against Cena was the biggest squash match in the career of Cena as Undertaker was able to hit a Tombstone fairly quickly on Cena to pick up the win. There it is, we finally get a match between the two here at WrestleMania and it was nowhere near what anybody wanted. The feud was great and this was a great way to not only get both guys on the card, but also give Undertaker back some credibility after taking a huge loss. Fine moment for the night but definitely one that I could've lived without.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: n/a
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
What's One Thing You Would Change to NXT?
The WrestleRush team was present in the Pacific Northwest this past weekend for NXT TakeOver and before the event, we asked NXT fans a simple question... If given the power, what is one thing you would change to the NXT brand?
Monday, February 10, 2020
WWE's Top 10 Matches of 2019 Review (Part 2)
2019 was certainly a wild year in the WWE and while 2020 is already
here, I finally had time to stop and relive some of the best moments and
matches from last year. WWE posted their top 10 matches of 2019 on The
WWE Network and I decided to check them out and give you my thoughts on
each match.
#4: WWE Money in the Bank 2019 - WWE Universal Championship - Seth Rollins (c) vs. AJ Styles
This was certainly one of the more anticipated matches for the internet geeks in 2019 with their two biggest crushes in Seth Rollins and AJ Styles going at it for the company's top prize. These two are simply automatic, give them a time or place and they will deliver on all cylinders. I enjoyed the approach the two had for this match, they didn't rely on cheap nearfalls throughout the entire match to get pops from the crowd but instead let the action in and out of the ring really speak for itself. Smooth action from the two in the ring before having the fight spill a bit outside. Loved the innovative reversals the two had and loved the nice pace they maintained throughout the match. Great finishing few minutes here with Styles reversing a Stomp into a Styles Clash that had Rollins barely kicking out. That was probably the coolest reverse to Rollins' Stomp since Randy Orton turned it into an RKO years ago. Finally, Rollins is able to later hit his Stomp on Styles to seal the win. Great championship match that didn't have to rely on bells and whistles to get the crowd over for this, great wrestling from the start that would definitely be rated a bit higher if they were able to go a few minutes longer.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ****1/4
#3: WWE NXT TakeOver: New York 2019 - NXT Championship - 2-Out-of-3-Falls Match - Adam Cole (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
This is quite possible the biggest match in NXT history with the two biggest names going at it for the top prize at the biggest show, what more could you possibly ask for? Oh, let's go ahead and make it a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match while we're at it. Of course, they built the match around Johnny Gargano having the odds completely stacked against his favor. Nice start to the match with Adam Cole getting the first fall fairly quickly with a Last Shot to the back of the head of Gargano. If the odds weren't already stacked against Gargano, he must now have to score two straight falls against Cole to secure the win. Gargano is able to match Cole by submitting him in a Gargano Escape, love how Cole quickly tapped in order to conserve his energy for the remainder of the match. The fight for the last fall was absolutely wild here. Cole was doing his best to destroy Gargano but Gargano would not give in, there was a ton of nearfalls and every single one of them was just as believable as the next. Even with the help of the rest of Undisputed Era, Cole still wasn't able to score the win over Gargano. Finally, Gargano fought everyone off and locked Cole in the center of the ring with a Gargano Escape to secure the biggest win of his career. Awesome match, maybe the nearfalls at the end became a bit draining but regardless, an incredible effort from the two.
Winner: Johnny Gargano
Rating: ****3/4
#2: WWE Hell in a Cell 2019 - WWE Raw Women's Championship - Hell in a Cell - Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks got a much needed change to her character by turning heel late in 2019 and gets the opportunity of a lifetime here against Becky Lynch, the Raw Women's Champion since WrestleMania. The two start the fight outside the cage before the bell rang with the two finally bringing it back in the ring as Lynch locked the door. They really tried their best to bring out all the stops for this one here as they introduced a couple new spots to keep things fresh. The feud between the two was heated and they treated it as such, loved seeing Banks drive her knees through Lynch against a ladder and later through a table. Finally, Lynch is able to calm the storm by hitting a Becksploder from the top rope onto a pile of steel chairs before submitting Banks with a Dis-Arm-Her. Solid match but maybe just a little too much of Banks dominating too much of the match and waiting for Lynch to finally retaliate with a big spot. Enjoyed seeing Banks as a heel despite how corny she can be at times with her trash talk. Either way, solid match that lived up to its expectations.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Rating: ***3/4
#1. WWE WrestleMania 35 - WWE Championship - Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kofi Kingston
If I had to choose the best feud for the year of 2019, it would probably have to be the one between Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston. We all know the story of Kingston's long journey to finally getting a shot at the WWE Championship and the WWE did an amazing job of Kingston scratching and clawing his way to getting an opportunity. Bryan was the perfect opponent for Kingston, someone who had a very similar story to Kingston and ironically stands as the one in the way of Kingston realizing his dreams. Great match here from the start, Bryan fantastic in his role as a heel and giving Kingston some nasty kicks in front of Kingston's New Day partners and using his speed to divert Kingston into harming himself. The rest of The New Day didn't get too involved in the match here until needed when both Big E and Xavier Woods took out Erick Rowan at ringside. With Bryan having nobody by his side, he fell right into a Trouble in Paradise to end the match. Kofi Kingston is a WWE Champion for the first time in his long career in the WWE. What a moment. Big E and Woods reveal the original WWE Championship belt before Bryan redesigned it as they then brought it to Kofi who then celebrated in the ring. Beautiful moment to see Kingston celebrate the win with his kids in the middle of the ring. Incredible story and an incredible match.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: ****1/2
#4: WWE Money in the Bank 2019 - WWE Universal Championship - Seth Rollins (c) vs. AJ Styles
This was certainly one of the more anticipated matches for the internet geeks in 2019 with their two biggest crushes in Seth Rollins and AJ Styles going at it for the company's top prize. These two are simply automatic, give them a time or place and they will deliver on all cylinders. I enjoyed the approach the two had for this match, they didn't rely on cheap nearfalls throughout the entire match to get pops from the crowd but instead let the action in and out of the ring really speak for itself. Smooth action from the two in the ring before having the fight spill a bit outside. Loved the innovative reversals the two had and loved the nice pace they maintained throughout the match. Great finishing few minutes here with Styles reversing a Stomp into a Styles Clash that had Rollins barely kicking out. That was probably the coolest reverse to Rollins' Stomp since Randy Orton turned it into an RKO years ago. Finally, Rollins is able to later hit his Stomp on Styles to seal the win. Great championship match that didn't have to rely on bells and whistles to get the crowd over for this, great wrestling from the start that would definitely be rated a bit higher if they were able to go a few minutes longer.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ****1/4
#3: WWE NXT TakeOver: New York 2019 - NXT Championship - 2-Out-of-3-Falls Match - Adam Cole (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
This is quite possible the biggest match in NXT history with the two biggest names going at it for the top prize at the biggest show, what more could you possibly ask for? Oh, let's go ahead and make it a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match while we're at it. Of course, they built the match around Johnny Gargano having the odds completely stacked against his favor. Nice start to the match with Adam Cole getting the first fall fairly quickly with a Last Shot to the back of the head of Gargano. If the odds weren't already stacked against Gargano, he must now have to score two straight falls against Cole to secure the win. Gargano is able to match Cole by submitting him in a Gargano Escape, love how Cole quickly tapped in order to conserve his energy for the remainder of the match. The fight for the last fall was absolutely wild here. Cole was doing his best to destroy Gargano but Gargano would not give in, there was a ton of nearfalls and every single one of them was just as believable as the next. Even with the help of the rest of Undisputed Era, Cole still wasn't able to score the win over Gargano. Finally, Gargano fought everyone off and locked Cole in the center of the ring with a Gargano Escape to secure the biggest win of his career. Awesome match, maybe the nearfalls at the end became a bit draining but regardless, an incredible effort from the two.
Winner: Johnny Gargano
Rating: ****3/4
#2: WWE Hell in a Cell 2019 - WWE Raw Women's Championship - Hell in a Cell - Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks got a much needed change to her character by turning heel late in 2019 and gets the opportunity of a lifetime here against Becky Lynch, the Raw Women's Champion since WrestleMania. The two start the fight outside the cage before the bell rang with the two finally bringing it back in the ring as Lynch locked the door. They really tried their best to bring out all the stops for this one here as they introduced a couple new spots to keep things fresh. The feud between the two was heated and they treated it as such, loved seeing Banks drive her knees through Lynch against a ladder and later through a table. Finally, Lynch is able to calm the storm by hitting a Becksploder from the top rope onto a pile of steel chairs before submitting Banks with a Dis-Arm-Her. Solid match but maybe just a little too much of Banks dominating too much of the match and waiting for Lynch to finally retaliate with a big spot. Enjoyed seeing Banks as a heel despite how corny she can be at times with her trash talk. Either way, solid match that lived up to its expectations.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Rating: ***3/4
#1. WWE WrestleMania 35 - WWE Championship - Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kofi Kingston
If I had to choose the best feud for the year of 2019, it would probably have to be the one between Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston. We all know the story of Kingston's long journey to finally getting a shot at the WWE Championship and the WWE did an amazing job of Kingston scratching and clawing his way to getting an opportunity. Bryan was the perfect opponent for Kingston, someone who had a very similar story to Kingston and ironically stands as the one in the way of Kingston realizing his dreams. Great match here from the start, Bryan fantastic in his role as a heel and giving Kingston some nasty kicks in front of Kingston's New Day partners and using his speed to divert Kingston into harming himself. The rest of The New Day didn't get too involved in the match here until needed when both Big E and Xavier Woods took out Erick Rowan at ringside. With Bryan having nobody by his side, he fell right into a Trouble in Paradise to end the match. Kofi Kingston is a WWE Champion for the first time in his long career in the WWE. What a moment. Big E and Woods reveal the original WWE Championship belt before Bryan redesigned it as they then brought it to Kofi who then celebrated in the ring. Beautiful moment to see Kingston celebrate the win with his kids in the middle of the ring. Incredible story and an incredible match.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: ****1/2
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