Showing posts with label PPV Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PPV Review. Show all posts

Monday, 5 April 2021

WWE TLC 2020 Review

The final WWE Pay-Per-View of 2020, TLC, took place on Sunday 20th December at the Thunderdome. The card looks pretty decent so, let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show was a eight man tag team match with the team of Daniel Bryan, Otis, Chad Gable and Big E taking on the team of King Corbin, Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn. Big E hits the Big Ending on Sami Zayn to get his team the win. The match was quite good.
Winners: Daniel Bryan, Otis, Chad Gable and Big E (N/A)

The first match is a TLC Match for the WWE Championship with AJ Styles challenging Drew McIntyre. Highlights of the match include: Styles being sent into a chair set up in the corner; and Styles using a ladder and then a chair to help him apply the calf killer. After McIntyre sends Styles through a table on the outside, The Miz and John Morrison run in to take out McIntyre and cash in Miz's Money in the Bank briefcase, making it a triple threat. When Miz climbs up, Styles' henchman Omos, grabs him and sends him through another table on the outside. Omos then runs off Morrison. The end comes when all 3 of them are on ladders. McIntyre gets taken off the ladder but he recovers to push Styles and Miz off the ladder then kills Miz with a Claymore Kick. McIntyre then climbs up the ladder to grab the belt and get the win.

I thought this was a really good match and I really liked the twist of Miz cashing in to make it a triple threat. I was surprised Miz wasn't successful but it turns out that, due to Morrison handing in the briefcase, it technically didn't count; so I guess that's ok.
Winner; Drew McIntyre (1 for 1)

The next match is for the Smackdown Women's Championship as Carmella challenges Sasha Banks. After a few pinning attempts, both women try to get the other to submit. Sasha applies the Banks Statement but Carmella's sommelier Reginald pulled her out of the ring. In the end, Sasha goes on to again apply the Banks Statement, getting Carmella to submit and get the win. I thought this was a good match to watch.
Winner: Sasha Banks (1 for 2)

We now get the RAW Tag Team Championship match as The Hurt Business challenges The New Day. The New Day almost win it in the first couple of minutes, but Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander recover and focus their attacks on Xavier Woods. Woods manages to tag in Kofi Kingston; however, Alexander hits Kingston with the Lumber Check to get the win. This was another good match and, even though I predicted the opposite, I'm happy that Benjamin and Alexander got the win.
Winners: The Hurt Business (1 for 3)

The next match is for the Women's Tag Team Championship as Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler face the challenge of Asuka and...Charlotte Flair. Jax and Baszler focus their attack on Asuka's right arm. Asuka recovers to get the hot tag to Flair, who goes on hit Natural Selection on Baszler to get the win. This was a good match but I feel like they ccould have gone a bit longer.
Winners: Asuka and Charlotte Flair (1 for 4)

The penultimate match is a TLC Match for the Universal Champion as Kevin Owens challenges Roman Reigns. Owens surprises Reigns by attacking him while the belt was being hung up. Jey Uso comes in to help but that turned out to be a bad idea as Owens destroys him. Eventually, Reigns recovers and hits Owens with a drive-by to get the advantage. They go on to destroy each other with everything they can get their hands on. Owens comes close but Uso slows him down and, after making Owens pass out from a Guillotine Choke, Reigns manages to climb up and grab the belt to get the win. I thought this was a good match and I liked it being a handicap match for some of it. 
Winner: Roman Reigns (2 for 5)

The main event is a Firefly Inferno Match between "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. Wyatt hits Orton with Sister Abigail then proceeds to set The Thunderdome on fire. Later on, Wyatt tries to use the Mandible Claw to push Orton into the fire but Orton pushes him into the fire instead. They go into the ring and Orton hits Wyatt with the RKO. Orton, despite winning the match a few minutes earlier, decides to confirm it by setting Wyatt on fire in the middle of the ring. So, Orton wins by murder...?

I wasn't a fan of this match. Having the fire effects surrounding the ring looked pretty good but that was it. I just wasn't invested in it.
Winner: Randy Orton 

I have mixed feelings about this event. I thought the vast majority of the matches were good, especially the 2 TLC matches. However, I thought the main event ruined it for me. I thought that would the end of the rivalry between the two. However, I know this feud will continue til Wrestlemania so...yay?

Friday, 5 March 2021

WWE Survivor Series 2020 Review

 Survivor Series 2020 took place on Sunday November 22nd at the WWE Thunderdome. There are a lot of interesting matches on the card so, let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show was a Battle Royal. The wrestlers involved were: Angel Garza, Apollo Crews, Chad Gable, Cedric Alexander, Dolph Ziggler, Dominik Mysterio, Elias, Humberto Carrillo, Jeff Hardy, John Morrison, Kalisto, The Miz, Murphy, Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Robert Roode, Shelton Benjamin and Shinsuke Nakamura. The final four end up being: Jeff Hardy, Dominik Mysterio, Chad Gable and The Miz. Gable eliminates Hardy but he is then eliminated by Dominik. Miz then slides in and eliminates Dominik to get the win. I thought this was a fun match to watch.
Winner: The Miz (N/A)

The first match on the show was the Men's Survivor Series Elimination Match with Team RAW (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman and Riddle) taking on Team Smackdown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, King Corbin, Seth Rollins and Otis). Rollins is the first to be eliminated after deciding to martyr himself and get hit by a Brogue Kick by Sheamus. Styles eliminates Owens thanks to a Phenomenal Forearm and Riddle eliminates Corbin with a corkscrew splash. Strowman eliminates Otis thanks to a Running Powerslam. Jey Uso tries to splash Styles but Keith Lee catches him and hits a Spirit Bomb to get a clean sweep and the win. This was quite a decent match between the two teams although I was surprised to see a clean sweep.
Winners: AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman and Riddle (1 for 1)

The next match was between the RAW Tag Team Champions The New Day and the Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits. The New Day spend most of the match focusing on Montez Ford before he manages to get the hot tag to Angelo Dawkins. In the end, Dawkins put Xavier Woods on his shoulders and Ford hits him with a top rope blockbuster to get the win. I thought that match was a bit slow to begin with but it developed into an entertaining contest.
Winners: The Street Profits (1 for 2)

We now get the Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn taking on the United States Champion Bobby Lashley. Sami tries to provoke Lashley's buddies, The Hurt Business, into hitting him (therefore, winning by disqualification) but to no avail. In the end, Lashley gets Zayn to submit to the Hurt Lock to get the win. This was quite a good match.
Winner: Bobby Lashley (1 for 3)

Next is a battle between the RAW Women's Champion Asuka and the Smackdown Women's Champion Sasha Banks. During the match, both women try to get the other to submit. In the end, Sasha manages to roll up Asuka to get the win. I was quite surprised at the ending as Asuka had never lost to Sasha before this match. Having said that, I thought it was a really good match.
Winner: Sasha Banks (1 for 4)

The next match is theWomen's Survivor Series Elimination Match as Team RAW (Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Lana, Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce) take on Team Smackdown (Bayley, Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Natalya). The first elimination occurs when Royce takes out Bayley with a Deja Vu. However, she is eliminated a few minutes later by Natalya thanks to a Sharpshooter. Lacey Evans eliminates Natalya after she hits The Woman's Right and Baszler eliminates Riott. Morgan eliminates Evans after hitting a Crucifix Bomb but she gets eliminated after being flattened by a Samoa Drop from Jax. Baszler decides to be an idiot when she gets disqualified for not releasing the Krirfuda Clutch on Belair when she got to the ropes. Jax then grabs Belair and they fight outside the ring. Unfortunately, they both get counted out leaving Lana, who had been treated like shit by her teammates during (and even long before) as the sole survivor. So, Lana effectivley wins by being disrespected...? Erm, ok. As for the match, aside from a few obvious mistakes, I enjoyed it and I liked Lana getting some comeuppance on her teammates, who had no respect for her.
Winner: Lana (1 for 5)

The final match is Universal Champion Roman Reigns taking on WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. Reigns is dominant for most of the match before McIntyre gets back into it. The match goes back and forth and McIntyre goes for the Claymore Kick but Reigns counters with a Superman punch. Reigns goes on to send McIntyre through the announce table with a Samoa Drop followed by a Spear through part of the barrier. McIntyre eventually hits a Claymore Kick but it sends Reigns into the referee, who goes out of the ring. Jey Uso, who Reigns had told to fuck off home earlier in the night, comes in and helps Reigns with a superkick to McIntyre. Reigns then applies a Gillotine Choke and a second referee comes in to call for the bell when McIntyre passes out. This was a really good main event and, whilst I picked McIntyre to win, Reigns winning was the best call to make.
Winner: Roman Reigns (1 for 6)

The event ends with the retirement ceremony of The Undertaker, who debuted 30 years ago at Survivor Series 1990. The Undertaker is an icon of the industry, who is highly respected. My first match that I saw of his was when he took on Jake "The Snake" Roberts at Wrestlemania VIII. Whilst I'm not been a big fan of him, I've always enjoyed his work, especially some of his Wrestlemania matches. He will be greatly missed and I hope he continues to find some way to stay involved in WWE. As for the ceremony itself, it was good although Kane being in his custome in the middle of other wrestlers wearing normal clothes was a bit weird. 

I actually really enjoyed Survivor Series. The last few events I've enjoyed but I felt like they were nowhere near as good as the NXT TakeOvers. This is the first time in a while that I felt that WWE had put on a really good event. I'm probably wrong but I hope the next one is just as good.

Thursday, 11 February 2021

WWE Hell in a Cell 2020 Review

 WWE Hell in a Cell took place on Sunday 25th October at the WWE Thunderdome in Orlando, Florida. There are 7 matches on the card, including 3 Hell in a Cell matches; so, let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show was R-Truth defended his 24/7 Championship against Drew Gulak (if you care about that). After Gulak fucks with R-Truth regarding Little Jimmy (which is still a thing after what, 8 years?), R-Truth manages to roll up Gulak to get the win. I struggled to get into this match but thankfully, it only lasted a few minutes.
Winner: R-Truth (N/A)

The first match on the show is Jey Uso challenging Roman Reigns to a I Quit Hell in a Cell Match. Jey gets the upper hand for a little bit but Reigns manages to hit a Spear to get back the advantage. After a while, Jey is practically unconscious but he doesn't quit. This resorts in Reigns using more brutal methods to force the words out of him. After hitting Jey with the steel steps, the referee decides to end the match. However, Reigns stops him from doing so and throws him out of the ring. Various officials and referees come into the cell to try and stop him but it takes Jimmy Uso running in to stop Reigns from hitting Hey with the steel steps. Reigns then puts Jimmy in a Guillotine Choke. Jey eventually recovers and says "I Quit" to save his brother from further injury. 

This was an interesting match to watch. The chance to a slow pace at the end was a surprise but it was used effectively to show Reigns being initially remorseful in his actions only to take advantage of the Uso's love for him and each other to get the win. I was worried for a minute that it might be used to start a face turn for Reigns. Thankfully, it was used instead to cement Reigns as the number 1 heel on Smackdown. 
Winner: Roman Reigns (1 for 1)

The next match is Jeff Hardy taking on Elias. After a short back and forth affair, Elias goes to the outside and grabs his guitar. However, Hardy grabs it off him and hits him with it, getting disqualified in the process. The match was ok but I thought that the ending didn't quite make sense.
Winner: Elias (2 for 2)

The next match is for possession of the Money in the Bank briefcase as Otis takes on Hollywood Miz. Miz struggles with Otis before he gets some help from John Morrison to get the advantage. Despite a brief comeback by Otis, helped by referee Jessika Carr sending John Morrison to the back; Miz gets some unexpected help when Tucker hits Otis with the briefcase. Miz then pins Otis to get the win. This was quite a fun match and I was quite surprised when Tucker betrayed Otis. I'm a big fan of The Miz so I'm looking forward to him cashing in and becoming a World Champion once again. 
Winner: The Miz (3 for 3)

We now get our second Hell in a Cell match as Sasha Banks challenges Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Sasha doesn't fuck around and gets rid of the steel chair that Bayley has been using to injure people while the cell is being lowered. During the match, they use 
tables, kendo sticks, a fire extinguisher  and steel chairs against each other. In the end, Sasha applies the Bank Statement while Bayley's head is through a chair to get the win by submission. I thought this was a really enjoyable match between them and I can't wait to see how Sasha's reign goes.
Winner: Sasha Banks (4 for 4)

Next is Bobby Lashley taking on Shane Throne Slapjack in an impromptu United States Championship match. After a few minutes, Lashley gets Slapjack to submit to the Hurt Lock to get the win. The rest of Retribution come in to attack Lashley but The Hurt Business arrive to make the save. The match was ok and this is the first time that I've seen any members of Retribution wrestle. I can see why they have received a huge amount of negative criticism. Nothing against the people involved but this could have been an opportunity to do another version of Nexus. Instead, we get whatever this is. I feel that WWE never gave them a chance and they need to retool it or disband the group.
Winner: Bobby Lashley (N/A)

The main event is our third Hell in a Cell match as Randy Orton challenges Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. Orton, I assume inspired by the Hitman games, tries to attack McIntyre during his entrance while disguised as a member of the crew. However, McIntyre is ready for him and they attack on the outside of the cell before McIntyre throws him inside and the match starts. McIntyre goes for the Claymore early on but Orton stops that by using a steel chair. The match goes back and forth before Orton uses bolt cutters to leave the cell and is followed by McIntyre. They then decide to fight at the top of the cell, which turns out to be a bad idea as Orton sends McIntyre from the side of the cell through the announce table. McIntyre somehow recovers and hits a Claymore. However, it was not enough as Orton avoids a second Claymore and hits a RKO to get the win. I thought the match was pretty good but, spoiler alert, McIntyre wins it back a few weeks later. Therefore, I didn't see the point of giving Orton the belt only for him to lose it before Survivor Series.
Winner: Randy Orton (4 for 5)

I quite liked Hell in a Cell. I don't find them as enjoyable as the NXT TakeOvers but they seem to be doing pretty well recently. Let's see how it goes.
 

Sunday, 20 December 2020

Clash of Champions 2020 Review

WWE Clash of Champions took place on the 27th September at the WWE Thunderdome at the Amway Center in Orlando. We have 8 matches on the card so, let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show was The Lucha House Party challenging Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. Cesaro and Nakamura focus on Lince Dorado for most of the match and, despite a brief fightback, they get the win after a Giant Swing/Kinsasha combo on Kalisto. I thought this was a good match between the two teams.
Winners: Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura (1 for 1)

The first match of the show is a triple threat ladder match between Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles and Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship. After a time of the three of them destroying each other, Zayn remembers that he brought some handcuffs with him. He proceeds to handcuff Hardy's ear lobe to a ladder but is initially unsuccessful with doing the same to Styles. Zayn eventually handcuffs himself to Styles, forcing Styles to carry Zayn on his shoulders up a ladder. When Styles gets distracted dealing with Hardy, who had to take the ladder he was handcuffed to with him, Zayn uses a key to get out of the handcuffs and then handcuff Styles to the ladder. With his opponents incapacitated, Zayn climbs up the other side of the ladder and grabs the belts to win the match. I quite enjoyed the match and I'm happy that Zayn got back the Championship that he, technically, got screwed out by WWE. I also thought the ending of the match was very clever.
Winner: Sami Zayn (2 for 2)

After we see Drew Gulak pin R-Truth to become the 24/7 Champion, we get Zelina Vega challenge Asuka for the RAW Women's Championship. Asuka initially underestimates Vega but she injures her left arm, giving Vega an opportunity to get the advantage. After a few pinning combinations, Asuka manages to get Vega to submit to the Asuka Lock and get the win. I thought that the match could have been better. Vega is a good wrestler but she hasn't wrestled much since joining the WWE so it might be ring rust. 
Winner: Asuka (3 for 3)

The next match is Apollo Crews challenging Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship. Crews comes close after hitting a standing shooting star press followed by a frog splash. However, Lashley hits a standing spine buster then gets Crews to submit to the Hurt Lock to get the win. The match was pretty decent.
Winner: Bobby Lashley (4 for 4)

Next is Andrade and Angel Garza challenging The Street Profits for the RAW Tag Team Championship. Despite Montez Ford getting worn down by Andrade and Garza, The Street Profits managed to recover and Dawkins hits The Anointment on Garza to get the win, despite the referee missing Garza getting his shoulder up. I thought it was a bit short but it was a fun match.
Winners: The Street Profits (4 for 5)

After R-Truth regains the 24/7 Championship, Bayley comes out and issues an open challenge. Asuka accepts and we get a impromptu match for the Smackdown Women's Championship. After a few minutes, Bayley attacks Asuka with a steel chair, getting herself disqualified and giving Asuka the win. Afterwards, Sasha helps Bayley celebrate by hitting her with a steel chair and a kendo stick. The match was just used to advance a story between Sasha and Bayley. I don't mind that normally but I wouldn't have used Asuka to do it.
Winner: Asuka (N/A)

 The penultimate match is for the WWE Championship as Randy Orton challenges Drew McIntyre in an ambulance match. Throughout the match, people that Orton attacked over the last few weeks turn up to get their revenge. The first was The Big Show, who choke slammed Orton. This was followed by Christian, who attacked Orton when they were backstage; and Shawn Michaels, who hit Orton with Sweet Chin Music. In the end, McIntyre manages to get Orton in the ambulance and punts him before shuttting the doors and getting the win. The match was quite good and it was pretty cool seeing Orton get his comeuppance from some of the people he attacked.
Winner: Drew McIntyre (5 for 6)

The main event is Jey Uso challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. Reigns is completely dominant for most of this match. Jey makes a comeback and comes close after hitting an Uso Splash. However, he is hit by a low blow by Reigns while he was kicking out. Reigns goes on to hit 2 spears and beats up Jey, forcing Jimmy to come out and throw in the towel, giving Reigns the win. I thought this was a good match and it really set Reigns' heel turn in stone with the way he brutalised Jey. 
Winner: Roman Reigns (6 for 7)

I thought that Clash of Champions was an ok event. The ladder match and the main event were good but the rest of the matches were just ok to me. I do wonder whether the next event will be more of the same.

Sunday, 15 November 2020

WWE Payback 2020 Review

WWE Payback 2020 took place on Sunday 30th August at the Amway...sorry, The WWE Thunderdome. I'm really sorry for being so behind with the Pay-Per-Views. A combination of things have led to me putting WWE on the back burner. Anyway, let's start with the catch up and take a look at the show. 

The match on the Kick Off Show was The Riott Squad taking on The IIonics. Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott struggle to work together during the match and Billie Kay and Peyton Royce take advantage of that. In the end, Kay gets hit with a double knees followed by a Riott Kick to give The Riott Squad the win. The match was quite good and I liked the story that they told in the ring.
Winners: The Riott Squad (1 for 1)

The first match of the event is for the United States Championship as Bobby Lashley challenges Apollo Crews. Lashley gets the win after getting  Crews to submit to a Full Nelson and becomes the new United States Champion. This was a good match between the two.
Winner: Bobby Lashley (2 for 2)

The next match is Big E taking on Sheamus. Sheamus goes for the Brogue Kick but Big E catches him and hits a power bomb followed by The Big Ending to get the win. The match was pretty decent.
Winner: Big E (3 for 3)

Next is King Corbin taking on Matt Riddle. Corbin hits Riddle with a clothesline as soon as he entered the ring. The match was hard hitting at times and after hitting a Bro to Sleep, Riddle hits a Floating Bro to get the win. Corbin doesn't take the loss well and attacks Riddle backstage afterwards. The match was ok.
Winner: Matt Riddle (4 for 4)

We now get our second Championship match as Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax team up to challenge Bayley and Sasha Banks. Despite Bayley and Banks wearing down their opponents for most of the match; Baszler and Jax managed to put their differences aside and Baszler gets Bayley to submit to a Kirifuda Clutch while at the same time, having Banks legs trapped in a cloverleaf. While it seemed slightly similar to the women's tag team match earlier in the night, it was a good match and I really liked how it ended.
Winners: Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax (4 for 5)

Next is Keith Lee taking on Randy Orton. Lee manages to get the win after stopping a RKO amd hitting a Spirit Bomb. The ending did seem a bit out of nowhere as I expected Lee to get the win using the Big Bang Catastrophe. The match was quite good but I really hate Lee's new music.
Winner: Keith Lee (4 for 6)

The penultimate match is Dominik and Rey Mysterio taking on Murphy and "The Monday Night Messiah" Seth Rollins. Murphy tries to kick Rey but accidentally hits Rollins in the head instead. The Mysterios take advantage and Dominik hits a 619 followed by a Frog Splash on Murphy to get the win. I thought this was a fun match to watch. 
Winners: Dominik and Rey Mysterio (5 for 7)

The main event is "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defending his Universal Championship against Braun Strowman and apparently, Roman Reigns. On the Smackdown beforehand, Reigns refused to sign the match contract and vowed to do it at Payback. During the night, Kayla Braxton asked Reign's new manager Paul Heyman if he had signed it but was not given a definitive answer. So, keep that in mind. Anyway, Strowman doesn't fuck around and attacks Wyatt at the end of his entrance. The bell rings even though Reigns hasn't entered and they go on to beat the fuck out of each other. After a super plex that broke the ring, Reigns makes his appearance, signs the contract and enters the match. He goes on to hit a Spear on Strowman to get the win and become the new Universal Champion.

Erm...right, the match was fine but a lot of the things surrounding it doesn't make sense. First of all, there is no way in hell that Reigns would do what he did regarding the contract. Surely, he would have been given a deadline, right? If Reigns was taking part, why did the referee ring the bell when after Strowman attacked Wyatt? And also, what was the point of Wyatt being the Champion? I understand the need of transitional Champions. However, I didn't see the need for it, especially as it further weakened Wyatt. Anyway, it looks like Reigns is going full heel now and I'm interested to see where that goes.
Winner: Roman Reigns (5 for 8)

I thought Payback was pretty decent with a lot of good matches. However, the story surrounding the main event was dumb and ruined it for me. I've seen bits of Reigns heel run over the last couple of months and it's been ok. Hopefully, WWE won't find a way to fuck it up.

Friday, 9 October 2020

WWE SummerSlam 2020 Review

SummerSlam 2020 took place on Sunday 23rd August 2020 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. We get the PPV debut of the Thunderdome so let's take a look and see how it goes.

The match on the Kick Off Show is for the United States Championship as MVP challenges Apollo Crews. MVP goes for the Playmaker but Crews avoids it and hits the Backdrop Powerbomb to get the win. The match was ok.
Winner: Apollo Crews (0 for 1)

The first match of the show is for the Smackdown Women's Championship as Asuka challenges Bayley. The end comes when Asuka goes for the hip attack but hits Sasha Banks instead. Bayley then rolls up Asuka to get the win. Afterwards, Sasha and Bayley continue to beat up Asuka. The match was quite good and I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out when Asuka faces Sasha Banks later on. 
Winner: Bayley (0 for 2)

The next match is for the RAW Tag Team Championship as Andrade and Angel Garza challenge The Street Profits. During the match, Zelina Vega goes up to the apron to argue with the referee and gets accidentally knocked off by Montez Ford. When Andrade goes to check on her, he misses the chance to get tagged in by Garza. The Street Profits take advantage and hit a spine buster followed by a From the Heavens to get the win and retain the Titles. I quite enjoyed the match and it looks like they're teasing a break up between Andrade and Garza. I hope they don't do that as I think they work well together. 
Winners: The Street Profits (1 for 3)

The following match is one that I was quite looking forward to seeing; Mandy Rose taking on Sonya Deville in a No Disqualification Loser Leaves WWE Match.  After using a couple of steel chairs and a table, Rose hits an Implant Buster followed by a running knee to get the win. The match wasn't as good as it could have been as I feel that they didn't really take advantage of the no disqualification stipulation. I'm gutted that Deville lost as I feel that she has improved a lot recently. However, she has to deal with a court case involving someone stalking her. So, hopefully, that will be resolved soon and she can come back and continue to improve.
Winner: Mandy Rose (2 for 4)

Next is "The Monday Night Messiah" Seth Rollins taking on Dominik Mysterio in a Street Fight. During the match, Dominik's mum comes out and Rey Mysterio goes over to her. Rollins' lackey Murphy starts attacking Dominik, forcing Mysterio to get involved and the match degenerates into a cluster fuck. In the end, Dominik goes for a  frog splash but Rollins gets his knees up. Rollins then hits the Blackout to get the win. I thought the match was good. However, I do question the placement of the match in the show. We had 2 no disqualification matches in a row and I feel that limited the women's match beforehand. As for Dominik, considering that this was first singles match on the second biggest show of the year, I thought he did a good job. 
Winner: Seth Rollins (3 for 5)

We now get Asuka's second match of the night as she challenges Sasha Banks for the RAW Women's Championship. Sasha focuses on the knee that she injured earlier then goes to try to get Asuka to submit to the Banks Statement. However, Asuka manages to get Sasha to submit to the Asuka Lock to get the win. I thought this was a pretty good match.
Winner: Asuka (3 for 6)

The penultimate match is for the WWE Championship as Randy Orton challenges Drew McIntyre. During the match, both guys get cut slightly: McIntyre from an eye gouge not seen by the referee; and Orton from a Future Shock DDT. McIntyre goes for the Claymore Kick but misses. When Orton goes for a RKO, McIntyre manages to reverse it into a backslide and get the win...? Erm, ok. The match was good although the ending seemed to be underwhelming.
Winner: Drew McIntyre (4 for 7)

The main event is for the Universal Championship as "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt challenges Braun Strowman in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. The match goes briefly to the Gorilla position then back to the ring. Strowman exposes the wood in the ring but that turned out to be a bad idea as Wyatt hits 2 Sister Abigails onto the wood to get the win. Afterwards, Roman Reigns makes his return, spears both Wyatt and Strowman then proceeds to fuck them both up with a steel chair. In the terms of the match, it was quite good although, considering how much she was featured in the pre match video, that Alexa Bliss wasn't involved in some way. As for the return of Reigns, I'm not a big fan of him but I'm glad he's back.
Winner: Bray Wyatt (5 for 8)

I thought that SummerSlam was a pretty good event. It was good to see fans there, albeit virtually, and it made for a better atmosphere. 

Wednesday, 5 August 2020

The Horror Show at Extreme Rules Review

The Horror Show at Extreme Rules took place at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on Sunday 19th July. Some of the matches look pretty interesting, so let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show was Kevin Owens taking on Murphy. The match starts at a breakneck pace before Murphy applies a sleeper to slow things down. Owens hit a DDT followed by a brutal clothesline to start a comeback. In the end, Owens hits a super kick followed by a Stunner to get the win. I thought this was a good match.
Winner: Kevin Owens (N/A)

The first match of the show was a Tables Match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship with Shinsuke Nakamuta and Cesaro challenging The New Day. Both teams come close to putting thier opponents through a table. However, in the end, Cesaro powerbombs Kofi Kingston through 2 tables on the outside to get the win. This match was ok.
Winners: Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro (0 for 1)

The next match is Nikki Cross challenging Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Bayley is cocky to begin with but she takes it more serious after getting with a neck breaker. Bayley sends Cross into the barrcade to get the advantage but Cross catches her in the apron to start a comeback. After a little bit of back and forth, Sasha Banks gives Bayley her Boss ring then distracts the referee. This gives Bayley the chance to hit Cross with the ring then hit her with the Arm Trap Headlock Driver to get the win. I thought this match was pretty good.
Winner: Bayley (0 for 2)

The next match was supposed to be MVP challenging Apollo Crews for the United States Championship. Unfortunately, Crews did not pass his pre-match fitness test so MVP and Bobby Lashley come and claim the title by forfeit. So, MVP wins I guess.

Anyway, we got the first ever Eye for an Eye Match between Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins. Mysterio starts the match by attacking Rollins from behind. However, Rollins gets the advantage very quickly. During the match, they use kendo sticks, a table and a steel chair, to attack each other eyes. In the end, Rollins pushes Mysterio into the steel steps and that is enough to him to lose his eye and give Rollins the win. I didn't like this match as I couldn't take it seriously. I know that wrestling requires a suspension of disbelief. However, I found the whole stipulation stupid, especially when WWE is TV-PG.
Winner: Seth Rollins (1 for 3)

The next match is Sasha Banks challenging Asuka  for the RAW Women's Championship. Banks gets the advantage very early on and manages to apply the Banks Statement at one point. Asuka reverses an arm drag into a knee to the face, giving her back the momentum. The match goes back and forth, with both women coming close to getting the win. Bayley starts to interfere like crazy but is kicked in the head by Asuka. Asuka goes for the green mist but she hits the ref instead. Asuka puts on the Asuka Lock but Bayley hits her in the back with the belt. She then takes the referee's shirt and counts the pin when Sasha covers Asuka and this gives Sasha the win? Wait, what?! What the fuck was that?! Up until the last 30 seconds, this was a really good match. Unfortunately, it's ruined by what Bayley did. I didn't think it was needed and it just looks stupid. 
Winner: Sasha Banks (apparently) (1 for 4)

The penultimate match is for the WWE Championship as Dolph Ziggler challenges Drew McIntyre/ Ziggler can choose the stipulation and he goes with an Extreme Rules Match. However, this only applies to Ziggler himself. I first thought this was a dumb idea but looking back on it, it was quite clever by Ziggler. McIntyre, at the beginning, prevents Ziggler from taking advantage of the stipulation. However, Ziggler hits a low blow then goes on to use a steel chair on McIntyre. Later on, McIntyre almost gets counted out after getting put through a table by Ziggler. Ziggler goes for a super kick but he gets wiped out by a Claymore Kick by McIntyre to get the win. I thought this was a pretty good match.
Winner: Drew McIntyre (2 for 5)

The main event is a Wyatt Swamp Fight between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. Highlights of the match include: Strowman being attacked by, I assume, his evil twin; a tied-up Strowman having a confrontation with the original Bray Wyatt; and Alexa Bliss tempting Strowman. Waytt and Strowman fight on the jetty and it looks like Strowman has won when Wyatt is booted into the water and doesn't come back up. However, Wyatt appears and pulls him into the water. The Fiend then appears and the show ends. So, I guess that Wyatt wins? and Strowman is dead...? Ok...
I wasn't a fan of this at all. I didn't feel like a match to me, just a bad attempt at a horror movie. i get that WWE are trying to do different things with the current climate. However, I think that they need to focus more on the traditional wrestling and stick with what works. 
Winner: Bray Wyatt? (3 for 6)

Like recent WWE events, I thought this was a mixed bag. Some matches were good. However, I wasn't a fan of the main event and a couple of the booking decisions really annoyed me. To be honest, it's been hard to review these shows as I'm struggling to enjoy them. With SummerSlam coming up, I'm worried that we will have more of the same for the foreseeable future.

Tuesday, 19 May 2020

WWE Money in the Bank 2020 Review

Money in the Bank 2020 took place last Sunday at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The current circumstances involving the pandemic have been meant that the show took place in an empty arena; with the Money in the Bank ladder matches taking place at the same time at WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Let's take a look to see how it goes.

The match on the Kick Off Show is Jeff Hardy taking on Cesaro. Cesaro catches Hardy doing a crossbody off the steel steps and throws him into the crowd barrier to get the advantage. Cesaro attempts a gutwrench suplex from the top rope but Hardy stops it and hits Whisper in the Wind to start a comeback. In the end, Hardy hits the Swanton Bomb to get the win. The match between the two was pretty decent.
Winner: Jeff Hardy (1 for 1)

The first match of the event was for Smackdown Tag Team Championship as The Lucha House Party, Hollywood Miz and John Morrison and The Forgotten Sons challenge The New Day. Highlights of the match include: Gran Metalik and Morrison diving onto everyone else on the outside; The New Day hitting Steve Cutler with a powerbomb/double stomp combo; and Morrison hitting a Starship Pain on Big E. In the end, Big E hit Gran Metalik with the Big Ending to get the win. The match was fun for the most part.
Winners: The New Day (2 for 2)

The next match is R-Truth, who looked like a moron doing his "What's Up?" in front of no one, taking on MVP. R-Truth and MVP get into an argument and Bobby Lashley comes out and offers to take MVP's place. Lashley proceeds to completely destroy R-Truth and, despite a brief fightback by R-Truth, Lashley hits a spear and gets the win. This match was a squash that I think we should not have on a Pay-Per-View.

The next match is for the Smackdown Women's Champion as Tamina challenges Bayley. Bayley slams Tamina's knee into the ring post to get the advantage. After a few minutes, Tamina starts a comeback after getting water thrown in her face and comes close to getting the win when Sasha Banks distracts her. This gives Bayley the chance to recover and reverse a Samoa Drop into a crucifix pin to get the win. I thought the match was ok.
Winner: Bayley (3 for 3)

We now get "Firefly Fun House" Bray Wyatt challenging Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship. Strowman is dominant at the beginning before he goes to shoulder charge Wyatt on the outside. However, Wyatt avoids it and Strowman crashes into the announce table. Wyatt, with encouragement from one of his puppets, follows up with a DDT to get the advantage. Wyatt goes on to hit Sister Abigail but Strowman just kicks out. Strowman turns it round when he reverses another Sister Abigail into a choke slam. Strowman then appears wearing the black sheep mask that he wore when he was with The Wyatt Family. This is enough somehow to convince Wyatt that he turned him onto his side and Strowman hits a Running Powerslam to get the win. The match was pretty good but I didn't like the way it ended as it made Wyatt looked like an idiot.
Winner: Braun Strowman (4 for 4)

Next is "The Monday Night Messiah" Seth Rollins challenging Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. Rollins hits a couple of dropkicks on McIntyre's left knee followed by a suicide dive to get the advantage. Rollins keeps McIntyre on the outside but when he goes for another suicide dive, he gets caught and gets sent flying over the announce table with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. McIntyre starts his comeback but Rollins comes close after hitting a superplex into a falcon arrow. Rollins hits a super kick but McIntyre retaliates with a Claymore Kick to get the win. I thought this was a really good match.
Winners: Drew McIntyre (5 for 5)

We now get to the main event, which are the Money in the Bank ladder matches. Taking part in the ladies' match were Asuka, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler; and it was AJ Styles,  Aliester Black, Daniel Bryan, King Corbin, Otis and Rey Mysterio taking in the mens'. The ladies started by the lifts and the men started in the gym. Highlights of the matches were:

  • Cameos by Brother Love, not Doink the Clown, Stephanie McMahon and John Laurinatis 
  • Otis, Bryan, Black and Corbin fighting in a lift. 
  • Brooke winning idiot of the year by thinking the briefcase in a meeting room was the real one, despite it being told numerous times beforehand that it was on the roof. 
  • Styles getting PTSD by seeing a picture of the Undertaker. 
  • A food fight at Paul Heyman's buffet with Rey Mysterio getting squashed by Otis and Jax. 
  • Styles accidentally fighting in Mr McMahon's office. and getting told off by McMahon.
Asuka, Evans and Jax are the first ones to enter the ring and, after dealing with Corbin trying to stop her for some reason, Asuka grabs the briefcase to get the win. A few minutes later, the rest of the men arrive and Corbin throws Mysterio and Black over the roof, apprently killing them? Anyway, in the end, Corbin and Styles fight over the briefcase. Elias comes in from nowhere and hits Corbin with a guitar, Styles fumbles the briefcase and it falls onto Otis' lap and he wins...? Er...what?

The matches were ok but I'm not happy that all the men got to the ring but only half the women. I know that Brooke and Carmella got taken out but Baszler basically disappeared. I was slightly surprised that Asuka won. However, the next night, "The Man" Becky Lynch announced that she was pregnant and that the match was actually for her RAW Women's Championship. With that, Asuka winning actually made more sense and it looks like it might lead to a face turn and maybe a feud with Baszler or maybe Kairi Sane.

As for men's, I'm sorry but what the fuck? Nothing against Otis but he's a comedy character so him having the briefcase doesn't make sense. I don't think that, barring a massive stroke of luck, he will successfully cash it in but a little of me does wonder what they will do with it.
Winners: Asuka (5 for 6) and Otis (5 for 7)

I thought that Money in the Bank was a decent event. There were a couple o good matches but a couple had really crappy endings. The lack of a crowd does hurt it tho and hopefully, it won't be too long before it's safe enough for them to come back.

Friday, 10 April 2020

Wrestlemania 36 Part 2 Review

The second night of Wrestlemania took place on Sunday 5th April at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The first night wasn't too bad so let's see how the second night goes.

The Kick Off Show featured Natalya taking on Liv Morgan. Natalya uses her experience to get the advantage. However, after a few minutes, Morgan manages to get the win. The match wasn't great.
Winner: Liv Morgan

The first match of the night is one that I was really looking forward to seeing: Charlotte Flair challenging Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship. Charlotte taunts Ripley early on but Ripley hits the Riptide to get a 2 count. This gives her the chance to get the advantage. However, Charlotte injures the left knee and focuses her offence on it. Ripley gets back into it and almost gets Charlotte to submit with a standing cloverleaf. However, in the end, Charlotte gets Ripley to submit to the Figure 8 and become the new NXT Women's Champion, This was a really good match and I'm interested to see how they handle Charlotte on NXT. As for Ripley, she has been awesome over the last year and I'm confident that she'll bounce back.
Winner: Rhea Ripley

The next match is Aleister Black taking on Bobby Lashley. Lashley avoids a moonsault and hits an overhead belly-to-belly suplex to get the advantage. Lashley hits power moves to keep Black down. On Lana's recommendation, Lashley goes for a pear. However, that turns out to be a bad idea as he runs into a Black Mask, which gives Black the win. The match was pretty good and it looks like it's set the foundations for the break up of Lana and Lashley.
Winner: Aleister Black

We now get Otis taking on Dolph Ziggler. Otis uses his weight against Ziggler but Ziggler's quickness quickly gets him the advantage. Otis catapults Ziggler into the turnbuckle and this gives him the opportunity to make a comeback. Otis goes for the caterpillar but Sonya Deville distracts the referee and Ziggler hits a low blow. This prompts Mandy Rose to come out and bitch slap Deville and roll her into the ring. When the referee tries to get Deville out, Rose hits Ziggler with a low blow. Otis then hits the caterpillar and gets the win and the girl. The match wasn't a masterpiece but it was fun to watch.
Winner: Otis

Next is Edge's first singles match in 9 years as he takes on Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match. Orton disguised himself as a cameraman and he surprises Edge with a RKO. When Edge recovers and the bell rings, Orton hits another RKO and he goes on to dominate the early going. The match goes all over the Performance Center and ends up on top of a trailer. Orton goes for the one man con-chairto but Edge puts Orton him in a choke hold then hits him with the con-chairto to get the win. Except for the beginning and the end, I found this to be a disappointment. The match is the 2nd longest match in Wrestlemania history and it was far too long. This match had a really good build and I feel like the match didn't live up to it.
Winner: Edge

After Ron Gronkowski pins Mojo Rawley to become the 24/7 Champion, we get the RAW Tag Team Championship as AOP Andrade Austin Theory(?) and Angel Garza challenge The Street Profits. After Theory throws Angelo Dawkins out of the ring, Graza super kicks him while the referee is distracted to give his team the advantage. Dawkins avoids a clothesline by Garza to get the hot tag to Montez Ford. In the end, Theory hits a TKO on Dawkins but Ford breaks up the pin by hitting a frog splash. Dawkins then pins Theory to get the win. Garza, Theory and Zelina Vega don't take the loss well and beat up The Street Profits. This prompts Bianca Belair to come out and make the save.This was a fun match to watch.
Winners: The Street Profits

The next match is a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match for the Smackdown Women's Championship as Lacey Evans, Naomi, Sasha Banks and Tamina challenge Bayley. The first woman to be eliminayed is Tamina as they all team up to pin her. Banks gets Naomi to submit to the Banks Statement but she gets eliminated thanks to a Women's Right by Evans. In the end, Banks returns and hits Evans with the back stabber. Bayley follows that up with the Rose Plant to get the win. The match was pretty decent.
Winner: Bayley

The penultimate is a Firefly House Match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt. The basic story of the match is Wyatt referencing parts of his and Cena's wrestling history such as his debut against Kurt Angle and Cena being the Doctor of Thuganomics, and Wyatt's gimmick when he debuted on the main roster. We then get a NwO reference as Cena then attacks Wyatt. Wyatt turns into a puppet and The Fiend then hits Sister Abigail and technically pins Cena to get the win...? This was batshit insane and it was fun to watch in a way. It was also quite thought provoking if you really look at it and probablyt the most unique thing that WWE have ever done. I think that this would have been a disaster if Cena wasn't involved. I don't think where both guys go on from here but I'm interested to see what happens.
Winner: Bray Wyatt

The main event is Drew McIntyre challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. McIntyre hits the Claymore Kick almost immediately to get a 2 count. Lesnar goes to hit 3 German suplexes and a F-5 but McIntyre kicks out at 1. Lesnar hits 2 more F-5s but McIntyre kicks out each time. McIntyre goes on to hit 3 Claymore Kicks to get the win. This match wasn't great as it was just finishers and suplexes and it had the same format as the Strowman/Goldberg match from the night before. Having said that, McIntyre is the first Scotsman to become the WWE Champion and, as a fellow Scotsman, I'm really happy for him.
Winner: Drew McIntyre

I thought that Wrestlemania was pretty decent over the two nights. The circumstances surrounding the event did lead to some things that you couldn't do with a live crowd. However, there are some great moments in the event that are hurt because of the lack of crowd reaction. That's quite sad. As for the foreseeable future, Florida have issued a stay-at-home order (finally!) yet WWE have taped some shows and are planning to have their Money in the Bank event in May. I'm quite torn that the WWE are still doing some shows but I don't think they should be building to another PPV. Let's see how they will handle it.

Tuesday, 7 April 2020

Wrestlemania 36 Part 1 Review

The first night of Wrestlemania 36 took place at the Raymond James...wait, sorry. I meant the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Not only has the Coronavirus pandemic led to the event taking place in an empty arena, but the sickness of some superstars and the fucking stupidity of another has led to some matches having to be changed. To be honest, I can see this being a fucking disaster. Anyway, let's take a look.

During all this, they decided to have a Kick Off Show, which was Cesaro taking on Drew Gulak. Early on, Gulak tries to put on some submission holds and focuses on the right arm. Cesaro tries to hit the Neutraliser but his injured arm prevents him from doing so. Gulak almost runs into the referee and this gives Cesaro to hit an European Uppercut followed by an airplane spin, with no hands, to get the win. I enjoyed the technical side of the match but I generally found the story a bit weird. I'm still getting used to Gulak being a face and it was surprising to see him be so dominant only for Cesaro to seemingly get the win out of the blue. Having said that, I thought the airplane spin with no hands was pretty impressive.
Winner: Cesaro

The first match of the weekend was for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship as Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross challenge The Kabuki Warriors. Asuka and Kairi Sane are cocky towards Bliss in the beginning and they go on to get the advantage after Asuksa hits a roundhouse kick to Cross. Eventually, Bliss gets the hot tag but it doesn't last long as The Kabuki Warriors reassert their dominance. Cross gets tagged in and hits the Fisherman's Neckbreaker to Asuka but Sane breaks up the pin with an Insane Elbow. Sane and Asuka come close a couple of times but in the end, Sane gets hit with another Fisherman's Neckbreaker by Cross followed by a Twisted Bliss by Bliss and they go on to regain the Championship. I thought this was a good match and hopefully, WWE will start to give more of a fuck about the Women's Tag Team Championship.
Winners: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross

The next match is supposed to be Elias taking on King Corbin. Corbin is convinced that, after throwing him off a platform the week before, Elias won't be able to take part. However, Elias does turn up and is dominant to begin with before Corbin sends him flying to the floor. Elias sends Crobin into the corner, giving him the chance to make a comeback. Corbin tries to use the ropes while pinning Elias but the referee sees it and admonishes him. While Crobin continues to argue with her, Elias rolls him up and gets the win. I didn't think this was a great match.
Winner: Elias

We get the RAW Women's Championship match as Shayna Baszler challenges "The Man" Becky Lynch. Baszler goes for the Kirifuda Clutch early on but Lynch gets out of it. That doesn't deter Baszler as she is relentless and gets the advantage. In the end, Baszler manages to apply the Kirifuda Clutch but Becky rolls over and manages to pin her and get the win. To be honest, I didn't expect Lynch to win as I was convinced that Baszler would win. However, thy just used the same ending that Baszler had against Kairi Sane. Hopefully, they might be saving her victory for when they can host a Pay-Per-View in front of a crowd. As for the match itself, I thought it was pretty good.
Winner: Becky Lynch


The next match is for the Intercontinental Championship as Daniel Bryan challenge Sami Zayn. Zayn delays wrestling Bryan for as long as possible with help from Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. Drew Gulak takes them out, giving Bryan the chance to wrestle Zayn. In the end, Nakamura and Cesaro attack Gulak and Bryan goes to help him out. Bryan then goes for a move off the turnbuckle but Zayn counters with apparently a Helluva Kick to get the win. The match was ok but I feel that they could have done better.
Winner: Sami Zayn

We now get a triple threat ladder match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. Thanks to The Miz being sick, it will be Kofi Kingston from The New Day and Jimmy Uso challenging John Morrison. Highlights of the match include: Kingston vaulting through a ladder, only to be caught and thrown out of the ring; Morrison hitting a crokscrew ladder onto Uso; and Kingston hitting a hurracarrana, sending Morrison off a ladder. In the end, they are all on ladder and they manage to get the hook containing the belts, each of them having a hand on it. Kingston and Uso headbutt Morrison off the ladder. However, he had a hand on the belts and he falls to the mat with them, technically making him the winner. I thought this was a really good match and I really liked the ending.
Winner: John Morrison

Next is the Monday Night Messiah Seth Rollins taking on Kevin Owens. The match goes back and forth before Rollins reverse a powerbomb to back body drop Owens onto the apron. Rollins follows up with a falcon arrow onto the apron. Owens gets back into it and Rollins ends up hitting him with the ring bell to get himself disqualified. Owens manage to convince Rollins to return and make the match no disqualification. Owens goes on to hit Rollins with the ring bell then hits a senton from the Wrestlemania sign, sending Rollins through the announce table. Owens then rolls Rollins back into the ring and hits the Stunner to get the win. I thought this was a decent match, although it would made more sense if it started as a no disqualification match.
Winner: Kevin Owens

The penultimate match is for the Universal Championship as Braun Strowman challenges Goldberg. Goldberg hits 4 spears then goes for a Jackhammer. However, Strowman reverses it into a powerslam. He then hits 2 more powerslams then a running powerslam to get the win. Wow. Due to Roman Reigns pulling out, I thought that Goldberg would retain. I'm happy that Strowman won but the match wasn't great and I feel that Strowman will be a transitional Champion.
Winner: Braun Strowman

The main event of the night is a Boneyard Match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker. Some of the highlights include: Styles arriving in a coffin on the back of a hearse; Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows helping Styles out; Styles spearing Undertaker through a fence; and Undertaker using his parlor tricks such as teleportation and shooting columns of fire on top of a barn roof. After Undertaker takes out Gallows and Anderson, he chokeslams Styles off the barn roof. He then drags him to the empty grave prepared earlier and big boots him into it. Undertaker then uses a tractor to bury Styles and technically win...? He then rides off into the night. This was weird but quite fun to watch. Some of it was riduclous but I think that was the point. Hopefully, this will be the last of The Undertaker. As for Styles, I guess he's dead now.
Winner: The Undertaker

I thought that the first night of Wrestlemania was pretty decent. Some matches could have been better but a couple of quite good, especially the ladder match. Let's see how the second night goes.

Sunday, 8 March 2020

WWE Elimination Chamber 2020 Preview

The final PPV before Wrestlemania, Elimination Chamber, will be taking place this evening. at the Wells Fargo Center in Pittsburgh. How will the landscape change on the Road to Wrestlemania? Let's take a look at the card.

Daniel Bryan vs Drew Gulak
I'm looking forward to this one and I think that Gulak will find a way to win here
Predicted Winner: Drew Gulak

Andrade vs Humberto Carrillo
United States Championship
I think that Andrade will retain.
Predicted Winner: Andrade

Aliester Black vs AJ Styles
No Disqualification Match
I think that, despite Styles getting help from The OC, Black will get the win.
Predicted Winner: Aliester Black

The Street Profits vs Seth Rollins and Murphy
RAW Tag Team Championship
The Street Profits have only been Champions for a couple of weeks so I'll be surprised if they lose here.
Predicted Winner: The Street Profits

Braun Strowman vs Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro
Handicap Match for the Intercontinental Championship
I don't get why they've done this match. If Strowman wins, it will bury 3 talented wrestlers. If Zayn, Cesaro and Nakamura win, it will devalue the Championship. I'm going for the least worst option, which is Strowman to retain.
Predicted Winner: Braun Strowman

Hollywood Miz and John Morrison vs The New Day vs The Usos vs The Lucha House Party vs Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode vs Heavy Machinery
Elimination Chamber Match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship
It should be a good match and I'm going for Miz and Morrison to retain.
Predicted Winners: The Miz and John Morrison

Ruby Riott vs Liv Morgan vs Sarah Logan vs Shayna Baszler vs Asuka vs Natalya
Elimination Chamber Match to determine the No 1 contender for the RAW Women's Championship
There is no way that Shayna is going to lose this, right?
Predicted Winner: Shayna Baszler

It will be a couple of days before I put up the review. I hope you all enjoy the show.

Monday, 24 February 2020

Royal Rumble 2020 Review

The Road to Wrestlemania officially got underway at the 2020 Royal Rumble, which took place on Sunday 26th January at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Let's take a look and see how Wrestlemania will start to form.

The first match on the Kick Off Show is Sheamus taking on Shorty G. Sheamus is easily able to deal with Shorty G's offence at the beginning before he slams him into the ring post to get the advantage. Shorty G goes to make a comeback and comes close after hitting a moonsault. In the end, it wasn't enough as Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick to get the win. I thought it was a pretty decent match.
Winner: Sheamus (1 for 1)

The next is for the United States Championship as Humberto Carrillo challenges Andrade. After a fast paced beginning, Andrade pushes Carrillo off the top turnbuckle to the floor to get the advantage. Carrillo has a brief comeback starting with a cross body but Andrade shuts it down. Andrade goes for the Three Amigos but Carrillo reverses it into a suplex of his own. Carrillo tries for a harracarrana into a pin, but Andrade turns into a pin for himself to get the win. The match was pretty good between the two.
Winner: Andrade (2 for 2)

The first match of the show is a Falls Count Anywhere Match between King Corbin and Roman Reigns. During the match they go all over the place and use various things such as steel steps against each other. Corbin has a great opportunity when he choke slams Reigns through the Spanish announce table. Later on, they go to the international announcer area and go through a couple of tables there. When the match goes into the technical area, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler come out to help out Corbin and The Usos come out to even the odds. The match ends when Reigns spears Corbin on top of the away team dugout to get the win. I thought the match was ok but I feel that it went for too long.
Winner: Roman Reigns (3 for 3)

The second match is the Women's Royal Rumble Match. The first two entrants were Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair. Highlights of the match include:
  • The return of Mighty Molly, Kelly Kelly (why?) and Beth Phoenix
  • Lana and Liv Morgan eliminating each other so that shit will continue
  • Mandy Rose being saved from elimination by Otis appearing seemingly out of thin air in probably my favourite moment of the match
  • Belair eliminating 8 wrestlers and lasting over 33 minutes
  • Beth Phoenix getting injured when she bangs the back of her head against the ringpost 
  • Naomi, making her return from injury, almost gets eliminated but managing to jump and hang onto the barricade. She then manages to use the top of one of the announce tables to get back to the ring.
  • Santina Marella makes his return. What. The. Fuck? Luckily, he doesn't last long and eliminates himself.
  • Shayna Baszler coming in at number 30 and also eliminating 8 wrestlers in less than 5 minutes.
The final 4 ends up being Natalya, Beth Phoenix, Charlotte Flair and Shayna Baszler. Phoenix eliminates Natlaya and Baszler eliminates Phoenix. Charlotte goes to eliminate Baszler to get the win.

I thought the Rumble was quite fun and it was nice to see some NXT wrestlers such as Bianca Belair and Shayna Baszler get a chance to shine. However, a couple of participants bothered me, especially Santina Marella. He is the personification of the low point of the women's division in WWE, and I'm not happy that, despite the ton of women that they had available, they would go with that. Despite that, it didn't overshadow the match. As for Charlotte, everyone assumed that she would go to face "The Man" Becky Lynch. However, it's looking more like she will challenge NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley instead. Whilst I think it will be a good match, I wonder if it's a step backwards and whether it's another example of doing something with the women that they would never do with the men.
Winner: Charlotte Flair (4 for 4)

We stay in the women's division as the next match is Lacey Evans challenging Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Bayley tries to cheat at the first opportunity by removing a turnbuckle but the referee stops it. She then fiegns injury to lure Lacey in and hit her with a right hand to get the advantage. Bayley goes on to miss a cross body and this gives Lacey the chance to make a comeback. In the end, Lacey does a springboard moonsault but Bayley gets her knees up and rolls her up to get the win. I didn't think it was a good match as it seemed sloppy and the ending seemed to come out of nowhere.
Winner: Bayley (4 for 5)

We now get a Strap Match for the Universal Championship as Daniel Bryan challenges "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.  Wyatt hits a power bomb early on to get the advantage and goes on to use the strap against him. Bryan gets back the upper hand and whips Wyatt with the strap at the German announce table. The match goes back into the ring and Bryan continues his assault with Yes kicks. Wyatt puts on the Mandible Claw but Bryan gets out of it and applies the LeBell Lock. In the end, Wyayy no sells being whipped by the strap and hits a Mandible Claw Slam to get the win. I thought this match was pretty decent, although I feel that they can do better.
Winner: Bray Wyatt (5 for 6)

The penultimate match is for the RAW Women's Championship as Asuka challenges "The Man" Becky Lynch.  The match goes back and forth in the beginning before Asuka bounces Lynch's neck off the ropes with a neck breaker to get the advantage. Later on, Lynch reverse suplexes Asuka onto the floor to get back the momentum. Asuka manages to apply the Asuka Lock but Lynch gets to the ropes. In the end, Lynch almost runs into the referee and this gives Asuka the chance to spray the green mist. However, Lynch avoids it by kicking Asuka in the stomach then gets her to submit to the Dis Arm-Her to get the win. I thought this was a good match and I hope they have another match on the near future.
Winner: Becky Lynch (6 for 7)

The main event is the Men's Royal Rumble Match with WWE Champion Brock Lesnar coming in at number 1 and Elias coming in at number 2.  Brock doesn't have time for Elias' song and eliminates him quite quickly then goes on to eliminate the next 12 wrestlers, including his best friend Shelton Benjamin. Eventually, Ricochet and Drew McIntyre combine to eliminate him. The only other major highlight after that is the return of Edge. Yes, you read that right. Edge returned from a career ending neck injury for the first time in almost 9 years. Thanks to Lesnar's elimination, it led to more wrestlers being in the ring. Seth Rollins comes in at number 30, and with the help of his lackeys, AOP and Buddy Murphy, eliminate Aleister Black, Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe. Joe and Black fight Murphy and AOP all the way to the back, leaving Rollins by himself. Rollins gets destroyed and then eliminated by McIntyre, leaving him along with Randy Orton, Edge and Roman Reigns. Edge and Orton team up before Edge eliminates Orton. Edge and Reigns end up on the apron and Reigns manages to knock Edge off to the floor. McIntyre then eliminates Reigns to win the Rumble...? Holy fucking shit!! Wow!

While there wasn't anything special that stood out, I quite enjoyed the match and the stories that they told. My mind is still blown that Edge made his return and I'm happy that he came back. As for McInytre, I'm shocked that he won but, as a fellow Scotsman, I'm so happy for him. McIntyre has the potential but I was getting worried that WWE was going to keep him in the mid card. This is McIntyre's biggest opportunity since he came back and hopefully, he grabs it with both hands.
Winner: Drew McIntyre (6 for 8)

I thought that the Royal Rumble was quite good, and I enjoyed the 2 Rumble matches.  It just sometimes I find some of the matches not particularly exciting and it's hard to be positive about them. Hopefully, they might start to look at NXT  TakeOver and see how they do their matches.

Tuesday, 24 December 2019

WWE TLC 2019 Review

WWE TLC, the last Pay-Per-View of the year, took place on Sunday 15th December at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Will WWE end the year on a high? Let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show was  Humberto Carrillo taking on Andrade. Andrade is dominant early on before Carrillo hit a jawbreaker followed by a hurracarrana. During the match, Andrade gets a cut below his eye. Zelina Vega tries to interfere but almost gets taken out Andrade. In the end, Carrillo hit a reverse hurracarrana followed by a moonsault to get the win. This was a really good match between the two.
Winner: Humberto Carrillo (N/A)

The first match on the show was a ladder match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship as The Revival challenge The New Day. Highlights of the match include: Big E chucking Scott Dawson over the German announce table; Kofi Kingston flipping a ladder onto The Revival; The Revival hitting Shatter Machine off a ladder on Kingston; and Big E hitting Dash Wilder with the Big Ending off a ladder. After Kingston pushes Dawson off a ladder, he manages to collect the belts and get the win. I thought this was a fun match to watch.
Winners: The New Day (1 for 1)

The next match was Aleister Black taking on Buddy Murphy. Black keeps Murphy down with kicks but Murphy bounces Black's head off the steel steps, busting his nose. Murphy takes time to try on Black's coat, and Black doesn't take that well and he makes a comeback. In the end, they exchange kicks before Black hits The Black Mask to get the win. I thought this was a good match between the two and I assume that Black will go back to his room and wait for someone to challenge him in a couple of months.
Winner: Aleister Black (2 for 2)

Next was an open challenge by The Viking Raiders for the RAW Tag Team Championship. That challenge is accepted by The O.C. Karl Anderson sends Erik out of the ring then distracts the referee, giving Luke Gallows the chance to hit a superkick and give his team the advantage. Eventually, Erik manages to tag in Ivar. The Viking Raiders hit the Viking Experience on Anderson but Gallows breaks up the pin. The match goes to the outside and it ends up in a double count out. Afterwards, The Viking Raiders powerbomb Anderson through the table set up earlier on winners of a KFC competition. The match was pretty decent but I hated it ending in a double count out.
Winners: Double Count Out (N/A)

The next match is a TLC Match between Roman Reigns and King Baron Corbin. During Reign's entrance, he destroys half of Corbin's security. Corbin gets the advantage after hitting a Deep Six and goes on to throw everything but the kitchen sink at him, including hitting him with a can of dog food and choke slamming him through a table. Reigns responds by putting Corbin through the German announce table with a Samoan drop. Dolph Ziggler comes in to help out Corbin then bizarrely decide to go after one of the guys at ringside. Reigns uses a kendo stick on Corbin's security before The Revival come out to attack Reigns. Corbin goes on to hit the End of Days onto a chair to get the win. I do not like this match. It was overbooked with 9 people helping Corbin to win and the bit where Corbin and Ziggler beat the fuck out of some random made no sense.
Winner: Baron Corbin (2 for 3)

Next is Hollywood Miz taking on Universal Champion "The Fiend" Firefly Fun House Bray Wyatt  in a non-title match just because...? Anyway, as soon as the bell rings, Miz starts beating the fuck out of Wyatt. Wyatt goes for a Sister Abigail but Miz gets out of it and hits the Skull Crushing Finale. The match goes to the outside and eventually Wyatt hits a Sister Abigail. Miz just about gets back into the ring before the 10 count but he gets hit with another Sister Abigail and Wyatt wins. After the match, The Fiend pops up on the screen and Wyatt grabs a large sledgehammer. Then someone runs in and hits Wyatt with a running knee, which turns out to be the original Daniel Bryan. Bryan then goes on to beat up Wyatt. This match was weird and I was not a fan.
Winner: Bray Wyatt (3 for 4)

The penultimate match is a tables match between Rusev and Bobby Lashley. Rusev grabs a table  but Lana pulls it away, giving Lashley the chance to get the advantage. After some back and forth and using kendo sticks on each other, Lana jumps on Rusev's back and Lashley sends him through a table with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex to get the win. The match wasn't anything special.
Winner: Bobby Lashley (3 for 5)

The main event is a TLC Match for the Women's Tag Team Championship as Charlotte Flair and "The Man" Becky Lynch challenge The Kabuki Warriors. Lynch and Flair don't fuck around as they throw Kairi Sane and Asuka into anything they can see. Sane gets the worse of it as she gets a monitor thrown at her head, then thrown onto the announce tables; and later on, lands badly after a suplex by Flair. Sane and Asuka incapacitate Lynch by tying her onto a ladder to help them get the advantage. Eventually, Lynch manages to get free and Flair powerbombs Sane through a table. In the end, Lynch climbs up but Asuka pulls a rope connected to the ladder to send her off. Asuka then climbs the ladder to grab the belts and get the win. Unfortunately, it's overshadowed 10 seconds later as the camera cuts to a brawl involving the men's locker room, that had been going on backstage since the Corbin/Reigns match, spills out into the crowd.

The match was pretty good but it got sloppy towards the end. This was due to Sane getting concussed after a suplex by Flair. To make it worse, it got overshadowed by a brawl that I had no interest in. I felt sorry for Asuka as she had seconds to celebrate before the camera cut away from her.
Winners: Kabuki Warriors (4 for 6)

I thought TLC started pretty well with 2 good matches. However, it turned into a mess with overbooking and crappy creative decisions. The wrestling is there but it's being overshadowed by poor creative booking. It doesn't help that the main story on RAW at the moment, Seth Rollin's heel turn, wasn't really a part of the show. Next month will be the start of the Road to Wrestlemania XXXVI and hopefully it will start to get better.

Sunday, 15 December 2019

WWE Survivor Series 2019 Review

WWE Survivor Series took place on Sunday 24th November at the AllState Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. This year, we get NXT added to which brand is the best, if you care about that sort of thing. Anyway, let's take a look.

The first match is a Tag Team Battle Royal. Taking part were The O.C., The Revival, The Forgotten Sons, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, The Street Profits, Zack Ryder and Kurt Hawkins, Breezango, Lucha House Party, Imperium and Heavy Machinery. Steve Cutler from The Forgotten Sons is the first to be eliminated quickly followed by Lince Dorado from The Lucha House Party. The final 3 teams end up being The O.C., Ziggler and Roode, and The Street Profits. Ziggler eliminates Luke Gallows. Montez Ford hits a beautiful frog splash on Ziggler but Roode grabs him and throws him over the top rope to give his team the win. The match wasn't too bad.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode (N/A)

The next match is for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship as Lio Rush faces the challenge of Kalisto and Akira Tozowa.  Highlights of the match include: Rush hitting a double elbow on his opponents; Tozowa hitting a sucker punch on Rush; and Kalisto stopping a German suplex pin and almost pinning Rush. In the end, Kalisto hits Tozowa with the Salida del Sol; but Rush hits him with The Final Hour to get the win. This was a fun, fast paced match to watch.
Winner: Lio Rush (1 for 1)

The Kick Off Show main(?) event is The New Day, The Viking Raiders and The Undisputed Era facing each other in a triple threat tag team match. Highlights of the match include: Kyle O'Reilly putting Kofi Kingston in a knee bar; and Erik body slamming Ivar onto their opponents on the outside. O'Reilly and Fish take out Kingston leaving them to face Erik and Ivar. In the end, The Viking Raiders hit O'Reilly with the Viking Experience onto Fish to get the win. This was quite a good match.
Winner: The Viking Raiders (1 for 2)

The first match of the show is the Women's Survivor Series Elimination Match with Team Smackdown (Sasha Banks, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans, Carmella and Dana Brooke) taking on Team RAW (Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Sarah Logan and Natalya) and Team NXT (Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and Candice LeRae). During the match, Io Shirai and Candice LeRae have to withdraw from the match due to injury. Cross is the first to be eliminated as she gets rolled up by Belair. Then Belair eliminates Logan with a 450 splash. Carmella gets eliminated thanks to a Natural Selection from Charlotte, Sasha Banks eliminates Sane with a double knee then Asuka eliminates Carmella. Charlotte and Asuka get into an argument and Asuka retaliates by spraying green mist into Charlotte and going: "fuck you guys, I'm off". Evans takes advantage and hits Charlotte with the Women's Right to leave Natalya left for RAW. Natalya rolls up Evans to eliminate and Natalya and Sasha team up to eliminate Storm and Belair. Banks then eliminates Natalya with a punch (wait, what?) leaving her to face Ripley. Banks gets Ripley in the Bank Statement but LeRae and Shirai suddenly recover from their injuries and pull her out of the ring. LeRae distracts the referee while Shirai kills Banks with a springboard dropkick. Ripley then hits the Riptide to get the win.

I thought the match was pretty decent but I found the ending a bit weird. I'm a few weeks behind on NXT but, last I checked Shirai and LeRae were in a feud. So, I found it strange that they teamed up to help NXT get the win, especially since they were opposite sides in the Women's War Games Match the previous night. Anyway, as I said, it was a decent match.
Winners: Rhea Ripley, Io Shirai and Candice LeRae (1 for 3)

Now a match I was quite looking forward to seeing: a triple threat match between the Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, the United States Champion AJ Styles and the North American Champion Roderick Strong. Highlights of the match include: Styles throwing Strong into Nakamura; Strong monkey flipping Styles into a running knee by Nakamura; and Nakamura kicking Strong off Style's shoulders. In the end, Styles hits the Phenomenal Forearm on Nakamura. However, Strong throws Styles out of the ring and pins Nakamura to get the win. I thought this was a pretty good match to watch.
Winner: Roderick Strong (1 for 4)

The next match is for the NXT Championship as Pete Dunne challenges Adam Cole (Bay Bay!) Both guys are carrying injuries from the night before, which slows down their offense. Dunne goes for a moonsault but Cole gets his knees up then hits the Last Shot but it only gets 2. Later on, Dunne hits the Bitter End but Cole kicks out at 2. After some back and forth, Dunne goes for another Bitter End but Cole manages to reverse it into a Panama Sunrise. He then hits another Last Shot to the back of the head to get the win. I thought this was a really enjoyable match.
Winner: Adam Cole (2 for 5)

Next is for the Universal Championship as Daniel Bryan challenges "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. Bryan starts at a tremendous pace, hitting 2 running dropkicks before Wyatt responds with a clothesline. Wyatt goes on to press home his advantage. Bryan avoids a Sister Abigail to hit a running knee off the apron and make a comeback. Bryan hits a running knee but it only gets 2. In the end, Wyatt pins him with the Mandible Claw to get the win...? Erm, ok. Anyway, the match was pretty good but last time I checked, the Mandible Claw is not used to pin someone. Also, stop fucking using the red light. I hate it.
Winner: Bray Wyatt (3 for 6)

We now get our 2nd Survivor Series Elimination Match with Team RAW (Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet and Kevin Owens) taking on Team Smackdown (Roman Reigns, Shorty G, King Baron Corbin, Ali and Braun Strowman) and Team NXT (Tomasso Ciampa, Walter, Matt Riddle, Keith Lee and Damien Priest). Walter is the first to be eliminated thanks to a Claymore Kick by McIntyre, which pissed me and the crowd off. Shorty G gets eliminated after a frog splash by Owens, who then gets eliminated thanks to a hanging DDT by Ciampa. Orton eliminates Priest with a RKO but Riddle rolls him up and eliminates him. Orton thanks Riddle by hitting him with a RKO and Corbin takes advantage and pins Riddle to eliminate him. Strowman gets counted out after a Claymore Kick by McIntyre and Ricochet gets eliminated thanks to an End of Days by Corbin. Corbin has an argument with Ali and this gives Rollins the opportunity to eliminate Ali with the Blackout. McIntyre is eliminated thanks to a Spear by Rollins. He then gets into an argument with Rollins, who goes on to hit a Superman punch followed by a Spear. Ciampa then pins Corbin to eliminate him. Rollins and Reigns team up Rollins eliminates Ciampa with another Blackout. Lee then eliminates Rollins with a Jackhammer, leaving him and Reigns. They go on to have some very close falls before Reigns hits a Spear to get the win. The match was generally good. However, I'm pissed off that Walter was the first to be eliminated. He is the United Kingdom Champion and he has been booked as almost undefeatable. So, I wasn't happy with him having getting less than 3 minutes.
Winner: Roman Reigns (4 for 7)

The penultimate match has Brock Lesnar gracing us with his presence and defending his WWE Championship against Rey Mysterio in a no disqualification match. Lesnar throws Mysterio round like a rag doll before Mysterio's son Dominic runs in to try to throw in the towel. When Lesnar refuses, Mysterio low blows him then teams up with his son to take out Lesnar. Despite this, Lesnar recovers and German suplexes Dominic and F-5's Mysterio to get the win. The match was only 7 minutes but I quite enjoyed most of it.
Winner: Brock Lesnar (5 for 8)

The main event is a triple threat between the RAW Women's Champion "The Man" Becky Lynch, Smackdown Women's Champion Bayley and NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler. Highlights include: Baszler stamping on Bayley's elbow; Lynch hitting Bex-ploders to her opponents; and Bayley hitting Belly-to-Bayley on Baszler. After Baszler sends Lynch onto the announce table, she goes on to get Bayley to submit to the Kirifuda Clutch and get the win. Afterwards, Lynch sends Baszler through the German announce table.

I was slightly disappointed in this match. There were some good spots but it was a lot of 1-on-1 action, despite it being a triple threat match. Also, it seemed to go at a very slow pace until the few last minutes.
Winner: Shayna Baszler (5 for 9)

With the exception of the main event and a couple of booking decisions, I generally liked Survivor Series. With NXT winning most of their matches, I thought this could lead somewhere but, with the exception of Seth Rollins' heel turn, it looks like that it hasn't. We'll now see how the rest of the year goes.

Thursday, 26 September 2019

WWE Clash of Champions 2019 Review

WWE Clash of Champions 2019 took place on Sunday 15th September at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. With 11 matches on the card and every main roster Championship being defended, how many new Champions will we see? Let's take a look.

There were 2 matches on the Kick Off Show and the first was for the Cruiserweight Championship as Humberto Carillo and Lince Dorado challenge Drew Gulak in a Triple Threat Match. The match stats at a fast pace until Carillo manages to get Gulak by himself. Later on, Gulak focuses on the mid section of Dorado. In the end, Carillo hits Dorado with an Aztec Press. However, Gulak throws Carillo into the ring post and he pins Dorado to get the win. The ending went slightly wrong as Dorado didn't have his shoulders down properly to begin with. Otherwise, it was a fun match to watch.
Winner: Drew Gulak (1 for 1)

The second match is for the United States Championship as Cedric Alexander challenges AJ Styles. As soon as the bell rings, Alexander goes 100 mph at Styles. Styles recovers and hits a brain buster onto the ring apron and then hits a Styles Clash onto the floor. Alexander does make a comeback but it wasn't enough as Styles hits a Phenomenal Forearm followed by a Styles Clash to get the win. Afterwards, Styles celebrates by beating the fuck out of Alexander with help from his buddies, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. I was quite surprised that this match was on the Kick Off Show. However, I thought it was a good match.
Winner: AJ Styles (2 for 2)

The first match of the show was for the RAW Tag Team Championship as Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler challenge Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman. Ziggler and Roode struggle to deal with Strowman at the beginning but later on, they get the advantage after Ziggler hits Rollins with a DDT to the floor. Rollins hits a falcon arrow on Ziggler, giving him the chance to tag in Strowman. In the end, Strowman accidentally knocks Roode into Rollins and is then sent out of the ring by Ziggler. Roode hits Rollins with the Glorious DDT to get the win. This was a decent match to start the show.
Winners: Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler (3for 3)

The next match is for the Smackdown Women's Championship as Charlotte Flair challenges Bayley. Charlotte hits a big boot as soon as the bell rings to get a close near fall. Charlotte overwhelms Bayley, sending her into the barricade and hitting moves such as another big boot. With Bayley in the corner, the referee gets Charlotte back. This gives Bayley the chance to expose the bottom turnbuckle and goes on to throw Charlotte into it and get the pin. The match was shorter than I thought it would be but I quite liked the ending.
Winner: Bayley (4 for 4)

We now get The Revival challenging The New Day for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. Dash Wilder clotheslines Big E off the apron to get the advantage. Eventually, Big E is able to tag in Xavier Woods but he re-injures his knee and The Revival hit Big E with the Shatter Machine. This gives The Revival the chance to team up on Woods. They hit Woods with another Shatter Machine then Dawson gets him to submit to an inverted Figure Four, giving The Revival the win. I thought this was quite a good match between the two teams.
Winners: The Revival (4 for 5)

Next is our third Tag Team Championship match as Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville challenge Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross for the Women's Tag Team Championship. The match gets disrupted when 24/7 Champion R-Truth runs into the ring, chased by a few wrestlers. When they leaves, Rose and Deville get the advantage, wearing down Bliss. Rose and Bliss punch each other down, and Bliss manages to tag in Cross. In the end, Cross hits Rose with a hanging neckbreaker to get her team the win. I thought this was a good match.
Winners: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross (4 for 6)

We now get the Intercontinental Championship match as Hollywood Miz challenges Shinsuke Nakamura. During the match, Sami Zayn is on the microphone praising Nakamura and Miz responds by throwing the microphone up the ramp. Zayn distracts Miz long enough to get the advantage and he keeps him with knee strikes. Miz gets back into it and focuses on Nakamura's left knee. Miz manages to put Nakamura in the Figure Four but he gets to the ropes. Miz avoids the Kinsasha and hits the Skull Crushing Finale but Zayn stops the referee from making the count. Miz goes after him but Nakamura knees him then hits the Kinsasha to get the win. I thought this was a decent match.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (4 for 7)

Next is our second Women's Championship match as Sasha Banks challenges "The Man" Becky Lynch. Lynch starts by slapping Banks and slamming her head continuously onto the mat. Banks pulls Lynch off the turnbuckle and kicks her numerous times in the corner to get the advantage. Lynch makes a comeback but Banks get her in the Bank Statement. After both ladies try to get their opponent to submit, Sasha uses a steel chair to hit Lynch but she kicks out. When Banks tries again, the referee grabs it off her. Lynch goes on to use but she accidentally hits the referee. The fight then goes into the crowd and then back into the ring when Lynch beats the fuck out of Banks with a chair  After other officials intervene, it's announced that Lynch has been disqualified. I quite liked the match and I thought the ending was a good one as it continued the feud.
Winner: Sasha Banks (4 for 8)

We now get Randy Orton challenging Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship. Orton blindsides Kingston with an elbow, giving him the advantage. He goes on to brtualise Kingston, sulpexing him multiple times onto the crowd barrier and the German announce table. Kingston makes a comeback and goes for the Trouble in Paradise but Orton reverses it into a backbreaker. Later on, Orton hits a RKO but Kingston manages to get his foot on the rope. In the end, Orton misses a punt kick and Kingston hits the Trouble in Paradise to get the win. It was a little slow paced at the beginning but I quite enjoyed the match.
Winner: Kofi Kingston (5 for 9)

The penultimate match is No Disqualification Match between Roman Reigns and Erick Rowan. Highlights of the match include: them fighting in the crowd, Rowan running Reigns down with a running crossbody; Reigns hitting Rowan with the steel steps followed by hitting a Superman punch; Rowan powerbombing Reigns through the announce table; and Reigns hitting Rowan with a camera crane by the entrance. Reigns goes to spear Rowan and he is stopped by a big boot by a returning Luke Harper. Harper and Rowan then team up to take out Reigns and Rowan hits a Iron Claw to get the win. I thought this was a good match.
Winner: Erick Rowan (5 for 10)

The main event is for the Universal Championship as Braun Strowman challenges Seth Rollins.  Both guys try to end the match early but to no avail. Strowman starts throwing Rollins round and running him down with shoulder charges. Rollins starts to roll out of the ring at every opportunity and he goes on to send Strowman flying over the German announce table. Strowman goes for a Running Powerslam but Rollins manages to apply a sleeper. He then goes on to hit 3 Curb Stomps but Strowman keeps on kicking out. Rollins then hits a Pedigree follwed by a fourth Curb Stomp to get the win. Afterwards, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt surprises Rollins by the entrance and attacks him with a Sister Abigail and a Mandible Claw. The match was short but I really enjoyed it.
Winner: Seth Rollins (6 for 11)

I quite enjoyed Clash of Champions. All of the matches were quite good and at times it was fun to watch. My problem is where they seem to be heading. With Brock Lesnar getting involved with Kofi Kingston, it seems that they want to go back to having a part time Champion and I think that is the wrong direction to go.

Tuesday, 23 July 2019

WWE Extreme Rules 2019 Review

WWE Extreme Rules 2019 took place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. There are some decent matches on the card so let's take a look.

There were 2 matches on the Kick Off Show and the first one was Shinsuke Nakamura challenging Finn Balor  for the Intercontinental Championship. The match starts at a fast pace going back and forth. Nakamura tries to apply an armbar then keeps Balor with a facelock. Balor hits a few dropkicks followed by an elbow to the back of the neck for 2. Balor goes for the Coup de Grace but misses and Nakamura hits a Kinshasa to get the win and become the new Intercontinental Champion. This was a good match although I would have loved for it to be given a bit more time.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (0 for 1)

The second match on the Kick Off Show was Tony Nese challenging Drew Gulak for the Cruiserweight Championship. Gulak immediately hits Nese with a dropkick but Nese quickly gets back into it. Nese goes for the Running Nese but Gulak stops it with an elbow. Despite Nese hitting a 450 splash, it was not enough as Gulak hits a powerbomb followed by the Cyclone Crash to get the win. It was short but it was a good match.
Winner: Drew Gulak (1 for 2)

We start Extreme Rules with "The Best in the World" Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre taking on Roman Reigns and The Undertaker. After Shane helps McIntyre send Reigns to the outside, Undertaker goes after Shane with a chair. McIntyre and Shane go on to wear down Reigns. Reigns avoids a shoulder charge in the corner by McIntyre, giving him the chance to tag in Undertaker. Undertaker goes on to try to powerbomb Shane through the announce table but Elias comes in and hits Undertaker with a guitar. When Reigns attacks Elias, he gets hit with a Claymore by McIntyre. After McIntyre hits Undertaker with another Claymore, Shane elbow drops him through the announce table then a Coast to Coast. Undertaker recovers and hits Shane then Elias with chokeslams. Reigns spears McIntyre then Undertaker hits Shane with a Tombstone Piledriver to get the win. This match was better than I thought it would be. My only issue is that, even though Shane took the pin, he will still be booked like he was a God.
Winners: The Undertaker and Roman Reigns (2 for 3)

The next match is for the RAW Tag Team Championship as The Usos challenge The Revival. The match goes to the outside and Scott Dawson clotheslines Jey Uso then, with the help of Dash Wilder, send him into the crowd barrier. Jey eventually manages to tag in his brother Jimmy. After a couple of near falls, The Revival hit Jimmy with Shatter Machine to get the win. This was a good match between the two teams.
Winners: The Revival (2 for 4)

Next is Aleister Black taking on Cesaro. Black goes for Black Mask immediately but Cesaro avoids it. When Black gets out of Cesaro's Neutraliser, Cesaro responds by doing Black's sit down taunt. The match goes back and forth with Cesaro hitting a beautiful springboard diving uppercut. Black focuses his attack on Cesaro's left knee with kicks and a knee bar. Black goes on to hit the Black Mask to get the win. I enjoyed this match as it gave both guys the chance to show their technical ability and that made Black look good.
Winner: Aleister Black (3 for 5)

We now get Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss challenging Bayley  for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. Nikki and Alexa use the numbers game to their advantage after Alexa pushes Bayley off the apron onto the steel steps. After a few minutes, Bayley manages to recover and takes out Nikki with a suicide dive then maanges to get both of them in a submission move at the same time. Nikki and Alexa try to do aerial moves but Bayley stops them and goes on to hit Nikki with a Macho Man elbow drop to get the win. I thought this match was a fun one to watch although I was surprised that Alexa didn't turn on Nikki afterwards.
Winner: Bayley (4 for 6)

Next is a Last Man Standing match between Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman.  Lashley attacks Strowman when he gets to the end to the ring, which turns out to be a bad idea as Strowman throws him all over the place. During the match they go into the crowd then Lashley crashes Strowman through the crowd barrier followed by pinning him under the German announce table. Later on, Strowman sends Lashley flying into the Japanese announcers and they fight among the international announcers based near the ring. In the end, Strowman powerslams Lashley off a ledge through a conveniently placed box. The referee, even though he can't see them, starts counting and Strowman suddenly crashes through the side. The referee goes on to count Lashley out, making Strowman the winner. I was not looking forward to this one but I really enjoyed it. The wrestling was basic but it had a lot of pretty cool spots.
Winner: Braun Strowman (4 for 7)

We now get our second Tag Team Championship match as "The New" Daniel Bryan and Rowan take on The New Day and Heavy Machinery  in a triple threat match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. Bryan and Rowan get to focus their attack on Xavier Woods while keeping Heavy Machinery out of the match. With Big E out, Xavier tags in Otis and Heavy Machinery get a couple of near falls. Heavy Machinery hit the Compacter on Big E but Woods breaks up the pin. Later on, Bryan applies the LeBell Lock on Big E but he manages to get under the ropes. In the end, Big E catches Bryan in midair and he and Woods then hit the Midnight Hour to get the win. This was a really good match and I really liked the ending.
Winners: The New Day (4 for 8)

After we get a Paul Heyman promo, our next match is AJ Styles challenging Ricochet for the United States Championship. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson attack Ricochet before the bell rings, giving Styles an early advantage in the match. Ricochet briefly recovers before a distraction by Gallows gives styles the chance to get back the momentum. Ricochet hits a few high flying moves to start his comeback and also hits a crossbody to Gallows and Anderson on the outside. In the end, Ricochet deals with interference from Anderson but Gallows hits him while he was on the top turnbuckle. Styles takes advantage and hits a Styles Clash from the top rope to get the win. I thought this was a really fun match to watch.
Winner: AJ Styles (4 for 9)

The next match is Kevin Owens taking on Dolph Ziggler. Owens doesn't fuck around and hits a Stunner almost immediately to get the win. Er..well, that was pointless.
Winner: Kevin Owens (5 for 10)

The penultimate match is for the WWE Championship as Samoa Joe challenges Kofi Kingston. Kofi hits a dropkick but Joe immediately responds with a clothesline and gets the advantage. Joe goes to attck Kofi's right hand and comes close to winning a couple of times. Kofi then hits Trouble in Paradise out of nowhere to get the win. Whilst the ending seemed like it came out of nowhere, I thought it was a good match.
Winner: Kofi Kingston (6 for 11)

The main event is Seth Rollins and "The Man" Becky Lynch taking on Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans in a Extreme Rules Tag Team Match for the RAW Women's and Universal Championships. Highlights include: Rollins and Lynch using kendo sticks; Corbin hitting Rollins with a DDT onto a chair; Lynch hitting Evans with a Bex-ploder onto a chair; and a double chokeslam by Evans and Corbin. Corbin hits the End of Days on Lynch and Rollins goes apeshit and beats the fuck out of him with a kendo stick and a chair. He then goes on to hit 3 Curb Stomps to get the win. The match was pretty...

Oh, wait a minute. Brock Lesnar comes out and hits 2 German suplexes on Rollins. He then cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase and hits a F5 to get the win. Er..yay?

In terms of the main event, I thought it was pretty decent. However, it seemed weird that you would have a Extreme Rules match yet you were limited on who can pin who. As for Corbin attacking Lynch, I was ok with it. However, the fact that it led to the ending does look like a case of fridging to me.
Winners: Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch (7 for 12)

As for the cash in, it seemed that WWE want to go back to having a part time Universal Champion. I didn't want Brock to be successful. However, the last two cash-ins have been complete cluster fucks so I feel that we needed a successful men's cash in.
Winner: Brock Lesnar (N/A)

I thought that most of Extreme Rules was pretty good. However, I felt that the main event could have been better and I'm not happy that we are going back to a part time Champion. Summerslam is next and I'm interested to see what they will do there.