Reviewing every WWE PPV in order from worst to best

[Skyefire]

Vince was always so high on Corbin. I think part of the reason why he won this match was because they were setting him up to feud with Rollins for the Universal Championship. I do think it was a good idea to give the match and the win to someone who they were going to push, but Corbin was a bad choice. I think a good choice could have been Samoa Joe. AJ Styles would have been a good opponent as well.

Finn Balor going on so late was largely because it was an outdoor show and they wanted it to be dark outside when he did his big entrance. That was much the same as with Undertaker vs Wyatt at WrestleMania 31. As a fan of Balor's and the Demon, it was great to see that entrance on the grand stage of WrestleMania.

I liked the Cena-Elias segment. It was a fun surprise to see Cena come out. There was no way WWE was going to swerve a whole match by replacing one of the competitors. Also the next night on Raw Elias came out to do another concert and stated that if anyone interrupted him they were a dead man and thus brought out The Undertaker. This was actually the first WrestleMania without The Undertaker since 2000.

 

[Jarf]

Vince was always so high on Corbin. I think part of the reason why he won this match was because they were setting him up to feud with Rollins for the Universal Championship. I do think it was a good idea to give the match and the win to someone who they were going to push, but Corbin was a bad choice. I think a good choice could have been Samoa Joe. AJ Styles would have been a good opponent as well.

Finn Balor going on so late was largely because it was an outdoor show and they wanted it to be dark outside when he did his big entrance. That was much the same as with Undertaker vs Wyatt at WrestleMania 31. As a fan of Balor's and the Demon, it was great to see that entrance on the grand stage of WrestleMania.

I liked the Cena-Elias segment. It was a fun surprise to see Cena come out. There was no way WWE was going to swerve a whole match by replacing one of the competitors. Also the next night on Raw Elias came out to do another concert and stated that if anyone interrupted him they were a dead man and thus brought out The Undertaker. This was actually the first WrestleMania without The Undertaker since 2000.

I think giving a new guy the rub would be good. But I think if it's your last match, you should get to choose your last opponent. Especially if your name is Kurt Freaking Angle.

And it was dark by the time they got to the 4th match, they still could've done the demon entrance early.

 

[Jarf]

Elimination Chamber 2015

Match 1: WWE Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber Match - The New Day (c) def. The Prime Time Players, Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, The Ascension, The Lucha Dragons & Los Matadores (23:40)

I believe this is the only other Tag Chamber I have to watch. Gotta say… this was nowhere near as good as the other two. Matter of fact, I would say I was very unimpressed, except for Cesaro, who was the MVP of this match. Now, if you don't remember, all 3 members of New Day were allowed to be in the match for doing Kane's bidding on Raw, so they already have a huge advantage going into it. The match starts with The Acension and the Lucha Dragons. There's nothing interesting in their time here aside from Sin Cara hitting Viktor with a senton from the top of a pod. Kalisto is on the top of New Day's pod forever and twice they pull on his leg. Thankfully the first team out of their pod is Cesaro and Kidd. Cesaro uppercuts the hell out of Kalisto whos still on the pod by the way, and suplexes him to the mat, followed by a springboard elbow drop from Kidd. But Sin Cara saves them from being eliminated. Kalisto begins to scale the wall of the Chamber and climb to the center of the roof like Spider-Man. In that time, the Matadores are next to come out and El Torito who was standing on their pod the whole time, leaps off to hit a hurricanrana on Cesaro, who manages to make it look good because he’s just that great. Kalisto falls onto a crowd of people below him from the roof and then a minute later, El Torito tries the same thing, but gets caught by The Ascension, who throw into (insert Matador here). The Matadores are the first team eliminated by The Ascension. Ascension eliminate The Dragons a moment later. The second to last team to come out is the Prime Time Players, who eliminate The Ascension in a matter of moments. So CesarKidd have a solid few minutes alone with PTP, apart from the really goofy spot where Cesaro gutwrenches Darren's waist and Titus, instead of saving his partner decides to powerbomb Cesaro, who still has his arms hooked around Darren. And then as if they needed anymore of an advantage, The New Day come out last and they go after their remaining challengers, but all 3 good suplexed at the same time. Cesaro swings Kofi around into the kick by Kidd. But Darren Young like an idiot, rolls Cesaro up from behind and eliminates them, basically handicapping his team against 3 people. Good job stupid. So predictably, New Day has the advantage and they make full use of it. They trap Titus’ head between the links of the chain and plan to finish off Darren with a double midnight hour. But Darren slides off E. and knocks Kofi and Woods off the ropes. E. runs at Young, who sidesteps, causing Big E. to ram his shoulder into the ring post and his head into the pod. And that gives PTP some hope. Titus boots Woods and throws Kofi into the wall several times. Darren hits Kofi with a Gutcheck, but Kofi manages to kick out. Darren is take out of the equation when Big E. catches him and belly to bellies him on the steel grate. Titus catches Woods, but Big E. chop blocks his leg, dropping him to a knee, allowing Kofi to hit Trouble in Paradise, and all of New Day dogpile on Titus to retain.

My Rating: **3/4

Match 2: Divas Championship Triple Threat Match - Nikki Bella (c) def. Paige & Naomi (6:04)

Such a staunch difference from how the Women's division would look a few months later. Naomi had to carry it to be honest. I can't say they did anything worth noting aside from their tower of doom spot. That really became Vince's favorite thing in multiple person matches. Naomi hooks Paige's waist on the top rope and Nikki comes in to powerbomb Naomi, so Naomi German suplexes Paige. Nikki picks Paige up the Rack Attack but Naomi throws her ass in her face. Paige attacks an electric chair, and Naomi counters it into a reverse rana. That takes Paige out but Nikki grabs Naomi and hits the Rack Attack to pin her.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 3: Kevin Owens def. John Cena (19:57)

Ahhhh yeah, here we go. Its wild that i get another Cena/Owens classic so close to another one. Fantastic match as expected. KO takes control of the match after he spikes Cena with a DDT. And the next several minutes aren't much to talk about, just KO grounding Cena. Owens has Cena scouted on just about everything it seems. But Cena starts hitting his 5 moves of doom, but Owens slides off his shoulders on the AA attempt, and throws Cena off the ropes and hits a Pop-Up Powerbomb for a 2 count. The turning point of the match comes with a missed moonsault by Owens. Cena dodged and gets up to hit an AA for a 2 count. Both men recover and Owens hits Cena with a superkick before raises his hand and tells Cena he can't see him. Cena grabs Owens’ leg and brings him down to the mat into the STF. But Owens manages to reach the ropes and shoves Cena off. Cena runs back into Owens who picks him up for the AA. KO hits the not package piledriver for a 2 count. Owens and Cena start exchanging blows with KO getting the better, until Cena ducks under a punch, and springboards into a stunner to Owens. Really miss when he did that, it was cool. Cena gets a 2 count from that and slaps the mat in frustration, which was nice to see some difference, and really showed how much Cena wanted to beat KO. Cena puts Owens on the top rope and this historically never goes well for his opponent. Owens hits a fisherman buster for a close 2 count. Cena comes back up with a hard, pissed off clothesline, and then another. He goes for a 3rd, but Owens ducks under it and hits another Pop-Up Powerbomb. One. Two. THREE!!! Kevin Owens has upset John Cena after a great match! I don't think it's anywhere near their Battleground match. But still loved it! Can't wait for their MITB match!

My Rating: ****1/4

Match 4: Neville def. Bo Dallas (8:54)

Just a basic match. Only put here to fill time. I will say that Bo showed a vicious streak in this match. I guess it was kind of always there. Neville starts off strong out of the gate and hits a moonsault on Bo to the outside. Bo takes after Neville misses a kick and Bo yanks him by his trunks to the outside. Bo starts grounding him and putting me to sleep. Neville starts to comeback after Bo strikes the turnbuckle with his face after Neville dodged. Bo eventually hits a spiking DDT to Neville, before going for the Dudley Dog, but Neville shoves him off and Bo runs into an enziguri. Neville places Bo in position for the Red Arrow and pins him to win.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 5: Elimination Chamber Match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship - Ryback def. Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry, R-Truth & King Barrett (25:10)

You look up disaster in the dictionary, you'll find a picture of this match. It's kinda funny for a little bit but then it just becomes a drag to watch. The match starts with Barrett and Ziggler. There's nothing interesting that happens here. R-Truth is the first man to be released and Barrett attacks him in his pod before he can even get out. Just trying to control the match as much as he can. But the match completely goes to hell when Barrett slams Dolph into Mark Henry's pod, breaking the glass and allowing him to escape. The referee tells him to stay where he is like he's a dog and Mark visibly has no clue what to do. He ends up saying fuck it and gets out to go after Barrett. This is less than a minute before somebody else is supposed to be released. It ends up being Ryback. And this match is just fucked now. Mark stands behind Barrett like a pervert waiting to pounce at one point. Barrett sets Dolph up for a Bullhammer Elbow, but Dolph superkicks him followed by a scissors kick from Truth to eliminate him. So now all 4 men in the match have a high noon showdown, trying to figure out what the hell to do. Sheamus is about to released next but the referees for one reason or another, can't seem to get his pod open. Dolph, Ryback and Truth start teaming up on Henry. Ryback bowls down Ziggler and Truth, before he picks Truth up for a Shell Shock to eliminate him. Dolph and Ryback start going at it now with Henry still down. Ryback hits a stalling suplex before going for the Meat Hook clothesline, but Dolph catches him with a superkick. Sheamus smirks before he picks up his cross necklace he was using to jam the door shut. If he were really smart, he would've waited until there was one guy left. This I know was done to keep Sheamus in his pod until he was originally supposed to be released. Sheamus throws Dolph into his pod, clotheslines Ryback out of the ring to the steel grate (not the protective padding). Before he runs into Henry, who gives him a fight, but Sheamus eliminates him with a Brogue Kick. The next couple minutes, you have Sheamus and Dolph having a mini match, continuing their feud. Dolph nearly pins him with a small package. Ryback comes in and picks Dolph up for a powerbomb probably, but Dolph lands on his feet behind Ryback and superkicks him. Dolph ducks under a Brogue Kick and hits a Famouser. But then Sheamus just gets on his feet and Brogues Dolph anyway so it doesn't matter. Now its down to Ryback and Sheamus. And boy, this ending is as boring as you can imagine. They drag this ending out. Sheamus is the one mainly in control here. He hits a Celtic Cross and a rolling senton on the steel outside. But Ryback catches Sheamus in a powerbomb position out of a Brogue Kick. He slams Sheamus into the chain link before throwing him back into the ring. Then picks him up before hitting a Shell Shock to win. What a disaster of a match. Daniel Bryan, the man who had to vacate the title in the first place, presents him with the championship.

My Rating: *1/2

Main Event: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match - Dean Ambrose def. Seth Rollins (c) via DQ (21:49)

I enjoyed this match. Thought it was really good. But man, what a dumb finish. If I were Ambrose, I would've socked this referee on purpose that time. Earlier in the night, Triple H banned Roman Reigns from being at ringside during the match. Notice how I say during the match. Seth of course has Kane and J&J down there with him. Early in the match, you have Ambrose taking it to Rollins. Then a brief distraction from J&J allows Seth to take advantage. It's your typical WWE match early. It's after a double running crossbody attempt from both men that Ambrose starts to come back. Dean hits a clothesline in the corner and then goes for a bulldog, but J&J save Seth by pulling him to the outside. So then Dean dives through the ropes into Seth, sending both men over the announce table. There's a few near falls, Seth tries to put his foot on the ropes and the referee catches him. It's an even matchup now. Dean is able to avoid the first buckle bomb, and clotheslines Seth out of the ring and landing out there with him. Seth ducks a clothesline and picks Dean up powerbomb position and hurls him into the barricade. Seth throws Dean back inside where he connects with a springboard knee. Seth connects with a couple splashes in the corner, Dean follows him to the other side to hit a clothesline before running back to the other, as Seth chases him. Seth hits the turnbuckle as Dean sidestepped and hits a tornado DDT from the second rope. Dean goes for the rebound clothesline, but Seth was ready and sends Dean out of the ring before hitting a suicide dive on him. He throws Dean back inside and buckle bombs him, only for Ambrose to come out of the corner with a clothesline. Kane and J&J get on the apron, only for Dean to knock all 3 of them off and drop an elbow into them. Dean attempts another elbow drop to Seth, but Seth pulls the referee in Dean's way. So there's no referee and Rollins tries to hit the Pedigree. But Dean counters and slingshots Seth, who lands on his feet on the middle rope. Seth donkey kicks Dean and goes up to attempt a phoenix splash that Dean rolls out of the way of. Dean hits Seth with Dirty Deeds, a new referee runs out and counts the pinfall… Wait really? Dean won?! The pinfall was counted, he's handed the championship. How can this possibly go wrong? Well here's how. The first referee comes back in the ring and starts telling the second referee, ya know, the one who actually called for the bell. Next thing you know, Dean Ambrose is announced again as the winner… But by disqualification. Okay so let me get this straight… the referee who actually made the match ending call let the one who didn't decide what the final decision was. Not only that, this referee fully acknowledged that Seth pulled him into Dean's way. Thats the reason he disqualified him. But knowing that the only way a title can change hands is by pin or submission, you would think he would let this decision stand and let Seth lose his title. Yeah, this ending is dumb as hell. Such a roundabout way to have Seth keep the title. So then the Authority start ganging up on Dean. Then Roman's music hits and he cuts Seth off at the path with a superman punch, grabs the title and helps Dean fend off Kane and J&J. Roman hands Ambrose the title, and he holds it over his head again before him and Roman leave through the crowd with the title in Dean's hands.

My Rating: ***3/4

Cagematch Rating: 6.55

My Rating: 5/10

Yeah um… this was not it. I can see why there was no Chamber PPV in 2016. The Tag Title Chamber was just bleh. But the IC Chamber was abysmal. Cena vs Owens was a fantastic match and the main thing that everyone should remember. Seth and Dean had a satisfying main event with a dumb, unsatisfying ending.

 

[Jarf]

Night of Champions 2010

Match 1: Intercontinental Championship Match - Dolph Ziggler (c) def. Kofi Kingston (12:41)

An okay opener, but with these guys, it could have been better. There is an added stipulation that if Dolph is counted out or DQ'd, he'll lose the title because Vickie Guerrero keeps interfering in all their matches. Kofi within a minute tries to hit Trouble in Paradise, which sends Dolph outside to try and regroup. Dolph soon takes the advantage and begins wearing down Kofi, and soon Kofi begins making his come back and starts to show an aggressive streak after the weeks of having Vickie cost him the title. Kofi hits an SOS, but so close to the ropes, Dolph is able to lay his foot against the bottom rope. Dolph rolls to the outside and Kofi just goes out and attacks him there. Kofi goes for another SOS inside and Dolph counters into a sleeper hold, which nearly puts Kofi out, but Kingston manages to grab the ropes. As Dolph is jaw jacking the referee, Vickie gets ready to slap Kofi, but Dolph tells her no, that he's got this. And to his credit, he did, because Kofi tries a TIP, but Dolph dodged it and Kofi hits the ropes, allowing Dolph to put the match away with a Zig Zag.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 2: Big Show def. CM Punk (4:43)

CM Punk is so good at pissing people off that he got his own hometown to boo him. Seriously, this event took place in Chicago and he was cheered heavily on his way out. And Vince apparently knew that he would because Punk immediately grabs a microphone and starts to tear the Chicago residents a new asshole. He got them to cheer the Big Show. The Big Show! Big Show knocks Punk over the ropes with a heavy chop to the chest, and Punk is able to fight back by booting Show in the face as he's getting back in the ring and knees him in the face. Punk counts on Show getting counted out but as Show gets in, Punk immediately goes on the attack again. His fatal error was trying to springboard and getting speared out of the air. Big Show KOs Punk a moment later and pins him.

My Rating: **

Match 3: United States Championship Match - Daniel Bryan def. The Miz (c) (12:29)

You talk about your underrated gems. This was a great match for being as short as it is. I don't know if they were expecting it to steal the show or not. And the fact Bryan was able to get a good match out of The Miz at this point proved he was the real deal. Bryan gets off to a good start. He really has Miz scrambling in the early going, wrestling him to the mat and hitting him with a flying dropkick. But Miz drops Bryan's shoulder across the top rope and starts hammering away and going right after that shoulder. But midway through the match, Bryan begins to comeback and hits a nice suicide dive to the outside. He throws Miz back inside and hits a dropkick from the top rope, and starts putting the boots to him. Literally, he kicks the hell out of The Miz's chest, head, whatever. He takes Miz up the top rope, but Miz shoves him off and Bryan gets crotched on the top rope, allowing Miz to hit a clothesline off the ropes. Miz goes for the Skull Crushing Finale, but Bryan rolls through and nearly pins Miz. Bryan catches Miz's arms and tries to get him down in the Lebell Lock. But Alex Riley gets on the apron to distract Bryan. Bryan looks like he's gonna knock him, but Miz does it instead as Bryan had dodged his sneak attack and rolls him up from behind. Miz kicks out and pulls Bryan to the outside. Riley tries to attack Bryan, but Bryan sidesteps and sends Riley into the ring post. As Bryan is getting back in the ring, Miz tries to small package pin him, but Bryan kicks out and Miz begins to lose his temper and lays into him with his fists. Bryan pulls Miz down to the mat with him and locks in the Lebell Lock. After a while of being in the hold, Miz taps out. Bryan wins!

My Rating: ****

Match 4: Women's & Divas Championship Unification Lumberjill Match - Michelle McCool (W) def. Melina (D) (6:32)

Okay, these next few matches are really suck. I’m actually a little surprised this match isn't ever talked about as far as bad matches go. Melina and Michelle are perfectly okay, they have an average at best matchup, but these lumberjacks (or lumberjills) are absolutely lost. Michelle for whatever reason slaps Rosa Mendes. Don't know why. Legit added nothing to the match. And then later on that same side of the ring, Michelle is outside and none of the lumberjills even touch her. And not for lack of being heels. Like they act as if they're going to do something, but just stand there. Later in the match, Michelle is outside again and the lumberjills start ganging up on her and Rosa Mendes tries to punch one of the other girls for some reason. I don't know what the fuck is going on but I'm sure as hell laughing about it. In the finish, the lumberjills start fighting outside as Layla gets in and tries to sneak attack Melina. Melina knocks her out, but Michelle crawls back in and big boots Melina to win this terrible, but hilarious match.

My Rating: 1/2*

Match 5: World Heavyweight Championship No Holds Barred Match - Kane (c) def. The Undertaker (18:27)

This match though. This just sucked. Both these guys were really showing their age here. It got off to a good start. Undertaker came out first charged up the entrance way at Kane and pushed him back up the stage, and threw him off the stage into one of the support pillars. I always like when people take advantage of how the stage is set. But thats where the excitement ends. Because then it starts feeling very sluggish. They don't really do anything No Holds Barredsey. Kane dominates a lot of this match and they contribute it to Undertaker still being weak from his coma. The only thing that made it feel like a No DQ Match was that they fought in the crowd, and even then they didn't really do anything. Undertaker eventually starts to make a comeback and hits a very weak Chokeslam, before he picks Kane up for a Tombstone, and gets reversed as Kane hits his own Tombstone and pins Taker 1, 2, 3.

My Rating: **

Match 6: WWE Tag Team Championship Tag Team Turmoil Match - Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre def. The Hart Dynasty (c), Evan Bourne & Mark Henry, The Usos & Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov (11:41)

This match on paper doesn't sound awful. But it is. Its really boring. Like the last match. Also we're down to 2 teams in like 6 minutes. You could tell they didn't give a shit about this match. The match begins with The Usos and the Hart Dynasty and shockingly, the Harts are eliminated first! Tyson has an Uso in a Sharpshooter and the other Uso hits him with a superkick and then they're out… Wait, the champs are out first? Holy crap. Next team is Santino and Kozlov, and they last about a minute. Santino gets all his shit in and prepares the Cobra, but Tamina gets on the apron and acts as a distraction, imitating the cobra, and an Uso hits him with a samoan drop to eliminate them. Then the two names they pulled out of the hat, Evan Bourne and Mark Henry come out and make quick work of the Usos. And then the final team, Cody and Drew make their way out. Can you imagine if they were to team today, they'd be untouchable. This is the only match that matters, like aside from the Hart Dynasty, the other teams didn’t matter. They keep Bourne away from Henry for a few minutes until Bourne gets the hot tag to Mark. Mark comes in and completely turns the tables and manhandles them. He tags Bourne back in for a double team and it ends up being a big mistake. Bourne climbs onto Henry's shoulders for the shooting star, but McIntyre comes in and saves Cody. Drew and Mark spill to the outside and in the ring, Cody hits Bourne with a Cross Rhodes to take the gold home.

My Rating: *1/2

Main Event: WWE Championship 6-Pack Elimination Match - Randy Orton def. Sheamus (c), John Cena, Wade Barrett, Edge & Chris Jericho (21:27)

Ahhh finally, a good match. Is it the greatest match ever? No. But I'll gladly take it after this terrible event. Less than 2 minutes into the match, Chris Jericho is eliminated after an RKO. And the action just stops and everyone just watches as Chris takes the walk of shame back to the locker room. I felt like putting on the sad Hulk music as its happening. But then Cena, Sheamus, Orton and Edge all surround Barrett, who's done nothing but make enemies for months and all beat him up. Edge and Sheamus start going at it with Cena and Orton. Barrett comes back in and starts giving orders to Edge and Sheamus like he's their leader. Big mistake there. Edge and Sheamus form a temporary alliance and that falls apart. Edge gets the better of Sheamus and hits him with a Spear. Orton comes in and tries to RKO Edge, who shoves him into a fireman's carry by Cena. Orton slides behind him and Edge goes to Spear Cena, who dodges and causes him to hit Orton. Cena picks Edge up, and Edge avoids the AA, only to bounce off the ropes and get caught. Edge is eliminated. Cena fights with Wade Barrett and gets the better of him before Sheamus comes back in and Cena nearly makes him tap out to the STF. Sheamus rolls back outside before the Nexus all run down and surround the ring, Cena fights them off the apron until Barrett comes in and hits a Wasteland on Cena and takes him out of the match. Barrett orders the Nexus to attack Orton, and they swarm him before tossing him back into the ring. Orton looks around the ring and it looks like he's screwed. But Cena grabs a steel chair and uses it on the Nexus. Slater comes in and gets RKO'd. Barrett takes a backbreaker and then an RKO and he is gone. And as Orton gets up, he doesn't see Sheamus sliding in the ring behind him. As soon as Orton turns around, he eats a Brogue Kick. Sheamus covers him and Orton kicks out. Sheamus picks Orton back up and throws him over his shoulders for the Razor's Edge, but Orton escapes and RKOs Sheamus before he pins him to take the gold. Orton wins. Not exactly memorable but a good match to end the event.

My Rating: ***1/2

Cagematch Rating: 6.55

My Rating: 5/10

Like the last one, this has no business being above SummerSlam ‘23. Like what? There's absolutely no way this was a better show than that one. This PPV has two matches worth watching and that is it. Everything else is just a stinker.

 

[Jarf]

TLC 2015

Match 1: WWE Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match - The New Day (Kofi & Big E.) (c) def. The Usos & The Lucha Dragons (17:45)

Oh my good lord what a roller coaster. An insane, amazing way to start the night. These guys killed their bodies for this match. And impressively, they don't slow down even a little bit. The action does not stop for anything! Within 2 minutes, we got Kalisto and Kofi springboarding onto either side of a standing ladder. Kalisto and Sin Cara hit double moonsaults to the New Day outside and The Usos are holding one ladder and I thought that they were gonna try and dive over holding the ladder. They throw it outside, but E. Kalisto and Sin Cara all catch it, so the Usos just both dive into them. New Day set Jey in the corner and press the ladder right up against him. Jimmy comes in and gets caught by Big E, who belly to bellies him into the ladder right in his brother's face. The Lucha Dragons come in and split a ladder upside down. Big E. pushes them into a corner, so Kalisto goes to the top rope and seated sentons over the ladder to E. Sin Cara closes the ladder and goes up, before he falls with the ladder over Kofi’s chest! And then what's even more insane than that. The Usos are basically crushed, laying underneath a ladder and Sin Cara dives over the ropes to hit a senton on the ladder. Kalisto traps Big E. underneath a ladder in the ring, before he starts to climb up, so E. starts to lift ladder up from the ground! Sin Cara comes in to add weight on the other side, but that doesn’t stop him. Big E. presses the ladder until Sin falls off one side and Kalisto is diagonal in the air. The Usos come and Kalisto jumps off into them, but they catch and tilt-a-whirl slam him. Usos take E. out with a double superkick and double dropkicking a ladder into him. Jey throws a Kofi sized ladder in the ring and it looks like he is about to hit a splash onto the ladder. But Kofi gets up, only to wind up, hanging upside down from the turnbuckle. Jey holds the mini ladder in front of Kofi so Jimmy can throw that ass back into the ladder. Usos start climbing but the Lucha Dragons stop them. They throw Jey out and lay the small ladder over Jimmy's body so Sin Cara can monkey flip Kalisto into the ladder! Kofi comes back and momentarily takes the Luchas out before he bridges a ladder between the ropes and a standing ladder in the ring, but it doesn't exactly go as planned as Kalisto hurricanranas Kofi, who's head hits the bridged ladder he set up. But shortly The Usos come back in and go at it with Kalisto and Sin. And this is the spot that had everyone talking. This is one of the most insane ladder spots ever. From the top of the ladder, Kalisto hits a Salida del Sol to Jey through the bridged ladder! Jaws are on the floor! Sin Cara then hits a springboard senton to Jey's poor corpse! Big E. finally makes his way back in to crash the party. He grabs the mini ladder outside only for Jimmy to dropkick it into his face. E. is laid out with a ladder on top of him and Jimmy decides that's he's going to splash him like that from the top rope! Like these guys are killing themselves for this match! The only one left standing (somehow) is Kalisto, who begins to make the climb, but Xavier Woods gets off the commentary desk and throws his trombone at Kalisto's back, which allows Kofi to come in, yank him off the ladder and take down the titles for himself. WHAT A MATCH! This was an insane thing to witness. Every spot in this match was a highlight!

My Rating: ****1/2

Match 2: Rusev def. Ryback (7:58)

One of the only stains on the show to be honest. Especially with this dumb angle they were running. So this match came together because Ryback accidentally hurt her thigh or something? Ryback starts off in the driver's seat, but Rusev drops Ryback throat first into the top rope and starts to control the pace. The very slow, boring pace. Ryback starts to come back and goes for the Meat Hook, but Rusev rolls out of the ring and Ryback gets shoved into the hands of Lana who pretends to be hurt, but was a trick and Rusev machka kicks him before throwing him back inside. Rusev goes for the Accolade, but Ryback doesn't let him and stands up with Rusev on his shoulders. But Rusev slides off and kicks Ryback in the skull before he applies the Accolade and Ryback looks very bored and the referee calls it.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 3: United States Championship Chairs Match - Alberto Del Rio (c) def. Jack Swagger (11:18)

I know you guys are probably rolling your eyes now. But believe it or not, this match was pretty decent. I thought it was paced well, it didn't feel drawn out or anything. No stupid convoluted angles either. They each went out to grab a chair immediately, because why not? I also thought they made pretty good use out of the chairs around them. Swagger goes for the splash in the corner thing he does and Del Rio jammed a chair into him as he came down. When Del Rio was going for a kick to the face, Swagger threw a chair at him. Del Rio gets frustrated at some point and just starts throwing chairs on top of Swagger. Swagger traps Del Rio's ankle between a chair and applies the Ankle Lock… Not sure it has the desired effect the way he thinks it does but I'll give them an A for trying. Swagger goes for the Gutwrench Powerbomb, but Del Rio counters it into a Cross Armbreaker over the ropes. Del Rio positions Swagger in a way that he's seated on the middle rope around the ring post. Del Rio slams a chair into his back before positions a bunch underneath him. Then does the stupid double stomp corner move I hated. You don't have to hold yourself up for it Jack! Just let go! Anyway, Del Rio wins.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 4: Tag Team Elimination Tables Match - The Wyatt Family def. The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer & Rhyno (12:26)

I still can't believe this is a real match that happened. I love it but I still can't believe it happened. I thought it was really cool how Team EC-DUB had a table with every member of the Wyatts names on it. Rowan is the first man eliminated from the match. He gets a moment to take on every member of the opposing team. They botch the elimination because he was supposed to get pushed off the ropes through the table. But thats not what happens. So they gotta set up a new table. But hey, good excuse for the Dudleys to use the 3D. A table gets set up in the corner and Rhyno gets ready to Gore Bray through it. But Bray throws his body at him and Harper boots Rhyno through the table. The Dudleys hit a Doomsday Device on Harper which was cool. D-Von sets a table up in the ring. But Bray gets up like a spider behind him and uranagis him through the table. So now we're down to Bubba and Dreamer, and they light Strowman up with kendo sticks and bury him underneath a couple tables. But Dreamer is taken out next as Harper suicide dives into him and Dreamer falls through a table set up against the barricade. Bubba Ray takes a stand and holds his own against Harper and Bray. Bubba brings lighter fluid into the ring, coats a table in it and teases a flaming table spot and I said “no way.” And sure enough my suspicion is confirmed. Harper superkicks Bubba before Strowman comes back in and chokeslams Bubba through the table. The Wyatts win.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 5: Intercontinental Championship Match - Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens (c) (9:53)

This is nothing but a 10 minute fight between these guys. There is a moment where Owens grounds Ambrose. But it's brief. Other than that, it's a fast paced, very good match. Shame it only got 10 minutes because they showed signs of good chemistry. Dean comes out of the gates hot, Owens takes the advantage. But then Ambrose starts to rush him and sends him out of the ring and hits a suicide dive. Owens hits a fallaway slam into the barricade and throws Dean over it. The referee begins to count Ambrose out and gets to 9 before Dean rolls back in. Owens immediately goes for a running senton, but Dean gets his knees up. This match starts to get rolling. Dean hits an elbow drop, Owens throws Dean with a german suplex. KO gets Dean on his shoulders on the middle rope and hits a rolling senton! Owens goes to finish him with a Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Dean lands behind him and hits the Dirty Deeds. He covers Owens, who reaches out with a finger on the ropes. Owens hits a superkick, but Ambrose reverses it into a frankensteiner, hooking Kevin's legs to pin him for the win. Not a banger, but very good for 10 minutes.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 6: Divas Championship Match - Charlotte (c) def. Paige (10:38)

A really weird match. Like Paige was clearly a heel, but they were setting up Charlotte to be a heel and for that, the match suffers. You have Charlotte working like a heel, and Paige working like a babyface. It's really weird. Charlotte has Ric in her corner and her first move in the match is to reach out for a handshake, but blindsides Paige. Several times during the match, Ric acts as a distraction and Charlotte takes advantage of it. She's really cocky and wears Paige down. Charlotte starts to work over Paige's legs and tries to wrap them around the ring post, but Paige fights back and pulls Charlotte face first into the ring post. Paige locks in the Figure Four on Charlotte. But Charlotte escapes and manages to hit a crossbody. Paige hits a Cradle DDT near the ropes, and it allows Ric to pull her off the pin. Charlotte retreats to the corner as the referee is distracted by Paige and Ric. Charlotte pulls Paige in fact first into the exposed turnbuckle and pins her 1, 2, 3. The babyface heel defeats the heel babyface? I’m so confused.

My Rating: **3/4

Main Event: WWE World Heavyweight Championship TLC Match - Sheamus (c) def. Roman Reigns (23:55)

A pretty overlooked match because of the stupid booking and build up to it. But I thought that this was a really great match. It is a little slow paced at times as it feels like they're just trying to get to 24 minutes. The bell rings and Sheamus charges Roman, who meets him with a hard right. The match resembles a brawl early on and that is just fine with me. Sheamus throws a ladder at Roman's face. Even though no one popped for it, that probably hurt like hell. Roman bridges a ladder between the announce table and the apron, and that doesn’t come into play until much later. They fight up the entrance way, Roman throws Sheamus into chairs and slams one into him. Sheamus back body drops Roman through a table and suplexes him through another. Sheamus hits a celtic cross through a table off the steel steps. Roman picks Sheamus up from the mat and drops him on the ladder. The crowd is chanting “Lets go Cena!” “Cena sucks!” They don't care about this match. And what makes this match impressive is that they got them to care midway through because soon they start actually popping for them. Roman picks Sheamus up on his shoulders on the apron samoan drops him through the bridged ladder! Roman goes up the ladder and gets brought down by Sheamus, who gets Superman punched. Roman goes back up and Sheamus pushes the ladder over and Roman takes a nasty fall. Sheamus starts to climb up the ladder and Roman recovers to climb up the opposite side. Roman superman punches Sheamus off the ladder through a table leaning on the ropes and the crowd flips out over this. Now they're into it! Now they care! Roman begins the climb again, but he's pulled back down by Rusev and Del Rio. They gang up on Roman and Rusev holds him in place as Del Rio pulls Sheamus back up to his feet Rusev tries to make Roman watch as Sheamus climbs. But Roman escapes, drops Rusev with a superman punch and gives one to Del Rio. Roman runs back inside and yanks Sheamus down, but Sheamus was ready and Brogue Kicks Roman out of the ring. He climbs the ladder again and pulls the championship down. Del Rio and Rusev throw him on their shoulders to celebrate. But Roman Spears them both. And this ending is actually great.

My Rating: ****

Roman grabs a steel chair and wails both Rusev and Del Rio, before he turns his attention to Sheamus and takes his anger out on him. A bunch of referees, along with Stephanie and Triple H. HHH tells Roman to calm down and gets in to help Sheamus. Roman eyes down HHH as if he's locking onto a target. He superman punches HHH before he picks the chair back and goes to town on him. Stephanie is screaming at Roman. Reigns powerbombs HHH onto one of the announce tables, which doesn't break, but then drops an elbow on him through the table. Stephanie calls for help for HHH as Roman begins to leave. And the crowd actually starts to chant “Thank you Roman.” They're saying “thank you Roman.” I couldn't believe what I was hearing. And just as one more fuck you, as they're carrying HHH out, Roman comes back hits a Spear on him. And now he's done. But for a few weeks, Vince managed to get Roman Reigns cheered… how did you fuck this up, old man?

Cagematch Rating: 6.55

My Rating: 9/10

Yeah I'm going to say it. This was a great show. The build up? Awful. Piss poor. The show itself though was awesome. The only two matches I didn't care for was Rusev/Ryback and the Divas Title Match. Everything else though ranged from decent to balls to the wall amazing. And with a main event that defied expectations, it was a great way to cap off the show.

Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Skyefire]

Owens and Ambrose would go on to have a really good Last Man Standing Match at the Royal Rumble the next month.

 

[Jarf]

Clash of Champions 2016

Match 1: Raw Tag Team Championship Match - The New Day (Kofi & Big E.) (c) def. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (6:45)

A nice, quick way to start the night. Gallows and Anderson immediately go on the attack. Screw the feeling out process. Before Big E. can even get his jacket off, Gallows takes him out with a clothesline and Anderson does the same to Kofi. Karl assaults Kofi as Gallows boots Woods on the outside for fun. They dominate Kofi until E. gets back on the apron to receive the tag, and he goes ham on the challengers. But after a brief come back from E, Luke and Karl are back in the driver's seat. Kofi gets tagged back in and he springboards into the ring, only for Anderson to catch him for a spinebuster. The bald dads seem to have an answer for everything the New Day throws at them. But Gallows is clotheslined out of the ring by E. Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise on Karl, followed by a Big Ending from E. 1, 2… Gallows pulls E out of the ring. E stuns Gallows and Kofi dives over the ropes on him. Woods hits Anderson with a trombone behind the referee's back and New Day finishes it with a Midnight Hour.

My Rating: ***

Match 2: Cruiserweight Championship Match - TJ Perkins (c) def. Brian Kendrick (10:31)

The cruiserweights were back and they were… Bland. But honestly, a decent match here that was better than their HIAC Match. TJ is in control and tries to put Kendrick in the knee bar early. But Kendrick traps him between the apron curtain and the apron himself. He grounds TJ for a bit before TJ begins to pick up the pace. TJ goes for a 450 splash, but misses it, allowing Kendrick to attempt the Captain's Hook. TJ escapes though, only for Kendrick to give him a Sliced Bread No. 2. Brian manages to look in the Captain's Hook, but Perkins rolls over his back to escape. TJ manages to roll through Kendrick’s legs and hooking his waist, bringing him down in the Knee Bar to make him tap out. TJ retains and before he can really celebrate, Kendrick gets back up and shakes his hand… but it a trick and he headbutts TJ before leaving.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 3: Match 7 in the Best of 7 Series - Cesaro vs. Sheamus ended in a no contest (16:36)

I remember being pissed at the way this match ended. The stipulation for winning the best of 7 would get the winner a title shot. So nobody wins at the end and after such a good match too! This was match of the evening for me. Cesaro of course had a bad back and Sheamus exploited that to perfection. Sheamus takes control of the match after pulling Cesaro off the top rope. And Cesaro lands on his back across the rope. Sheamus grounds him for a bit before Cesaro starts to come back with uppercuts. He drops Sheamus along the second rope and one guy in the crowd says “619.” And I don't know if this is the first time Cesaro ever did it or not, but he actually does hit a 619. Cesaro makes this big comeback. Crossbody, springboard uppercut. But Sheamus catches him and drops Cesaro's bad back over his knee three times. Cesaro runs at Sheamus, who catches and spins him around his head into a Razor's Edge position. And just throws Cesaro up and back down across his knee. Sheamus goes for a Brogue Kick, but Cesaro drops to his back and rolls Sheamus onto his back before standing up and swinging him. Cesaro then locks in the Sharpshooter. But Sheamus reaches the ropes and Cesaro is forced to let go. He boots Sheamus to the outside before he dives through the ropes. Sheamus unfortunately fails to catch him and Cesaro lands head fucking first on the floor. And if Cesaro was a normal human being, he would've been dead. His neck would've snapped! Cesaro somehow gets up after that and throws Sheamus back in the ring. But he gets Brogue Kicked as soon as he gets back in. Sheamus falls into the cover, but Cesaro kicked out. And Sheamus cannot believe it. You see he starts getting frustrated and turns around to meet Cesaro's foot and a big clothesline followed by a Neutralizer. But Sheamus kicks out of that too. Cesaro winds up on the floor again and Sheamus climbs the top rope, coming off with an attempted clothesline, only to get uppercut out of the air. The match ends after Cesaro clotheslines Sheamus over the barricade and the referee decides to call off the match. Which is… lame. Thats a lame finish. Cesaro says he can't feel his arm and several referees come out to pick Sheamus off the floor. Sheamus can't even walk, probably kayfabe concussed. The crowd has started to boo and I can't say I blame them. You always hate to see a great match end this way. The crowd is chanting “let them fight!”

My Rating: ****

Match 4: Chris Jericho def. Sami Zayn (15:22)

A pretty good match here. Even if its only here to give them something to do. Jericho starts the match jaw jacking at Sami, who comes out of the gate and lays fists into Jericho. Sami has Jericho's number at every turn early on. But Jericho runs back in the ring, pushing the referee into Sami before he hits his springboard dropkick off the apron. Jericho grounds Zayn in these few minutes. But Zayn begins making a comeback midway through and dives on Jericho outside before throwing him back inside to hit a crossbody. Jericho catches Zayn with an enzuguri and goes for a Lionsault, but Zayn gets his knees up. Jericho rolls outside, only to get hit with Zayn's DDT through the ring post. Zayn throws Jericho in the corner and goes for the Helluva Kick, only to get kicked in the face by Jericho for it. Chris goes up and comes off the ropes, only for Zayn to catch him and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb. Jericho kicks out, but Zayn picks him back up and gets hit with a Codebreaker and Jericho wins it. Very sudden finish.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 5: Raw Women's Championship Triple Threat Match - Charlotte (c) def. Bayley & Sasha Banks (15:28)

I must admit, I wasn't impressed. I was actually a little disappointed. Its a decent match but I know these ladies can do better. Sasha goes right for Charlotte, but it doesn't take long for Bayley and Sasha to start going at it. I think my main problem with this match is that even though its a triple threat, Charlotte feels front and center. We hardly see Bayley and Sasha fighting at all. Which, knowing Vince he probably laid it out that way. Dana Brooke makes herself a factor by throwing Bayley into the barricade so Charlotte can pinpoint Sasha's bad back. Bayley comes back in with a crossbody on both women and starts building momentum, only for Sasha to snuff it out. Sasha takes Bayley out outside with a meteora. And Charlotte chops her and throws her back inside, slams her back into her knee before attempting to put her in the Figure 4. But Sasha kicks her off into Bayley who hits her with a Bayley to Belly. Bayley covers her, but Sasha pushes Bayley on her back to stack her into a pin. Charlotte hits a double moonsault on them off the top rope (not on the floor surprisingly). Charlotte hits a Natural Selection on Bayley before she turns back to Sasha, who gives her a backstabber and into the Bank Statement. Charlotte is saved by Dana, who pulls her out of the ring. Bayley comes back in and rolls Sasha up from behind. She goes to the second rope, and Charlotte shoves her off. Charlotte gets put in the Bank Statement again, and Sasha comes Dana away. The match is saved by Bayley, but then winds up getting put into the Bank Statement too. Charlotte breaks it up and takes Sasha out and throws her into the barricade. Charlotte comes back in and Bayley rolls her up in a small package. Charlotte kicks out and Bayley flips over her in, trying for a sunset flip pin, but can't quite get her down. As Sasha gets back onto the apron, Charlotte reaches for her, and grabs her by the hair. Bayley gets up, holding on to Charlotte by one leg. Bayley tries to clothesline her, but Charlotte ducks and boots Bayley into Sasha, and then boots her again to knock her down. And thats what Charlotte pins Bayley with. A big boot. I thought this was such a shitty finish. Very disappointing match.

My Rating: ***

Match 6: United States Championship Match - Roman Reigns def. Rusev (c) (17:07)

Wow… this nearly put me to sleep. Its almost hard to believe they ended up stealing the show at the next Raw PPV because they were caught red handed on this one. This was a very boring match. Roman comes out strong at first, but Rusev takes the advantage quickly and goes after Roman's ribs, trying to damage them, ground him and make me take a nap. But the large canine eventually starts to come back and brings the fight to Rusev. Rusev goes for a Machka kick but Roman superman punches him. Roman goes for a Spear out of the corner and Rusev now hits the Machka Kick. He covers Reigns, who kicks out and Rusev flips the fuck out even though he's never beaten anyone with that. He stomps Roman's back 3 times before trying to lock in the Accolade. But Roman slides out behind him and bounces off the ropes for a Spear. He covers Rusev, but the referee is pulled out by Lana, because this match isn't long enough already. The referee ejects Lana. Roman hits 2 dropkicks to the head on the outside before he throws Rusev back and goes for the Spear, but he gets kicked in the face again. And now Rusev is able to get the Accolade on. Roman is in the hold for a solid minute until he starts to stand up, with Rusev on his shoulders. Rusev lets go and delivers a few headbutts to Roman, who falls back into the corner. Rusev screams before he charges right into a Spear from Roman. And thats it. Boring as hell. Thank fuck their Cell Match was much better. Speaking of their Cell Match, Meltzer rated that 3.25 stars, while he rated this one, 3.5. I think that he is out of his mind.

My Rating: **1/2

Main Event: Universal Championship Match - Kevin Owens (c) def. Seth Rollins (25:07)

We end our night with a good main event, even if there was a period where it was way too slow. In the first several minutes, Seth has Kevin scouted at every single turn. Owens manages to avoid the Pedigree early, but Seth is on his game. The turning point occurs when Owens kicks Seth in the knee and starts going after that, knowing all about Seth's knee that forced him to vacate the WWE Title. Owens starts to wear Seth down while talking some shit. And Kevin Owens is GREAT at shit talk. Owens wears down and grounds Seth into the mat. Seth turns KO inside out with a clothesline and starts to make his comeback. Seth takes the announce tables apart and comes back into the ring to meet Owens. The match is more even now and the pace has picked up. Seth tries for a superplex off the top rope, but Owens grabs him and into a fireman's carry. KO comes off the ropes with a gutbuster. So Seth has bad ribs to go along with his bad knee. Owens takes Rollins outside and superkicks him back on to the table. Owens gets on the table beside and the referee is telling him to get down. Owens looks at him and goes “suck it.” Owens goes for a running senton onto Seth through the table. Spoiler alert, it didn't work. Owens goes through the table alone. Seth dodged it. He takes KO back in the ring and hits him with a frog splash. Thats when Chris Jericho runs out and distracts Seth for a moment. Seth knocks him off before he turns back around to KO, who goes for the not package piledriver, but Seth escapes and hits him with a knee, tells him to “suck it.” Then Pedigrees Owens. He covers KO too close to the ropes and Jericho places his foot on the rope. Owens goes for the Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Seth sails over Owens into the referee. Seth knocks Jericho off the apron and KO superkicks him before sending him off the ropes for the Powerbomb, but Seth reverses it into another Pedigree. Seth has Owens down for at least a 10 count and Jericho runs into the ring to stomp Seth out and help KO back up. Seth knocks Jericho out of the ring and takes both him and then Owens out with a suicide dive. Seth throws Owens back in the ring and Stephanie comes out, sending a new referee out. But the new ref tries to wake up the first ref and Seth yells at him to get in the ring. He turns back around and runs into a Pop-Up Powerbomb from KO and our new referee counts the pin. Owens and Jericho celebrate together just before the show ends.

My Rating: ***3/4

Cagematch Rating: 6.55

My Rating: 6.5/10

The Cagematch rating aligns with how I feel about this show honestly. Its mostly good. No outright terrible matches. Just a few that went too long, were kinda boring and just don't live up to expectations. But there is also something to be said when the best match of the show ends with no winner.

 

[Jarf]

TLC 2011

Match 1: United States Championship Match - Zack Ryder def. Dolph Ziggler (c) (10:25)

Starting the night off strong. Zack Ryder was so incredibly over at the time that he just had to win. Dolph tries to psyche Zack out by taking him to the mat, but Ryder comes back with a clothesline out of the ring followed by a dive out there. But after a DDT on the apron, Dolph takes the advantage and ground Ryder and gives him the heart stopper elbow drops. Dolph takes his time to do sit ups. Clearly not taking Zack seriously. But Dolph sits Ryder on the top rope, and slaps him, but Ryder retaliates with a slap and a missile dropkick from the middle rope. He hits a Broski Boot in the corner and covers Dolph. But Vickie Guerrero places his foot on the bottom rope. The referee sends Vickie to the back and the matches continues with both men getting near falls off rollups. Ryder avoids one Famouser and rolls Dolph up. But Dolph kicks out and then hits the Famouser which he kicks out of. Dolph later kicks out of a head scissors off the top rope. Dolph goes a splash in the corner, but Zack gets his knees up, and he comes out of the corner with a leaping legdrop and pins Dolph to win the US Title. Things were looking good for Zack… And then at the Royal Rumble, he's in a wheelchair getting beat up by Kane…

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 2: WWE Tag Team Championship Match - AirBoom (c) def. Primo & Epico (7:39)

An okay match, but to be honest, it feels like a regular TV match. Kofi and Bourne have the early advantage, but Primo and Epico ground and wear Bourne down after they catch him off a springboard crossbody and throw him through the ropes. They keep Evan away from Kofi, but Bourne is able to close the gap after a pop-up meteora. He tags in Kofi, who springboards inside and leaps so high for a clothesline. Kofi turns the match around completely. Evan takes out Primo leaping to the outside from the top rope, while Kofi dodges a clothesline from Epico, who bounces off the ropes and runs into a Trouble in Paradise. Champs retain.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 3: Tables Match - Randy Orton def. Wade Barrett (10:16)

Boring match. Its fine for what it is, but not worth talking about much. Barrett gets busted open as Orton slams a table in his face. The referee starts getting his gloves on and I say “don't you dare.” The two fight on stage for a bit before they come back to the ring and piss around for a while. Barrett tries to Wasteland him through a table on the outside, but Orton slides off his shoulders in the ring and hits the draping DDT. He goes for the RKO, but is shoved off and gets a black hole slam. Barrett drops a table on Orton's body and sets it back up, setting Orton on top before he climbs the middle rope and comes off so Orton can RKO him through the table.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 4: Divas Championship Match - Beth Phoenix (c) def. Kelly Kelly (5:10)

And now, we get to the portion of the show where I tapped out halfway through the show. Thats right. It took me 2 sittings to watch this whole event. Because for fuck's sake, these next 4 matches fucking blew. Beth dominates Kelly the whole match as she should. It felt like a match put here to fill time. Kelly is able to roll through Beth's legs out of a Glam Slam for a pin, but Beth gets Kelly up on her shoulders and drops her face first behind her… and thats it. Moving on now.

My Rating: *1/4

Match 5: Sledgehammer Ladder Match - Triple H def. Kevin Nash (18:11)

You know the product is suffering when you see THIS on a PPV card from 2011. Even back then, i looked at this and I said “really?” I'd like to know how they got Kevin Nash at 52 years old to agree to a ladder match more than anything. But anyway, what they did was they hung a sledgehammer above the ring. And the objective isn't to win if you get it. Matter of fact, its optional to get the hammer. Which is already a dumb stipulation. I like how Kevin Nash didn't bother going for it most of the match. He said “nope, not with my quads.” About a few minutes in, HHH starts going after said quads with a ladder. And also uses a Figure 4 with the ladder. But Nash irish whips HHH into a ladder set up in the corner. Nash uses the ladders around the ring to punish HHH. And he tries to put HHH through an announce table with a Jackknife, but HHH back drops him onto the table. HHH goes for the hammer, but Nash pulls him off the ladder and drops him before setting a table up in the ring. HHH grabs a ladder and knocks it into Nash's terrible, terrible legs. HHH sets the ladder back up and goes up. Nash gets up and begins climbing the other side. HHH slams the hammer into his head twice and Nash falls off through the table. HHH takes the hammer off and brings it back down into a fallen Nash. Hitting him multiple times in different parts of the body. HHH hits a Pedigree but doesn't cover him. He grabs the hammer again and Nash sets on his knees, and flashes a too sweet. But HHH says “suck it” and knocks Nash out with the hammer one more time before pinning him. I actually thought the ending was good, but everything leading up to it was such a chore.

My Rating: *3/4

Match 6: Sheamus def. Jack Swagger (5:57)

This match was made after the Tables Match by Teddy Long, who called it “an early Christmas present.” If I got Sheamus vs Jack Swagger for Christmas, I'd return it myself. Matter of fact, I'd return Jack Swagger vs anyone if I got it for Christmas. This match, as expected, sucks. This crowd does not give a fuck, and I'm right there with ‘em. Sheamus beats up Swagger for a bit before Swagger takes control, blah blah blah. Sheamus goes for a Brogue Kick and Swagger ducks and takes his ankle out. He locks in the Ankle Lock and Sheamus rolls through Swagger's legs to escape. Sheamus waits for Swagger to charge him. Jack went for the ankle again, but Sheamus dodged it and hits the Brogue Kick. Now, after the worst Christmas gift ever, lets move on.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 7: World Heavyweight Championship Chairs Match - Big Show def. Mark Henry (c) (5:30)

And somehow, even after the last 3 matches, none of them were the worst match on the show. This was so dumb. Bland. Boring. Big Show goes outside and throws nearly every chair at ringside inside the ring. He holds one in his hand as he gets back in. Henry has plenty of time to grab one, but instead, he goes outside, grabs his title and fakes leaving. Big Show chases after him and Henry goes to hit him with the title but Big Show hits him with a chair repeatedly. Henry knees him in the gut and slams his fist into the steel steps. Henry starts to beat on Show and damage his hand, but it literally doesn't matter because Big Show still knocks him out with a punch, in addition to taking forever to pin Henry. Big Show wins. But as Show is celebrating, Henry takes his knee out with a chair and DDTs him into a pile of chairs. Henry is leaving, but Daniel Bryan's music hits…

My Rating: *

Match 8: World Heavyweight Championship Match - Daniel Bryan def. Big Show (c) (0:08)

He runs into the ring holding the briefcase. He cashes in and quickly covers Big Show to become the new World Heavyweight Champion! Woooo! I mean, I know he had the briefcase, but still back then, i wasn't sure he was going to cash in successfully. Bryan is the champ! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Match 9: Intercontinental Championship Match - Cody Rhodes (c) def. Booker T (7:17)

I thought this match was good to be honest. It was no classic but I think its a good way for Booker T to go out, putting over a future star. Cody jumped Booker twice during the night and Booker is pissed about it. He comes out of the gate backing Cody into a corner with chops. Booker beats the shit out of Cody and reddens his chest with chops. Booker bring the fight outside where Cody shoves him into the ring post and then the barricade, and tells the referee to count. Booker gets back inside and Cody grinds him into the mat and. But Booker hits a big spinebuster to turn the tide. He hits Cody with a side kick before he hits the Spinarooni. He goes for a Scissors Kick, but Cody dodges it and goes for a clothesline, Booker ducks and goes for another kick, that Cody ducks under before he hits the disaster kick. Cody covers Booker, who kicks out. Cody almost can't believe but another disaster kick does Booker in and Cody retains.

My Rating: ***1/4

Main Event: WWE Championship Triple Threat TLC Match - CM Punk (c) def. The Miz & Alberto Del Rio (18:50)

So then we get to the main event, which just had to deliver and man did it deliver. This was a really fun, really great match to watch. Punk attacks both men, but Miz and Alberto start working together against Punk. Ricardo Rodriguez played just as big a part in this match, and the first occurrence was when Miz and Del Rio were each going out to grab a weapon. Ricardo distracted Miz and allowed Alberto to wail him with a chair. Del Rio sets a table up on the outside which comes into play later. Punk takes both men out on the outside and comes back inside to climb a ladder. But Ricardo involves himself again. He stops Punk and handcuffs him to the middle pieces between the ladder. Del Rio comes back inside and superkicks Punk before going up to grab the title. Punk kicks the middle piece out to free himself and knocks the ladder over. Punk takes Del Rio. Miz comes back in and Punk sets him on the top rope, both men are standing on the ropes from either side of the turnbuckles and Del Rio comes back in, enziguris Punk off the ropes and through the table he set up earlier. Del Rio traps Miz's arm between a ladder and applies a Cross Armbreaker, then does the same to Punk except with a chair. Del Rio has utilized every part of “TLC”. He goes inside to climb the ladder, but Miz and Punk come back in and tip it over, crotching Del Rio on the top rope. As Punk and Miz start to fight in the ring, Ricardo climbs the ladder and attempts to pull the title down, but Punk and Miz take him out, tipping the ladder and causing him to go through a table outside. Punk goes shoulder first into the ring post and Miz takes the chance to handcuff Punk to the middle turnbuckle, because Punk still the cuffs on. Miz taunts Punk, who can't reach him with his hand, but kicks Miz in the head. Del Rio makes it back in the ring at the same time Miz recovers from the kick. As Miz and Del Rio ascend the ladder, Punk starts to unscrew the turnbuckle and frees himself! Punk knocks both off the ladder, kicking Del Rio in the head. Miz tries to stop him again but Punk hits him with a GTS before he goes back up and brings the title down. Punk retains in his first PPV defense during what would be a long reign.

My Rating: ****

Cagematch Rating: 6.56

My Rating: 4.5/10

Yeah no. No. This was garbage. The opener was good. Great main event. Decent IC Title match towards the end. But there is also a LONG stretch in the middle of the show of terrible matches. This event sucked. Plain and simple. Its biggest strength I'd say was that Zack Ryder, Daniel Bryan and CM Punk all walked out with titles. Thats pretty damn cool.

 

[Jarf]

Royal Rumble 1994

Match 1: Tatanka def. Bam Bam Bigelow (8:12)

Starting the night off mild here. Bam Bam turned out to be a replacement for one Ludvig Borga. But I believe he was out with an injury or something. Whatever, I'll gladly take Bam Bam instead. Bigelow tries to splash Tatanka in the corner right away, but Tatanka dodges it and goes right after Bigelow. Tatanka takes the old strike and move approach, but his mistake comes when he goes for a crossbody off the top rope and misses. Then, for whatever reason, he tries to sunset flip Bam Bam onto his back. It doesn't work and Bigelow just drops his ass right on his chest. Bigelow starts to wear Tatanka out, applying the most boring submission hold ever, the bearhug. But Tatanka starts making a comeback after a big powerslam. He starts doing his march around the ring, but Bam Bam gives him an enzuguri to the back of her head and Bigelow mocks the march hilariously, before he starts to go up to the top and attempts a moonsault, but Tatanka dodges it and goes up, coming off with a crossbody to pin Bam Bam.

My Rating: **3/4

Match 2: WWF Tag Team Championship Match - The Quebecers (c) def. Bret & Owen Hart via referee’s decision (16:48)

A significant match when you look back on it. Very well worked match here. Very early on, Bret and Owen look to be the better team. They make quick tags, and outwrestle them. But The Quebecers take control of the match and start wearing Bret down. And they keep him away from Owen for a bit, but not for very long and Bret manages to tag in Owen, who comes in like a house of fire. He locks the Sharpshooter on Jacques, but Pierre saves the match by hitting Owen with a bulldog. They hot shot Owen on the top rope and try to keep him from Bret. But Owen hits them a double dropkick off the ropes and reaches Bret. Bret comes in and takes on both members of the Quebecers. He knocks Pierre out of the ring. Then Owen grabs Jacques from the apron and tells Bret to run the ropes. But Johnny Polo (aka Raven), The Quebecers manager, opens the ropes and Bret falls through them, hurting his knee on the fall. Honestly, Bret should've been counted out here, because he was out there for at least 2 minutes. The Quebecers do some damage to the knee of Bret, as Owen is jaw jacking the referee who is trying to do his job. Owen goes over to Bret with The Quebecers on either side of him. Owen fights with Pierre, distracting him so Jacques can take Polo's golf club to Bret's knee. Owen finally throws Bret back inside. The Quebecers go right after the knee and go to damage it further. Pierre stands on Jacques' shoulders and front flips off, intending to come down on Bret's knee. The whole time, commentary (which is Vince McMahon and Ted DiBiase for some reason), are saying that Bret needs to tag in Owen. And Owen's hand is right there. But Bret opts to try the Sharpshooter, applying it from the mat. But when Bret gets to his feet, he collapses and lets go of the hold. The referee decides to ring the bell and awards the match to the Quebecers. Owen is pissed off. He starts berating Bret, saying “just tag me!” Bret finally gets back up, and Owen kicks his bad knee! The heel turn has finally happened. Owen leaves his brother in pain as EMTs come down to help Bret. Then immediately after this, Owen has an interview with Todd Pettengill, who asks him “why?” And Owen very angrily goes “Why, what? Why, what?!” I don't know why I love that so much. But with that, the heel turn is official. The feud of 1994 can now begin! This match, coupled with the aftermath is the highlight of the night.

My Rating: ***3/4

Match 3: Intercontinental Championship Match - Razor Ramon (c) def. I.R.S. (11:30)

Oh boy, an I.R.S. match. I.R.S. slaps Razor at the start of the match and tries to brawl with Razor. But then, this actually was really funny, Ramon knocks I.R.S. silly with a punch that sends Irwin out of the ring. The angle we see it, Irwin pops back up with a look that reads “oof.” Irwin takes the advantage when he shoves Razor head first in the ring post. Irwin starts to wear down and ground Ramon. Its boring. Razor begins making a comeback and the referee gets squished in the corner and when that happens, they're KO'd. Irwin takes the chance to grab his briefcase, but Razor kicks him in the gut and hits him in the head with it instead. Razor covers I.R.S. with no referee to count it. Razor sets up for the Razor's Edge, but Shawn Michaels runs down and hits Razor with his own Intercontinental Title. Irwin takes forever to cover Ramon and the referee counts the 1, 2, 3. Everyone thinks I.R.S. is the champion, until another referee runs down to explain what happened. As this is happening, IRS is on the second rope, and Razor picks him up for the Razor's Edge and pins him for the 3 count.

My Rating: **

Match 4: WWF Championship Casket Match - Yokozuna (c) def. The Undertaker (14:20)

This match wasn't that bad at first, I think this match could've been good if they just let these guys brawl. Thats what it was early, with Undertaker shaking off what Yoko does. Undertaker misses a leaping clothesline and falls out of the ring. Out there, Yokozuna tries to use a chair, but Undertaker takes it, cracks it over his back and then his head. But Yokozuna gets his hands on some salt and throws it in Taker's face. Yokozuna gets some shots in and he pushes Undertaker into the casket, but Undertaker grabs him by the ankle and escapes. He hits the weakest Chokeslam ever. Doesn't get Yoko up at all. Undertaker is about to win this match, he rolls Yoko to the casket and is about to shut the lid, but then Crush runs down to stop it. And then Kabuki and Genichiro Tenryu. And Bam Bam, and Jeff Jarrett, and The Headshrinkers and Diesel. Basically every heel on the roster runs down to help Yoko. Undertaker is trying to fight off all these guys. It takes about 6 minutes for these guys to beat up this one man. They rolled Taker into the casket twice, but he fights out. Eventually, as they're beating up Taker, a green smoke starts coming from the urn. What that means, I don’t know. Finally, they dump Taker into the casket and shut the lid. Yokozuna retains. They start rolling the casket to the back, but The Undertaker inside the casket is being shown on the tron and he says “blah blah blah. I will not rest in peace.” Then an Undertaker stunt double starts to levitate into the ceiling. I think WWF had a missed opportunity to do something cool out of this. Say, whenever Undertaker comes back, he has a hit list of everyone who attacked him in this match before he gets to Yokozuna. I think that would've been pretty sweet, but turns out Undertaker is more forgiving than we thought cause he doesn't do that.

My Rating: **1/4

Main Event: Royal Rumble Match - Co-Winners, Bret Hart & Lex Luger (55:04)

The only Royal Rumble with 2 winners, and hopefully it stays that way. Even though we know what happens, this feels like an unsatisfying conclusion. I sometimes forget that Lex Luger is actually a Rumble winner. This is also a really boring Rumble too. The match begins with Scott Steiner and Samu. Rick Steiner is number 3 and they eliminate Samu together. Owen Hart comes out at 5 to boos. Now, one would think, that after turning heel on his brother, he would get to have a strong showing. Thats not what happens. The juggernaut of the match, Diesel is number 7 and he eliminates everyone already in the match… including Owen. After a big heel turn, Owen was only in there for 5 minutes, max. Thats unbelievable to me. The first one to give Diesel a challenge was the Macho Man. But he's only in there until Crush comes in 2 spots later. Him and Diesel work together against Savage and eliminate him. Bam Bam comes in at 15 and Mabel comes in at 16 and the ring starts filling up with some meat. Shawn Michaels enters at 18 and the first man he sees is Diesel, who teases turning on Shawn, but they shake hands and it looks like they're gonna work together, but everyone else in the match work together against Diesel to get him out. The next several minutes are uneventful. Everyone works together to get Mabel out after a few more men come in. Lex Luger is number 23, who eliminates Kabuki, who jumped Luger in the back along with Tenryu. Speaking of Tenryu, he comes in right after Kabuki is tossed out. Bret Hart is number 27. He limps down to the ring and right as he gets him, people go after his leg. Like Diesel and Mabel earlier, people start working to eliminate Crush, who was the longest lasting man in the match up to that point. And then immediately, Bret starts punching the shit out of Bam Bam. Marty Jannetty is number 29 and he goes right for Shawn, who fights back and the brief moment they fight feels pretty cool. Finally, we get to number 30 and its none other than… Adam Bomb… Adam Bomb is 30… hmm. Anyway, with the last entrant, the ring still feels pretty full at this point and man oh man, this drags. Adam Bomb is eliminated a few minutes in. Tatanka is thrown out by Bigelow, so Bam Bam gets some payback for having lost to him earlier. Bam Bam is eliminated by Luger shortly after. The final 6 is Bret, Luger, Fatu, HBK, Jannetty and Tenryu. Jannetty gets eliminated by Shawn, Tenryu is eliminated by Bret and Luger. This double elimination is cool. Luger reverses an irish whip from Fatu and Bret reverses one from Michaels. Shawn leap frogs over Fatu, only to back back dropped over by Luger while Bret does the same to Fatu. That leaves us with 2. And they don’t waste anymore time, no dramatic finish as they both go over at the same time. Funny that they don't ever show us their feet hitting at the same time. So referees are trying to determine a winner. One said Luger, the other said Bret. Now I know what WWF were trying to do here. Gauge the crowd’s reaction to each man being declared the winner. And thankfully, Providence cheered Bret louder. Both men are announced as winners, leaving WrestleMania still up in the air.

My Rating: **1/2

Cagematch Rating: 6.56

My Rating: 5/10

I don't really care for this one. The Hart family drama is the main takeaway from this event. All of that was very good. And you can see where Owen was coming from, which is the best kind of heel. But thats about the only good thing on this show. The Casket Match was lame. The Rumble Match itself, incredibly underwhelming. Not worth the watch.

 

[Crocker]

I think you underrated the tag match, I thought it was excellent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Skyefire]

The 1990s. When random heels would gang up on The Undertaker. There was the Buried Alive Match against Mankind and the Casket Match against Michaels. Of course when Undertaker came back his first feud was with the fake Undertaker, then he would go on to get his revenge with Yoko in another Casket Match at Survivor Series with Chuck Norris as special enforcer to prevent any outside interference.

 

[Jarf]

The 1990s. When random heels would gang up on The Undertaker. There was the Buried Alive Match against Mankind and the Casket Match against Michaels. Of course when Undertaker came back his first feud was with the fake Undertaker, then he would go on to get his revenge with Yoko in another Casket Match at Survivor Series with Chuck Norris as special enforcer to prevent any outside interference.

My god, i didn't even think of that. I also remembered the match with Kane when The Nexus helped him for reasons still unclear.

 

[Jarf]

Survivor Series 2020

Match 1: Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match - Team Raw (AJ Styles, Riddle, Keith Lee, Sheamus & Braun Strowman) def. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins, King Corbin & Otis) (18:59)

The night starts off pretty good. Even if it is another lazy Raw v SmackDown PPV. Styles proclaims himself the captain, the only one who really has a problem with it is Braun. Thats the overall difference between the teams. Is that Team Raw worked together while Team SmackDown worked as individuals. Seth Rollins is the first man eliminated. He literally offers himself up for “the greater good.” Whatever that means. Sheamus Brogue Kicks him and eliminates Seth. So now Team SmackDown has to regroup outside. Braun Strowman tags himself in and barrels over Team SmackDown. He tosses Corbin back inside and yells at his team “can we work as a freakin’ team!” Kevin Owens gets tagged in and he's in there with Styles. Owens gets the better of them, and begins handing out Stunners to everyone on Team Raw. But it allows AJ to hit a Phenomenal Forearm on Owens and take him out. Baron Corbin gets in and he hits AJ with an End of Days, but Sheamus breaks up the pin. Corbin drops Sheamus with a Deep Six. He goes for another End of Days on AJ, but AJ lands on his feet and hits a pele kick on Corbin. AJ tags in Riddle, who hits a spinning senton to eliminate Corbin. Otis gets in there and takes on Riddle. Braun Strowman gets in there and the big meaty men slap meat. Braun definitely is stronger but Otis manages to get him on his back, he hits an elbow before he goes up for a Vader Bomb. A brief distraction from Riddle allows Braun to grab Otis onto his shoulder and hit a running powerslam to eliminate him. Jey Uso is all thats left for SmackDown. He comes in and starts handing out superkicks for everyone. He dives on all his opponents outside. He tosses AJ back inside, not seeing Keith Lee tag himself in. He's about to hit a splash on Styles, but he's caught on the shoulders of Lee, and dropped with a sitout powerbomb. Team Raw with the clean sweep.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 2: SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits def. Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi & Xavier) (14:05)

The Street Profits cut a phenomenal promo before the match that got me all hyped up for this match. All four guys were excited and more than ready to get started. The teams were pretty even at the start. But Kofi dives onto Ford outside, but Dawkins dodged it, only to face planted into the floor by Woods. And Woods goes “looks like Profits are down.” I actually liked that joke. New Day start working like they're heels funnily enough. How ironic. They keep Montez away from Dawkins and Kofi taunts Montez as Woods has a hold on him. Holding the red party cup in his hand before kicking it like a football. Montez is able to make it over to Dawkins after a leaping DDT on Kofi. Dawkins comes in and he swings the momentum for his team. Xavier comes out of the corner with a front flip, only for Dawkins to throw him back into a german suplex from Montez. The Profits attempt to hit Woods with the Midnight Hour, but Woods escapes and throws Dawkins into the corner. Montez leaps over them, only for New Day to overwhelm him. And they then they hit the Midnight Hour on him. Back and forth they go. Montez misses a Trouble in Paradise, but later hits a splash from the top rope, but is unable to capitalize due to his ribs New Day went after. The Profits end up winning with a Block Buster on Woods and all 4 men shake hands afterward.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 3: United States Champion Bobby Lashley def. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn (7:46)

Listen, I know Sami Zayn's gimmick was that he was a cowardly schemer. But this was as one sided as you could get. The entire Hurt Business was out there with Lashley. I hardly remember Sami doing anything other than get beat up. And every time he tried to cheat, MVP, Shelton or Cedric would be there to remind him of their presence. Lashley hit his devastating finisher from 2018, a stalling suplex and Zayn fakes being sick and tries to cheat. Sami dodges manage to push Bobby into one of the ring posts and tries to take the pads off a turnbuckle, but Shelton stops him. As Lashley rolls back, Sami sets him up for a Helluva Kick, but Lashley catches him and drops him with a spinebuster. Sami tries to leave, and falls beside MVP and claims he tripped him. Trying to get a DQ victory. The referee holds Lashley back, so MVP grabs Zayn, throwing him back in so Lashley can apply the Hurt Lock, and make Sami tap out.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 4: SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks def. Raw Women's Champion Asuka (13:08)

Best match so far on the card. These guys had wrestled a lot during this year so this match was really telling how much they learned from each other. Personally, I think their Extreme Rules Match was better, but this was great too. Its just a regular wrestling match at the start, they go counter for counter, hold for hold, trying to gain an advantage. Each woman tries to get their signature submission hold on the other, and Corey draws attention to the fact that Asuka remained calm, while Sasha started to panic. Just a little detail I liked. Sasha hits a backstabber on Asuka, and Asuka opts to roll outside to regroup. Sasha all cocky invites Asuka back, holding the ropes open for her. Asuka gets back in the ring and hits the hip attack, which sends Sasha outside. Asuka offers her the same thing. These two are evenly matched as they try to put on holds and have counters for the other's counters. Sasha sends Asuka to the apron with a head scissors. Sasha goes with her and Asuka catches her foot as she went to kick her. She locks in an ankle lock just before attempting a german suplex on the apron. Sasha escapes and gets knocked off the apron by Asuka with a hip attack. Asuka sits Sasha on the barricade, and Sasha kicks Asuka in the face before she stands up and comes off with an attempted meteora, but winds up getting countered into a Codebreaker. The next few minutes are fast and furious, each woman hitting their best moves. They make it back in the ring just before the ref counts them out. Sasha hits Asuka with another backstabber for a near fall. She rolls Asuka onto her stomach and applies the Bank Statement, but Asuka escapes and attempts to put on the Asuka lock. Asuka hits another codebreaker for a near fall. Then the girls start to attempting pinfalls frantically. Asuka kicks out and rolls back on her feet, and kicks Sasha in the face, then runs the ropes, but Sasha lays on her back and trips up Asuka, rolling her forward on her shoulders to pin her. Sasha wins.

My Rating: ****

Match 5: Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match - Team Raw (Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce) def. Team SmackDown (Bayley, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott & Natalya) (23:21)

Oh brother… Oh brother this is bad. None of Lana's teammates even want her on the team, they tell her to stand on the steel steps and stay there. And thats exactly what she does the whole match. Bayley is the first woman eliminated and she's eliminated by… Peyton Royce! Believe it or not, Peyton Royce is the one to eliminate Bayley. Peyton is eliminated a couple minutes later by Natalya with a Sharpshooter. Lacey Evans gets in the ring. Shayna gets in and tries to attack Nattie. But Nattie double legs her and tries to apply the Sharpshooter, but Lacey saves her with a KO punch and eliminates Nattie. All thats left is Bianca, Liv and Ruby on Team SmackDown. One cool thing from this match was the Spanish Fly Lacey hit on Bianca. Shes down for a while after that. Nia comes in, and Liv and Ruby make frequent tags in order to double team Nia. Shayna tags herself in and puts the Kirifuda Clutch on Ruby, Ruby reverses it into a pin, but Nia distracts the referee. Shayna still has the hold on and Ruby passes out in the hold. Shayna pins her, leaving it up to Liv until Bianca recovers. Liv manages to pin Lacey in a crucifix. Nia gets in and eliminates Liv with a Samoan Drop. Bianca has finally come back and she fights off Nia and Shayna alone. Oh yeah, Lana is still there by the way. Bianca back handsprings into the Kirifuda Clutch. Bianca is in trouble. But as she's locked in the hold, Bianca stands up and starts walking toward the ropes with Shayna on her back. Bianca is on the verge of passing out and falls forward with an arm on the bottom rope. Shayna refuses to let go of the hold and gets disqualified. Nia takes apart the announce table and plans to Samoan Drop Bianca through it. But Bianca fights out of it. Both women are out there long enough that the ref counts them both out. That means Lana… Is the sole survivor. Now in a nothing matters kind of way, thats hilarious. But also, this match was fucking loooooong. It just sucks.

My Rating: *3/4

Main Event: Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. WWE Champion Drew McIntyre (24:52)

Poor Drew McIntyre. He is never going to beat Roman Reigns is he? Anyway, this match is awesome. Definitely the match of the night. These guys went to war. The early stage of the match is nothing special, but you get the feeling Drew is coming into this with some fresh confidence despite having an 0-2 record against Roman at this point. Roman takes the advantage when he rams Drew into the ring post and begins to ground him in the ring. But McIntyre begins making the good ‘ol babyface comeback and the match starts becoming more even. Drew catches Roman with a spinebuster out of a Superman Punch. Roman gets a few good hits in and starts feeling like he can talk shit, but Drew shuts him up quick with a headbutt. Drew ducks under another Superman Punch again and counters it into a Double Arm DDT. Drew goes for a Claymore but Roman shuts him down with a Superman Punch. Roman tries to put on the Guillotine, but Drew escapes by pushing Roman into a corner before throwing him across the ring. Roman throws Drew shoulder first into the ring post and goes for a Spear, but Drew counters it into a Kimura Lock. Roman manages to reach the ropes and slides outside for a breath. Drew follows him out and runs into a samoan drop onto the announce table. It doesn't break the first time, so Roman does it again and this time it breaks. Roman goes inside to break the count. He comes back out and watches Drew get to his feet before he McIntyre through the barricade. Roman tosses Drew back inside and covers him. But Drew kicks out. Roman goes for another Spear, but Drew was ready and kicks Roman in the face before he runs the ropes, only for Roman to catch him with the Spear. But Drew kicks out again. Roman sets up for yet another Spear, only to get Claymored. But Roman falls into the referee. With the referee down, Jey Uso runs down, and McIntyre takes him off the apron. Drew gets low blowed by Roman. Jey comes in and hits a superkick, followed by a Superman Punch by Roman, who now locks the Guillotine on McIntyre. A second referee runs in and calls for the bell. Drew is out, Roman has won. Awesome match!

My Rating: ****1/4

And now its time for the Undertaker retirement ceremony. And I must admit, for doing this with no crowd, I think they did a pretty decent job. Of course, Kane was dressed up in full gear the occasion. They bring out some of Undertaker's best friends and best rivals, then play a video package for him. Undertaker comes out and says only a few sentences. “For 30 years, I've made that walk.” To which I said, “well, 26. For 4 of those years, you rode in on a motorcycle.” He says “my time has come to rest in peace.” Is it perfect? No. But given the circumstances, I think it was well put together.

Cagematch Rating: 6.57

My Rating: 7.5/10

An honestly really good show. Most of it is a good watch. A mostly very good card, along with a retirement ceremony for The Undertaker should place this pretty high. The only things keeping me from rating it any higher are the “lets squash Sami” match. And the “Lana's gonna watch” match. The latter is especially bad considering how fucking long it is. And another thing… this lame, lazy Raw vs SmackDown bullshit for the 5th year in a row. I was willing to let 2019 slide because they included NXT, but at this point, I did not care. None of us did. But thats what they did because they couldn't be bothered to come up with anything else.

 

[Jarf]

Money in the Bank 2020

Match 1: SmackDown Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way Match - The New Day (Kofi & Big E.) (c) def. The Miz & John Morrison, Lucha House Party & The Forgotten Sons (12:02)

The Forgotten Sons is a very appropriate name, considering I forgot they were a thing before watching this show. The luchadors were absolutely the best part of the match and I feel like they got the least amount of in ring time. The easily Forgotten Sons get a lot of it. Which is understandable in a way, I think they were new to the main roster, but they were boring to watch. The first crazy spot of the match is Gran Metalik hitting Morrison with a Spanish Fly off the ropes onto a crowd of people outside. Lince Dorado takes a page out of Rey Mysterio's playbook, adding a front flip from a springboard and hits Morrison with a West Coast Pop. Miz and Morrison try to double team Kofi, but Kofi flips back on his feet and double stomps them at once into the mat. Lucha House Party hit Big E. with a combo, a frog splash by Lince followed by an elbow drop from Metalik. E. launches Kofi over his head over the ropes onto Wesley Blake outside. The Forgotten Sons hit Big E. with what I'm assuming was their finish, but Miz tagged himself in. Morrison helps him take out Blake and Cutler, with a springboard back kick from Morrison to Blake and a Skull Crushing Finale on Cutler. Morrison hits Big E. with a Starship Pain, but Kofi saves the match. Lucha House Party springboard off the top rope onto the Forgotten Sons, Miz and Morrison outside. Metalik tries a crossbody on Big E. who rolls back lifting Metalik up as he stands. Lince comes back in to get a Trouble in Paradise, Big E. gets Metalik on his shoulders and hits the Big Ending to take the win.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 2: Bobby Lashley def. R-Truth (1:44)

Originally was going to be Truth vs MVP. But Lashley came out and told MVP “i got this fam.” Like, Bobby, you know theres a pandemic right? You weren't scheduled to be on the show, you should be home with your family. Smh. R-Truth is hilarious, he comes to the ring and yells his signature “Whats Up?” And holds up the microphone for the empty crowd. Anyway, Lashley runs through Truth. Truth is able to get a couple shots, and goes for the Scissors Kick. But Bobby dodges and hits a big Spear to take the win. And then later in the night, Truth is approached by Charly Caruso and Truth says “MVP was a tough opponent. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to beat him. But I did.” And then he calls out Tom Brady and says he'll get back his 24/7 7/11 Big Gulp Championship or whatever he said. R-Truth is a national treasure that should be protected at all costs.

Match 3: SmackDown Women's Championship Match - Bayley (c) def. Tamina (10:30)

This match got a bit of a harsh rating I think. Don't get me wrong, it isn't good, but it isn't horrible either. Bayley starts the match taunting Tamina, that doesn't exactly go well as Tamina loses her temper very quickly. Bayley slams Tamina's legs into the ring post, and begins working over her knees. Bayley grabs a bottle of water off the announce table and splashes Tamina in the face with it, and that wakes Tamina up, as she grabs Bayley and throws her against the ropes and clotheslines her to the floor. She rolls Bayley back inside and goes the splash, but Bayley gets her feet up. Tamina was ready for it and grabs Bayley by her feet, rolling her back on her feet and hitting a superkick. Tamina has the match well in hand, but Sasha Banks slides inside and provides a distraction for Bayley, who gets Tamina in a crucifix pin to win the match. But after the bell, Tamina starts to stand up from the pinning position, lifting Bayley up on her shoulders, but before she could do anything, Sasha clips her knee and the two devious besties celebrate this win.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 4: Universal Championship Match - Braun Strowman (c) def. Bray Wyatt (10:44)

WWE just could not help doing the most corny shit possible when it came to Bray Wyatt huh? First of all, I hated this storyline that Bray wanted Braun to “come home.” I thought Bray had left the cult leader gimmick behind. Whatever man. Bray came out and was dressed as the Mr. Rogers version of his character. Braun starts the match pushing Bray around, but then he flies over the announce table, looking to mow down Bray, who sidestepped him. Huskus the Pig shows up behind the barricade to cheer for Bray, who hits Braun with a DDT on the floor. Bray takes Braun back inside and begins to wear him down, and hits him with a Sister Abigail, which Braun kicks out of. Braun begins to make a comeback and starts bulldozing Bray. Bray buys himself a little time by kicking Braun to the floor, but Braun comes up wearing the black sheep mask. This is a moment that might have worked with a crowd, but I can't see this getting much of a reaction even with an audience. Braun gets back in the ring and Bray looks so happy. He hugs Braun, who hugs Bray back and all the funhouse puppets cheer from behind the barricade. But then Braun shoves Bray off him, takes off the mask, throws it to the mat and stomps on it. Then he barrels over Bray and hits a running Powerslam to retain. This was pretty bad.

My Rating: *

Match 5: WWE Championship Match - Drew McIntyre (c) def. Seth Rollins (19:24)

Match of the night goes to these 2. Not surprising at all, fell a little below expectations, but to be fair, they were wrestling in an empty building. Drew starts out looking good, and Seth's back already starts to show the wounds of battle only a few minutes in. Drew takes the advantage early but Seth turns the tables with a good kick to Drew's knee. And Seth starts to go right after it. Seth hits about 3 suicide dives on Drew, and repeatedly knees him in the head as well as puts him in a crossface. Seth goes for a suicide dive a 4th time, but McIntyre catches him and throws him back onto and over the announce table. Both men make it back into the ring and McIntyre starts to roll again, tossing Seth across the ring. Drew kips up and sells his knee. Seth tries to springboard inside, but Drew dodges and hits a spinebuster. Seth brings Drew down with a few good kicks to the knee and the head before he hits a good frog splash for a 2 count. Seth goes for a Curb Stomp, but Drew stands up and catches Seth by the throat before headbutting him. Drew goes up top and Seth meets him up there and hits a superplex followed by the falcon arrow. And I really started to enjoy this match in the final few minutes. Drew gets hung in a tree of woe, his knee hooked in the top rope, and Seth just puts all his weight on the bad knee. But Drew sits up from there and throws Seth off the top rope. Drew comes back down and prepares for a Claymore, but Seth superkicks him out of it and now hits the Curb Stomp. But Drew kicks out at 2. Seth readies himself for another one, but Drew counters it as Seth puts his foot on his back, Drew stands up and headbutts Seth. Seth staggers back to the ropes and superkicks Drew, who bounces off the ropes to hit a Claymore to put Seth down and retain.

My Rating: ***3/4

Main Event(s): Money in the Bank Ladder Matches - Asuka def. Nia Jax, Lacey Evans, Shayna Baszler, Dana Brooke & Carmella (21:43)

Otis def. AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, King Corbin, Rey Mysterio & Aleister Black (27:01)

Okay, buckle up. I wasn't really sure how to rate these matches or if I should rate them at all since they blend into each other. Now as much as I hate to give WWE creative credit for anything they did in the last years of Vince McMahon, I love this idea. I thought if you wanna do something different and interesting, a time with no audience would be the time to do this. Now with that being said, even if I love the idea, that doesn't mean I loved everything they did here. At some points, this was too corny even for me. And both matches were happening at the same time, so obviously we'd cut between both the men and women fighting. If you don't remember, allow me to explain, WWE decided to have both matches take place at WWE headquarters with both briefcases hung above a ring on the roof. The women started in the lobby and the men started in the weight room. The women's match started off amazingly. You had everyone but Asuka standing in there, when we pan up to Asuka (who was absolutely the star of her match) standing on the edge of a balcony a little higher and dives on the crowd of her opponents below. She gets up, starts dancing towards the elevator, and pushes the button to call it, and the doors slide shut in the faces of Shayna, Dana and Carmella. Then we see camera footage from inside the elevator of Asuka dancing and singing to herself. She really is the best. Meanwhile, the men start out just brawling in the weight room. I'll only outline the best parts, this entry would be about 10,000 words long if I tried to outline the whole match (or matches) Dana Brooke, Carmella and Nia all go up to a conference room where Dana sees a small briefcase hanging above the table. She grabs it and thinks she's won, but Stephanie McMahon, who was definitely there and not standing in front of a green screen, tells her the briefcases are on the roof. Bryan kicks Corbin repeatedly in the chest and Otis like a big mark starts saying “Yes!” for every kick. But then Bryan starts kicking him in the chest. Both parties meet up in a room where Paul Heyman was having dinner for some reason. This table is big too. There's foot strewn across the table. Otis then starts… going to that place? Is that what I should say. He’s shaking intensely as he holds half a sandwich in his hands, and he shouts “FOOD FIGHT” before he throws a pie in Paul's face. Which itself isn't funny, but the way Paul sells it with his face is hilarious. He stands there, not moving, not blinking, his mouth hanging open with rice coating his face. In the chaos, Shayna puts Rey in the Coquina Clutch for some reason. The chaos ends with Nia powerbombing Carmella through the table. Asuka is being chased by the other women and she stops to ask a janitor for, I'm assuming directions, but I couldn't tell because i can't speak Japanese. And this bit to me is the highlight of the whole thing. Bryan and Styles fight into Vince's office and when Vince turns around in his chair, AJ and Daniel just stop and look at him like brothers who are in trouble for fighting. All Vince says is “OUT!” Styles and Bryan go to leave, but then AJ stops D-Bry and says “the chairs.” And both guys move the chairs back into their spots they were in. They leave and shut the door. AJ tells Daniel “You acted like a real coward in there.” Bryan responds with “Me? You're the one who said we should put the chairs back.” And Styles just nods “I did didn't I?” Then he punches Daniel in the face and they keep fighting like nothing happened. Eventually, Asuka, Nia and Lacey make it up the roof, Asuka takes care of both of them before she climbs the ladder. Corbin comes out and climbs the other side and tries to stop Asuka for some reason. I guess he wanted the women's title too. Asuka gives Corbin a kick to the face and takes down the briefcase, which we now know held the Raw Women’s Title inside. Asuka wins, but we still have one more briefcase to come down. Otis makes his way out, along with Styles, Black and Mysterio. Otis breaks the first rung of the ladder and I'm like “He ain't that heavy, why you gotta do my boy like that?” Corbin fucking murders Rey and Aleister by throwing their asses off the roof. Okay… a lot of good that briefcase will do you in prison. But they were fine because wrestling is wild. Bryan runs out and he climbs the opposite side of the ladder that AJ's on and Corbin yanks him off and throws him shoulder first into the ring post. Corbin climbs the other side. Styles and Corbin take the briefcase off together. Elias runs in and smashes his guitar into Corbin's back, causing him to let go. It slips out of Styles hands and into Otis’ and his music plays… wait, Otis won? I was just kidding when I said he would win. Not gonna lie, I think AJ was screwed. Yes, he and Corbin were holding the case at the same time when it was unhooked, but he was the last one touching it out of the 2 of them. Fucked finish. I don't care enough to be mad, I'm just saying. I really wonder sometimes if Vince actually had a plan to put the belt on Otis or if this was one of those times they did it for laughs. Its hard to rate both matches individually, so I guess I'll rate them equally, and give it 3.5

My Rating: ***1/2

Cagematch Rating: 6.58

My Rating: 6/10

This is as average as average gets I guess, in terms of the match quality. Definitely not in terms of circumstances or the main events. But hey, WWE could finally say they had a double main event and for the first time, were not lying. I guess in a way, this event was fun, but I wouldn't say its a favorite of mine.

 

[Chris]

I enjoyed the MITB match for what it was but I was honestly disappointed it wasn't more wacky was my main complaint