Reviewing every WWE PPV in order from worst to best

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Chris

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That was actually The Mountie's TV debut and it would also be the last appearance of Dustin Rhodes in WWE until Goldust. I'm rather surprised at how long some of those undercard matches are. I would have expected like five minutes out of Bossman vs Barbarian and Mountie vs Koko. Funny how Sherri was demanding Warrior give Savage a title match and then he never got a title match.

Yeah that was really weird to watch when I was going back and doing all the old PPVs lol bc I was like wait that never happened
 
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WrestleMania XIV

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Match 1: WWF Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Battle Royal - The Legion of Doom won by last eliminating The Midnight Express (8:19)

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Honestly, I'm glad we got the worst part of the night out of the way first. This was messy. First off, only 2 teams got an entrance. Faarooq and Kama Mustafa of the Nation and the returning LOD. So I have no clue who was in this. They never tell us who's teaming with who before the match starts. Bradshaw was teaming with Chainz for some reason. And it also doesn't help that the rule is only one team member has to be thrown over for both members to be eliminated. So Barry Windham runs down and throws out Chainz because he's feuding with Bradshaw I guess. But Bradshaw doesn't know until a moment later cause a referee has to tell him. D'Lo Brown gets thrown out, but his partner, Mark Henry doesn't know that and I'm pretty sure he's in there for at least another 3 minutes. The match comes down to LOD, Midnight Express, The DOA and The Godwinns. One of the baldies is thrown out and then he gets back in and they throw out the Godwinns and then try to fight LOD for some reason. It doesn't look like they have any shred of a clue of what they were doing. Then The Godwinns grab a couple of buckets and they crack LOD in the back with it. What the hell is going on? Anyway, the Midnight Express can't beat LOD and they're both thrown out. LOD win this mess of a match. On the bright side, this was the worst moment of the night. We can only go up from here.

My Rating: *

Match 2: Light Heavyweight Championship Match - Taka Michinoku (c) def. Aguila (5:57)

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Quick and to the point, I like it. Its wild to me that Aguila was 19 in this match. I was the biggest loser on the beach at 19 and this guy was having a match at WrestleMania. Not a long match, just a quick fast paced one. They get all their shit in quick. All the moves they could pull out in 6 minutes, they did. Aguila hits a sick moonsault from the top rope to the outside floor. But Taka later tops that with a running springboard crossbody to the floor. Aguila hits a few arm drags first from the top rope and then he springboards off the ropes and gets Taka again. Taka rolls to the outside and Aguila gets him with a corkscrew dive over the top to the floor. Taka tries for a corkscrew moonsault but Aguila dodges him and hits regular moonsault. He places Taka on the top rope and leaps up to hit a head scissors to the mat. But Taka fires back with moves of his own. A missile dropkick and a sitout powerbomb. Taka misses a moonsault from the top rope. Aguila goes up and comes off the top, but gets hit with a dropkick from Taka, who hits the Michinoku Driver for the win. Exciting and fast paced match. The two shake hands and we move on.

My Rating: ***

Match 3: European Championship Match - Triple H (c) def. Owen Hart (11:29)

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A nice midcard match. Although I think Owen should've been main eventing (not this particular event, but in general). He was over as hell after the Screwjob went down. HHH had only been the European Champ for about 2 weeks here. Having taken it off Owen by taking advantage of an ankle injury. The special stipulation to this match was that Sgt. Slaughter would handcuff himself and Chyna together (kinky) to stop her from interfering. Owen comes out of the gate hot. He tackles HHH as soon as he gets in the ring he punches HHH repeatedly in the face outside the ring in front of Chyna, who has to be pulled back by Slaughter. But HHH finally takes Owen down with a knee to the face. He bloodies Owen's nose with a kick the face and goes to work on his previously injured ankle. But Owen is able to turn it around by dragging HHH dick first into the ring post. Then he starts to hit all the classics, missile dropkick, heel kick, enziguri. Owen goes for a leaping hurricanrana but HHH counters it into a powerbomb. HHH tries for a Pedigree, Owen sweeps his legs and tries for the Sharpshooter. But HHH shoves him off with his legs, and Owen falls face first into his crotch. HHH tries for the Pedigree again, but Owen reverses with a backdrop, but HHH tries to counter into a sunset flip pin, Owen rolls back onto his feet and rolls HHH over for the Sharpshooter. HHH crawls towards Chyna for help. Chyna overpowers Slaughter for a moment to help HHH grab the bottom rope. Owen pulls HHH and rains fists down on his face and Chyna takes a moment to throw some powder right into Slaughter's eyes. Owen runs over to berate her and HHH puts a knee into his back. The referee backs HHH and as he does, Chyna hops on the apron and low blows Owen. HHH brings him back to the center and hits a Pedigree to take the win.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 4: Sable & Marc Mero def. Luna Vachon & Goldust (9:11)

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Its at least better than it sounds on paper. Its weird in a way that Sable is the only babyface in the match. Right away, this match makes me mad. The match starts with Marc and Goldust. Goldust quickly tags out to Luna, who wants to fight Mero, but as soon as Sable comes in, Luna runs from her. That sentence feels dirty to write out. Luna deserved better is what I'm saying. Luna quickly tags Goldust back in. Mero tags Sable back inside and again, Luna refuses to fight Sable. Luna was a legitimate badass, no way she should be afraid of Sable. Mero and Goldust go at it some more before Sable and Luna are both tagged in and this face off gets a big pop so I guess I can't knock it too much. But I wish Luna would've gotten to look good a little bit. Luna tags Goldust backs in and he marches up to Sable as if he's gonna do something, but Sable clocks him in the face. Mero gets back in and Goldust spits at Sable, who tries to get in and is held back by the referee. Mero low blows Goldust from behind and goes for the TKO, but Goldust counters it into a DDT. Mero later goes up and hits a moonsault, almost lands on his head. Mero is kicked by Luna as he runs the ropes. Goldust goes to save her from Mero, who looks like he's about to strike her. Mero dodges and Goldust knocks Luna off the apron. Mero rolls Goldust up from behind, Goldie kicks out. Mero covers him, but Luna gets in and rakes his back. He hops on his back and Mero stumbles to the corner, Sable tags herself in and covers Goldust. The referee is distracted trying to get Mero out and Luna heads to the top rope. Sable gets off Goldust and Luna ends up splashing him. Sable picks Luna up and drops her with a piledriver, stacks her up and Luna kicks out. Luna rakes Sable's eyes and starts choking her on the middle rope. The crowd starts chanting “Sable! Sable!” Sable reverses an irish whip and hits Mero's TKO to pin Luna. I think I would've liked this match a bit more if they hadn't made Luna and Goldust look foolish to cover up Sable's lack of in ring ability.

My Rating: **3/4

Match 5: Intercontinental Championship Match - The Rock (c) def. Ken Shamrock via DQ (4:49)

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I'm not mad over this. I'm just wondering what the point is? Like, how was either of these two guys supposed to come out looking better from this? The Rock comes out first. Shamrock rushes towards the ring and lays into The Rock early. He clotheslines Rock over the top rope and goes after him, brings him back to the ring. Rock fights back, gets his shit in. He hits the People’s Elbow before it was called the People's Elbow or even a finisher. Shamrock goes outside and grabs a chair cause he's not that bright. The referee tries to take it from him. Shamrock throws the chair down and the referee at the same time. Rock grabs the chair and cracks Shamrock in the head with it as the referee is down. Rock covers Ken, but Shamrock not only kicks out, he throws Rock’s body off him. Shamrock gets up and gets into the zone. He starts to throw Rock around effortlessly and then puts him in the Ankle Lock. Rock's mouth is busted and he taps out to Shamrock. New IC Champion. D'Lo, Kama and Mark Henry all get in to attack Shamrock, but he hands each of them a belly to belly and reapplies the Ankle Lock. Faarooq runs down to potentially help Rock. But Rock hit him in the head with a chair on Raw, so Faarooq says “screw you” and leaves. Ken doesn't let go of the Ankle Lock and eventually a bunch of referees and suits run out to pry Shamrock off The Rock. But Ken hands out belly to bellies for them too. Shamrock is on a warpath. But then Finkel gets on the mic and makes the announcement that the referee has refused the decision and disqualified Shamrock for not breaking the ankle lock. So Shamrock resnaps and chases the medical guys carrying the Rock out. He beats up The Rock some more before a few guys get between the two of them. Then he leaves. I don't know who this was supposed to help. Neither guy came out of this looking particularly good. So I'm a little confused what the point of this was.

My Rating: *3/4

Match 6: WWF Tag Team Championship Dumpster Match - Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie def. The New Age Outlaws (c) (10:01)

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This match was a mess, but in a good way. It actually helped it in a way. Some guys roll a dumpster out to the ring. The way you win this match is by throwing both your opponents in the dumpster and closing the lid. So basically the same rules as a Casket Match or Ambulance Match. The match is a brawl from the start Cactus and Funk meet The Outlaws outside. The Outlaws get the better of the old timers. They hang Jack and Funk's heads over the top of the dumpster and repeatedly drop the lids on their heads. The Outlaws throw the insane old men into the dumpster and just as Road Dogg is about to shut the lid, Cactus pops out and puts the Mandible Claw on him. Billy hits him over the head with something metal. Funk opens the other lid and hits Billy over the head with a cookie sheet. Jack and Funk get out of the dumpster and beat on the Outlaws with cookie sheets. Cactus drags a ladder out from under the ring and throws it inside. He starts to climb to probably drop an elbow on Road Dogg. But Billy gets back in and low blows Funk. Billy climbs up the other side of the ladder and begins fighting with Cactus. Road Dogg swings a sheet into Funk's head. And Funk stumbles back, accidentally pushing the ladder and causing Jack and Billy both to fall into the dumpster. God I know that fucking sucked for both of them. Funk takes a bad bump a moment later. Road Dogg helps Billy get up and crawl out. Cactus climbs out a moment later. Billy powerbombs Funk into the dumpster. The Outlaws realize Cactus has made it out of the dumpster and chase him. The Outlaws beat Cactus to the backstage area. They make their way towards a forklift. Jack just so happens to find a steel chair around and whacks them both in the head with it. Jack hits a Double Arm DDT on the pallet on the floor to Billy. He throws Road Dogg onto the pallet too. And Funk hops on the forklift, lifts the pallet towards a dumpster which happens to be back there. Jack rolls the Outlaws into the dumpster and closes the lids, giving them the Tag Team Titles! The old men win. Which seemingly was leading Jack and Funk against LOD at Unforgiven, which sounds awesome! Unfortunately, thats not what happened. Same old boring LOD/Outlaws match people had seen so much already.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 7: The Undertaker def. Kane (16:58)

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I think we can agree that this is Undertaker and Kane's best match together. People might think I'm overrating this match but I've always loved it. The story they told was great. And despite losing, Kane comes out looking like a monster. Kane dominates this match. Undertaker is on the defense for nearly the entire match. Undertaker gets a few shots near the beginning of the match but Kane stands his ground and hardly even flinches on every blow. But Kane catches Undertaker coming off the ropes and hits like a running powerslam into the corner, hanging Undertaker in the tree of woe. And now is the point when Kane starts to really pummel Taker. Undertaker dodges a couple clotheslines. He comes off the ropes. But Taker actually leaps onto Kane's shoulders and punches down on his head. But Kane drops Taker forward, dropping the deadman right on his face. Kane takes Undertaker outside and slams the steel steps into his back. And normally I would question why that wasn't a DQ, but if I were that referee, I wouldn't wanna disqualify Kane either. Paul Bearer takes a shot at Undertaker too as Kane has the referee backed into a corner in the ring. Kane pummels Undertaker again and Jim Ross suggests that Taker might be trying to get Kane to punch himself out. Undertaker comes out of the corner with a clothesline that hardly moves Kane. Undertaker runs the ropes, ducking under a couple clotheslines, but Kane catches him by the throat and drops Taker with a Chokeslam. Kane covers Undertaker. 1, 2. Kane picks Undertaker up by his hair to stop the count. Obviously, he's nowhere close to being done with him. Kane starts to wear Taker out but Undertaker picks Kane up by his waist and over the top rope, Undertaker boots Kane off the apron and then dives over the top. Kane sidesteps and Undertaker crashes through the spanish announce table! All this and Undertaker has yet to knock Kane off his feet this whole match. Kane tosses Undertaker back inside and hits a flying clothesline off the top rope. And then goes back to pummeling Undertaker. But Taker to punch back, but with much less strength behind them now. Undertaker manages to get Kane up for the Tombstone. However, Kane reverses it and Tombstones Taker right in the mat. Kane holds his hands down and Undertaker somehow kicks out after that. Kane stands Undertaker back up and Undertaker must be putting all the strength he has left into these punches. He finally knocks Kane off his feet with a clothesline. Undertaker goosles Kane and drops him with a Chokeslam. Then slashes his throat. Kane sits up, but gets picked up and dropped with a Tombstone. 1, 2. Kickout! The first time anyone's kicked out after a Tombstone. Jim Ross stutters calling it, he's so shocked. Kane sits up and Taker picks him back up to hit another Tombstone. 1, 2… another kick out from Kane. Undertaker goes to the top rope and hits a flying clothesline. Kane sits up again. Undertaker picks him back up and hits one more Tombstone. 1, 2, 3. But barely a three. Kane kicks out a millisecond after the three count. But either way, Undertaker adds on to his WrestleMania streak. after the match, Paul Bearer grabs a steel chair and throws it inside. Undertaker punches Paul's lights out and falls back down out of exhaustion. Kane gets back up and Tombstones Undertaker on the chair and then leaves. Undertaker sits up once Kane and Paul get out of there. Even though the record shows a win for Undertaker, it feels more like he survived. I think this is an underrated gem in the Undertaker's Mania match record.

My Rating: ****

Main Event: WWF Championship Match with Mike Tyson as Special Enforcer - Steve Austin def. Shawn Michaels (c) (20:02)

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But now its time for the main event. This match was great but sometimes I wonder what could've been if Austin had a healthy neck and Shawn had a healthy back. I have no idea how Shawn got through this match. I don't even wanna bend down to tie my shoe with a bad back, let alone wrestle a 20 minute match. I don't know if I'm alone in this, but the inclusion of Mike Tyson isn't interesting to me at all. Like, you have Stone Cold and you have Shawn Michaels. What more could you need? This is also where we got the famous meme template of Shawn smiling and then looking sad when he gets flipped off. This felt like a big match, as if it was going to be the culmination of Stone Cold’s rise to the top. Shawn starts the match with a couple of jabs, and Austin starts to chase Shawn out, and back inside the ropes. Austin lets everyone get a look at Shawn's full moon and backdrops HBK over the ropes onto HHH. Austin goes out after Shawn, but Triple H jumps Austin from behind and throws him into the barricade. Then referee makes the decision to send HHH and Chyna to the back instead of disqualifying Shawn. Austin beats up HHH up the aisle and gets attacked by Shawn from behind. Austin and HBK make it back to the ring, where Austin begins to hammer into Shawn. Austin whips Shawn into the corner and Shawn attempts his flip into the corner, but instead, he just hits his back against the turnbuckles. Austin tries for the Stunner, but HBK throws him off and goes out to the apron, but Austin catches him and punches him off the apron, face first into the announce table. Shawn is back into the barricade and backdrops Austin over. And as Austin is climbing back over, Shawn hits him in the head with a ring bell. Shawn throws Austin back in the ring and starts to wear him down, but unfortunately, he starts to show signs that he's really hurt. You can see it on his face, his back is in agony. Shawn flips off the crowd and Austin tackles him to the mat and lays into him. Austin then throws Shawn out of the ring, but Shawn sweeps his legs out and drags him over to the ring post where Shawn slams his knees into. Shawn works over Austin's knees. He baseball slides Austin, who goes over the announce table. Its Tyson who throws Austin back inside. Austin takes offense to that and jaw jacks him from the inside. Shawn chop blocks Austin from behind and locks him in the Figure 4. Austin escapes by rolling over. Austin gets back up and starts firing off shots on Shawn. Austin catapults Shawn into the top turnbuckle and rolls him up from behind for a 2 count. Shawn manages to put a sleeper on Austin and the referee thinks the best position to see Austin is from behind them obviously. Because it leads Austin backing Shawn up into the corner where the referee gets squished behind them. Austin escapes and retreats to the opposite corner. Shawn takes a run at him and Austin throws him into the top turnbuckle. Austin starts to pummel Shawn until Shawn hits a weak flying forearm off the ropes. His back is in shambles. Shawn goes to the top rope, drops an elbow, he signals for the end. Shawn tunes up the band, tries for Sweet Chin Music, but Austin ducks it, tries for a Stunner. Shawn throws him off to the ropes, goes for the Superkick again. Austin catches his foot, spins him around and hits a Stunner finally and hooks the leg. Tyson slides in and counts a quick three. And as Jim Ross would say “The Austin Era has begun!”

My Rating: ****

Cagematch Rating: 6.74

My Rating: 8.5/10

This feels officially like the Attitude Era has begun. I would say there's only a few things about this event that I didn't like. That messy opener. The way they make Luna look awful, and the weird booking for the IC Title Match. Everything else though is enjoyable and we ended the night with 2 great matches and the crowning of one of the guys on wrestling's mount rushmore. There's better shows I've watched. But this is the best WrestleMania so far.
 
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Skyefire

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The battle royal did have a few very random tag teams such as Chainz & Bradshaw and Flash Funk & Steve Blackman, but it also had a random pairing in the form of Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor in their first match as a team. It would be two weeks later on Shotgun that they would be officially dubbed Too Much and pick up their first win.

Ken Shamrock and The Rock were doing an angle of Shamrock snapping and getting DQ'ed. They did it at Royal Rumble and then faced each other again int the finals of the King of the Ring where Shamrock won and there was some question as to if Shamrock would snap again but he didn't. I do feel like they could have taken a few minutes off of the Kane vs Undertaker match and given it to Rock and Shamrock, though with Kane and Undertaker being the semi-main event it makes sense that it would get more time.
 
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Chris

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What blew my mind when I first went back and watched this era was how fucking long they teamed as Too Much doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and then all of a sudden they paired Rikishi in a thong with them and they were the hottest thing on the world for a short time
 
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What blew my mind when I first went back and watched this era was how fucking long they teamed as Too Much doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and then all of a sudden they paired Rikishi in a thong with them and they were the hottest thing on the world for a short time
Just goes to show that big booty samoan dudes in thongs is a draw
 
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Backlash 2025

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Match 1: United States Championship Fatal 4-Way Match - Jacob Fatu (c) def. LA Knight, Drew McIntyre & Damian Priest (18:14)

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A fun match to start our night off. I thought Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre both were awesome here. The first several minutes are fine. They're nothing too crazy. Every man gets to take turns holding the ring down, first, LA Knight, then Drew and then Priest. But Priest gets caught by Fatu and samoan dropped on the barricade. He sees McIntyre from the other side of the ring, they both get in and start going at it. Drew tries to hit a superplex, but Knight comes back, and hangs Drew from the tree of woe. Knight goes for a superplex on Fatu, who headbutts LA back to the mat. Drew lifts his upper body and tosses Fatu from the top rope. Fatu lands across Knight, and Fatu, without missing a beat throws himself into Drew in the corner before running the ropes and hitting a suicide dive to Damian! This guy is the fucking man! Fatu goes back up and hits a Senton on Drew, Knight gets back up and hits BFT on Fatu, who turns to get goosled by Priest who hits a South of Heaven. Drew gets up and hits a Claymore on Priest, who falls onto LA Knight, which counts as a pin. But Drew stops the 3 count. This match went from 1 to 11 so fast! Fatu is the first back on his feet and goes to throw himself at Drew again, but Drew launches his body and headbutts Fatu before hitting a Future Shock DDT. LA Knight tries to give Drew a BFT, but Drew shoves him off and hits the Future Shock on him now. Drew delivers a Claymore to Knight and pins him, 1, 2. The referee gets pulled out of the ring by Priest. Priest drags Drew out next and the two start to brawl out there and it spills into the crowd. Meanwhile back in the ring, Fatu tries to hit a moonsault on Knight, who moves out of the way and hits a elbow from the top rope to take Fatu down, then he goes back up to drop another elbow and gets a 2 count. Drew and Damian fight out through the audience. Damian at one point, holds Drew's face towards the camera and says “he's bored at work.” Which is awesome. The two of them climb a bunch of equipment trunks stacked on top of each other and Priest winds up chokeslamming Drew through 2 tables below them, taking both men out of this match. Meanwhile, back at ringside, LA Knight prepares to drop an elbow through Fatu on the announce table, but Solo comes out and pulls Fatu off to save him. Knight starts approaching Solo but gets wiped out by the debuting Jeff Cobb. Cobb completely takes Knight out and throws him back in the ring. Fatu has gotten back up now, he looks back and forth between Solo and Cobb before heading back in, throwing himself at Knight in the corner before heading up to drop a moonsault on Knight to retain. Really liked this match, but I think the next match is what steals the show.

My Rating: ***3/4

Match 2: Women's Intercontinental Championship Match - Lyra Valkyria (c) def. Becky Lynch (18:43)

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I was pretty into this feud. I always thought the “Becky Hogan” comments were stupid as fuck and this feud and this match pretty much proves it. I think Lyra is coming out of this feud better than ever. This match was great. Lyra outwrestles Becky early in the match, she puts her in a surfboard and humiliates her. Moving Becky no problem while keeping the hold on. They make a point that Becky's betrayal has brought out a meaner side of Lyra. And it shows as Lyra not only has her number early but mocks her as she does it. But Lyra goes to the top rope and Becky takes the chance to yank her off by her hair. Becky starts to grind Lyra into the mat and takes her outside. He shoves Lyra into the barricade right in front of her fiancé and says “is this your girl?” That wakes Lyra up a little and she starts to fight back. Becky throws Lyra into the post before throwing her back in the ring. Lyra looks at her former mentor and slaps her in the face defiantly. Becky goes for an exploder, but Lyra counters it into a small package pin, before lifting Becky off the mat, still hooking her neck and leg to drop Becky with an almost muscle buster. Now the pace starts to pick up and we start to have a match! Lyra starts to comeback and the match starts to become more even. Lyra hits a suplex off the ropes for a two. She tries to hit Nightwing, but Becky escapes. Lyra rolls Becky up from behind, Becky keeps rolling and tries to grab the bottom rope on the pin. Becky tries for the Mandhandle Slam but Lyra escapes that attempt and throws Becky to the outside. Lyra leaps over the ropes with a crossbody to Becky on the outside. Lyra tosses Becky back inside and hits a legdrop from the middle rope and then tries for a moonsault off the middle rope that Becky got her knees up for. The two start to trade blows before Becky slams Lyra down, trying to put an armbar on her. Lyra reverses it into her own armbar. And Becky counters that into the Dis-Arm-Her. Lyra escapes by rolling Becky into a pin. Becky goes for the Manhandle Slam, Lyra counters it into a pin, the same way she beat Becky for the NXT Title. Becky kicks out and now hits the Manhandle Slam. Becky covers her, 1, 2… kickout from Lyra! Becky is stunned. She starts to lose her temper and then goes out to grab a steel chair. The referee takes it away from her. But as she gets rid of the chair, Becky gets rid of the top turnbuckle pad, which unfortunately ends up being pointless. Becky goes to throw Lyra into the exposed turnbuckle. Lyra… trips I think and hits the middle turnbuckle instead. Minor hiccup, whatever. Lyra turns around into another Manhandle Slam. Becky pins her again and Lyra kicks out again! The referee finally sees the turnbuckle pad is off and goes to put the pad back on. Becky goes for another Slam, but Lyra escapes it and drops Becky with Nightwing! The referee is late on the count and Becky kicks out! Becky goes for another Slam, but Lyra reverses it into another pin, Becky kicks at 2. Becky pokes Lyra right in the eye and tries to roll her up, but Lyra manages to Becky on her back from the mat and pin her to get the win. But before Lyra even has to time to know she won, Becky gets up and kicks her in the face before putting her in the Dis-Arm-Her for a while. The match is over and Lyra wins. Becky Hogan my ass. This feud has done wonders for not just Lyra but the belt she's holding. Or was holding at least.

My Rating: ****

Match 3: Intercontinental Championship Match - Dominik Mysterio (c) def. Penta (9:17)

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A pretty decent match here. I was a little surprised how much offense they allowed Dom to get on Penta. The match starts and Penta gives Dom a hurricanrana, but then Dom gives one to Penta. Dom crotches Penta on the top rope and dropkicks him to the floor. Dom runs and dives through the ropes and a super smooth tornado DDT on the floor. Dirty Dom is on top now and grinds Penta down. But Penta fights out of a chinlock and hits a slingblade from behind Dom. Dom rolls out of the ring and Penta hops up on one foot. He climbs the turnbuckle and hits a crossbody to Dom on the outside. Penta tosses Dom back in the ring, but gets kicked in the gut coming off the top again. Dom tries for the 3 amigos, Penta stops that. Dom tries the 619, misses that. But he hits Penta with Ob-Liv-ion and covers Penta and gets a 2. Both men wind up on the apron and Penta gives Dom a Mexican Destroyer out there. But as both men are down out there, Carlito (RIP) goes out there and distracts the referee. Balor and JD jump the barricade and Balor plans to use a chair on Penta. The referee turns around to see Balor and JD with their hands in the cookie jar. The referee sends the Judgment Day to the back, but Penta sends them packing. He dives over the ropes and hits Carlito and JD, but misses Balor. Penta goes back inside and drops Dom with a superkick. Finn Balor tries to get in the ring and distracts the referee and while that's happening, Penta starts climbing the ropes, but El Grande Americano climbs on the apron and headbutts Penta, sending him to the mat. Dominik takes advantage and hits a Frog Splash to get the 3 count and retain the IC Title.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 4: Gunther def. Pat McAfee (14:07)

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I feel alone here. Because I actually really like this match. I mean, its not what I would've booked but they managed to put on a good match here. Pat McAfee could've gone full time if he really wanted to I think. The biggest complaint (and there were a lot) about this match was that Gunther didn't squash Pat. Except, he did squash him. Just because it goes 14 minutes doesn't make this not a squash match. I saw one person even say this match was “competitive.” Competitive? What match were they watching? The one and only reason this match went as long as it did was because Gunther was cocky and allowed it to. He could've ended McAfee at any time he wanted to. Michael Cole pleads with him several times to do just that. Gunther takes McAfee lightly for pretty much the whole match. I think this was the only way a matchup like this would've been any good. I believe it was done as well as possible. Gunther gives Pat a… well, a pat on the head. Pat takes offense and knocks Gunther back with a right hand. Pat gives him a couple more shots and runs the ropes and runs right into a chop from Gunther. Pat gets up and starts giving Gunther some short jabs and then chops him. Gunther seems unfazed by Pat's chops and tells him to bring it on. “Hit me again.” And then Gunther chops him back down. This is the point where Cole starts to yell at Gunther to pin McAfee and move on. The only Gunther answer gives is with a smile. Gunther misses an elbow drop and Pat kicks Gunther in the spine. Gunther looks unfazed again and gets up. He simply snap mares Pat and gives him a kick of his own to the back. Pat has to pull himself back up with the ropes. Pat gets into a chop battle with Gunther that ends with Gunther kicking Pat in the face, dropping him to the mat. Michael Cole keeps yelling at Gunther to pin him. Gunther taunts Cole and invites him into the ring. Pat stands back up and slaps Gunther right in the face and Gunther knocks Pat on his back again with a chop. Gunther places Pat on the top rope, but McAfee gives Gunther some elbows and flips back off the ropes. Gunther goes for a throwaway German suplex, but Pat lands on his feet again and kicks Gunther in the back again. This time it seems to stun him a bit. Pat punts Gunther in the jaw and covers him, Gunther kicks out at 1 and gets right back up with a smile. Pat hits Gunther a couple times and Gunther tells him to bring it on. They start to trade shots and Pat actually stumbles Gunther (I'm sure they called that burying him). Gunther catches Pat's foot and hits a powerbomb on Pat. Gunther puts Pat in the Boston Crab and Cole finally has enough. He gets off the commentary table and tries to spur McAfee on. Gunther brings Pat back to the center of the ring and lets go of him. He goes over and drags Michael Cole into the ring by his shirt. Gunther threatens to powerbomb him, but Pat saves his buddy. Gunther kicks him back down and he's distracted by Cole again. Pat rolls Gunther up from behind. Gunther kicks out and Pat rolls to the apron. Gunther goes to suplex Pat back in the ring, but Cole sweeps his leg, Pat lands on top and they try to Ultimate Warrior Gunther. But Gunther kicks at 2. Gunther stares a hole through Cole and Pat comes up from behind to lock in a Sleeper. But Gunther gets out of it pretty quick and clotheslines Pat. Then Gunther decides its time to end this. This ending, I'm not a fan of, I'll admit. Pat should've tapped out, not pass out. He's in the hold for a while too. But its not a big deal, whatever. Not gonna fuss over it. Gunther puts Pat in the Sleeper, Pat loses consciousness and Gunther wins. An actually enjoyable match. I didn't go into this expecting to like it so I'm pleasantly surprised.

My Rating: ***3/4

Main Event: Undisputed WWE Championship Match - John Cena (c) def. Randy Orton (27:49)

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For this match, my expectations were that it was either going to be really good or really bad. I'm leaning more towards good, but turns out its a bit of both. I think the runtime is a bit much, but I started to have a lot of fun in the second half of the match. Its St. Louis, so this crowd was alive for Randy. Not only is this the first time Cena was the heel and Orton was the babyface, but its also the first time Orton was more jacked than Cena was. A few minutes in, Cena extends his hand in an offer to shake. Orton surprisingly takes it and Cena pokes him in the eye. And then Orton winds up doing the same thing a minute later. Cena decides he doesn't want to hang around and tries to leave. However, Orton runs up and catches him, bringing him back towards the ring. Orton really schools Cena early in the match and has the upper hand. But I will say, the first half of this match is soooo slow. Pacing themselves and saving the good stuff for the second half which is what you're supposed to do I guess. But its pretty boring. Cena goes for an AA, but Orton escapes. Cena tries to lock in the STF, but Orton kicks him off to the apron. Orton hits Cena with a draping DDT. Orton tries an RKO, but Cena shoves him off and picks him. Cena tosses him with an AA, but Orton counters it into an RKO. Both men are down. Both get up and start trading blows. Cena ducks a punch and hits Orton with another AA. Cena hooks the leg, kickout from Orton. Cena waits for Orton to get up so he can hit another AA. Orton escapes and Cena starts giving him shoulder tackles. Orton counters one into an RKO, but… doesn't cover him for some reason. Orton goes for a punt kick instead, but Cena was able to dodge it. Orton turns around into an AA from Cena. The third AA and Orton still kicks out. Orton rolls to a corner. Cena starts mocking Orton, slamming his hands in the mat as Orton does whenever he sets up for an RKO. Cena retrieves back to the corner and throws his head all around. Cena goes for a punt to Orton's head. Orton was able to dodge that. And he tries an RKO again, but Cena shoves Orton off him into the referee. Cena hits another AA, but there's no referee to count the pin. Cena looks out at the title and smiles. He looks at hard cam and puts his fingers to lips and basically shushes us. He goes outside to grab the title and brings it in the ring. But Orton is quicker and drops Cena with an RKO. Orton covers Cena, but the referee is slow on the count and Cena kicks out right before 3. Cena rolls out of the ring and Orton goes out with him. Orton tears the announce table apart and the referee goes out to follow them. Cena shoves Orton into the ref, whose head hits the ring steps. Cena grabs Orton and attempts to AA him through the table, but Orton escapes and drops Cena over the table with an AA. Orton grabs a wooden table from under the ring, sets it up and then hits another AA through that table. Orton throws Cena back in the ring, awaits for him to get up and drops the champ with an RKO. Orton covers Cena and a new referee runs down to count it. Cena kicks out before 3. Orton stands up and argues with the referee over the count, meanwhile behind them. Cena has picked up the title. Cena runs and goes to hit Orton, but Orton dodged the shot and the referee gets hit instead. Cena turns back around to get RKO'd. Orton pins Cena again and has the match won again. Then a bunch of guys in suits instead of paramedics run down to check on the referee Cena just blasted. (Fuck that first ref I guess). Orton gets (understandably) pissed and starts RKOing every suit in the ring, one of them being Nick Aldis. Orton backs up towards a corner and takes a run at Cena, going for a punt. But R-Truth slides in, and he begs for Orton not to punt his childhood hero. Orton drops Truth with an RKO. This small distraction allows Cena to low blow Orton. Cena picks the title back up and cracks Orton in the head with it. The first ref climbs back in the ring, counts the slow 3 to give Cena the win. So, yeah, a lot of overbooking. Like an insane amount of overbooking, lots of finishers were hit that day. But I think it works because this audience was soooo into it. And at the end of the day, thats what matters most.

My Rating: ***3/4

Cagematch Rating: 6.56

My Rating: 9/10

Okay, okay. I can explain my rating. And I'll do it match by match. The Fatal 4-Way was fun to watch and got the show off to a good start. Lyra and Becky stole the show in a match that not only elevates Lyra, but the Women’s IC Title (which desperately needed it). The worst match on the card is Dom vs Penta and even that match is decent. Gunther vs Pat exceeds expectations and provides an entertaining squash. Cena and Orton also exceeds expectations, even if it is overbooked and at the very least, the crowd is never silent. They were into every match. Any way you slice it, thats a great show.
 
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