WWE London Calling 2020 - September 20, 2020:
Man, I've really fallen behind on this. I'll try to catch up, but in the mean time I'll hit up your last major show - the highly-talked about London Calling.
As an England-based show, I'm eager to see how things transpire here on a show headlined by native countryman Drew McIntyre. I don't particularly see Cesaro as being a worthy opposition for him in the main event, but it's still great to see the WWE Championship contested between two Europeans on a card set in London.
Strong decision to have the World Tag Team Championship match open the show, with the New Day getting the win against Andrade and Angel Garza. They proved to be pretty good challengers previously, and I could have seen them as potential champs had it not been for the pandemic's opening months getting in their way. Nice use of high drama here too, with Zelina Vega kicking things up a notch.
Charlotte Flair and Natalya always had pretty good matches, so this was a no-brainer. It went a little short for my liking, though, then again it was match two on the card. It gave Charlotte an ample win. Really it's all set up for No Mercy, which is not far away whatsoever. Not a bad use of bridging a storyline.
I totally get Big Show being present to face off against Omos, but Mustafa Ali having Show there is a really funny visual. Dolph Ziggler as WWE Cruiserweight Champion is a more questionable decision, but that aside, I've little question he and Ali would tear the house down given proper time. Ziggler retaining was fine, but I just hope Ali finds something that will help him truly take off.
I was really glad to see William Regal appear on this show, if not also for the fact that there was acknowledgement that NXT exists. It appears the King of the Ring tournament is being boosted in importance this year, and I do like that certain talents are being highlighted to be part of it from down there. Zack Gibson as a single is the most interesting name drawn.
Following on from that, I liked the six-man tag team match with the Hurt Business taking the win against British Strong Style. I feel like this would happen in real life. It worked for getting big heat on the homegrown guys, in what read like a pretty epic-sounding contest.
Tommaso Ciampa and The Miz making the card felt strange to me, in the sense I don't think it necessarily needed to happen here. It was short and came across like a buffer match regardless, but it wasn't the exciting pay-per-view debut Ciampa could have done with.
I know Sami Zayn isn't the biggest guy in the world, but the size difference between he and Lio Rush would have still been a sight to behold. Good action with Rush handed some opportunities, but the WWE Intercontinental Championship is best around Sami at this point in time.
Another homegrown loss in Piper Niven to Shayna Baszler. A win over a bigger woman like Niven truly gets Shayna over as the dominant WWE Women's Universal Champion. I didn't gel with the match too much, and felt it went a little too long for comfort, but it got the MMA Horsewomen over some more.
I will bet that Samoa Joe and John Cena would have torn the house down, and at this juncture, Joe probably should have gotten the win here. I feel like in a slightly different timeline, this could have handily main evented. I also really appreciate this not being another submission win, given we've seen that already with Shayna.
Drew McIntyre retaining the WWE Championship in his home country made for a brill main event and I felt Cesaro looked strong in defeat. Again, the match may have gone on too long for my liking, but it worked for greater establishing Drew as the face of the company, as he should be in 2020. I never really got why Cesaro was hanging around with the Ingobernables, so I'm alright with him potentially being on the outs, if the Zelina Vega aspect was anything to go off of.
Overall, a well-written show that featured copious amounts of drama. There were a few matches I felt were out of place on a show of this calibre, but it sets things in motion for No Mercy and beyond.
Man, I've really fallen behind on this. I'll try to catch up, but in the mean time I'll hit up your last major show - the highly-talked about London Calling.
As an England-based show, I'm eager to see how things transpire here on a show headlined by native countryman Drew McIntyre. I don't particularly see Cesaro as being a worthy opposition for him in the main event, but it's still great to see the WWE Championship contested between two Europeans on a card set in London.
Strong decision to have the World Tag Team Championship match open the show, with the New Day getting the win against Andrade and Angel Garza. They proved to be pretty good challengers previously, and I could have seen them as potential champs had it not been for the pandemic's opening months getting in their way. Nice use of high drama here too, with Zelina Vega kicking things up a notch.
Charlotte Flair and Natalya always had pretty good matches, so this was a no-brainer. It went a little short for my liking, though, then again it was match two on the card. It gave Charlotte an ample win. Really it's all set up for No Mercy, which is not far away whatsoever. Not a bad use of bridging a storyline.
I totally get Big Show being present to face off against Omos, but Mustafa Ali having Show there is a really funny visual. Dolph Ziggler as WWE Cruiserweight Champion is a more questionable decision, but that aside, I've little question he and Ali would tear the house down given proper time. Ziggler retaining was fine, but I just hope Ali finds something that will help him truly take off.
I was really glad to see William Regal appear on this show, if not also for the fact that there was acknowledgement that NXT exists. It appears the King of the Ring tournament is being boosted in importance this year, and I do like that certain talents are being highlighted to be part of it from down there. Zack Gibson as a single is the most interesting name drawn.
Following on from that, I liked the six-man tag team match with the Hurt Business taking the win against British Strong Style. I feel like this would happen in real life. It worked for getting big heat on the homegrown guys, in what read like a pretty epic-sounding contest.
Tommaso Ciampa and The Miz making the card felt strange to me, in the sense I don't think it necessarily needed to happen here. It was short and came across like a buffer match regardless, but it wasn't the exciting pay-per-view debut Ciampa could have done with.
I know Sami Zayn isn't the biggest guy in the world, but the size difference between he and Lio Rush would have still been a sight to behold. Good action with Rush handed some opportunities, but the WWE Intercontinental Championship is best around Sami at this point in time.
Another homegrown loss in Piper Niven to Shayna Baszler. A win over a bigger woman like Niven truly gets Shayna over as the dominant WWE Women's Universal Champion. I didn't gel with the match too much, and felt it went a little too long for comfort, but it got the MMA Horsewomen over some more.
I will bet that Samoa Joe and John Cena would have torn the house down, and at this juncture, Joe probably should have gotten the win here. I feel like in a slightly different timeline, this could have handily main evented. I also really appreciate this not being another submission win, given we've seen that already with Shayna.
Drew McIntyre retaining the WWE Championship in his home country made for a brill main event and I felt Cesaro looked strong in defeat. Again, the match may have gone on too long for my liking, but it worked for greater establishing Drew as the face of the company, as he should be in 2020. I never really got why Cesaro was hanging around with the Ingobernables, so I'm alright with him potentially being on the outs, if the Zelina Vega aspect was anything to go off of.
Overall, a well-written show that featured copious amounts of drama. There were a few matches I felt were out of place on a show of this calibre, but it sets things in motion for No Mercy and beyond.
