Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins
I did not sit through their Iron Man match, but this was just about exactly how I would envision a match between Dolph Ziggler & Seth Rollins going. And that is not a positive thing in my eyes - just forgettable wrestling from start to finish, with weak looking offense by both & the usual indyriffic big movez by Rollins. Not my kind of rasslin'. *
The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The New Day
Xavier Woods' FIP segment that started the match was painfully boring, but once Big E got the hot tag & he started throwing the Bludgeon Bros around, things got good & remained that till the end. **3/4
Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens
That was a solid squash - Owens sure bumps like a madman to make Braun's moves look even more violent than they already do. That Chokeslam was absolutely BRUTAL. **
Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair
Rough & awkward for the first half, but it did get going, and by the end it was a solid match. The post-match angle was definitely the highlight though. **
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
Got a kick out of the chants of "TNA!", gotta admit. Very cool seeing these two go at it for the richest prize in the biz in one of the biggest wrestling shows of the year, and they sure brought their classic chemistry to the thing - Joe with his all-time great offense work, and AJ with his legendary bumping. Very good match. ***1/2
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz
First things first; this did not come close to their NOC '10 classic, and they had a better match few months back at a house show in Newcastle, but it definitely still was one helluva bout. Great storytelling with both guys' characters inside the ring; Miz wanted to prove that he can hang with Bryan's rasslin', and Bryan had an answer & a way out of basically everything the man did, which of course then played into the finish perfectly with Miz having to cheat to get the W. The IT Kick hulk up & the slaps that followed were beautiful. ***3/4
Baron Corbin vs. Finn Bálor
Not a very interesting squash. *
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy
I was almost dreading the thought of watching these two go at it for over 10 minutes, but boy were those thoughts wrong, because this match absolutely rocked. Great swagger & charisma between the two brought a fun dynamic - Nakamura was vicious with his work on top, and Jeff was in his element fighting from underneath with his brilliant bumping & comebacks. Played into both of their strengths greatly. ***1/2
Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey
Best squash of the night goes to KO/Braun, but this was also OK. A couple of amusing moments & some killer offense by Ronda, but very bleh overall. At least Bliss wasn't booked to go 50/50 against Ronda, that is what I was most worried about. *1/2
Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
A very good, bombfest sprint. Really nothing else to add, since it was basically just a big move after big move after big move. Brock's selling was great as usual, as well. ***1/4
To be honest, I only managed to watch the first 10 minutes of Styles vs Joe and I was bored like hell. I didn't watch Smackdown for some time, but I know what's going on there and considering the fact that Joe brought Styles' family into their feud and even taunted him right before the match, I'd imagine Styles would consider this personal and they'd start some rough brawl. Like Bryan said in his book, in angles like these, it should be more fighting than wrestling.
ReplyDeleteAfter skipping Styles vs Joe, I only watched Bryan vs Miz. These two matches were the only matches I was interested in. While Styles vs Joe let me down (also, WWE title feels more like a midcard title right now and that's just very, very bad), I really enjoyed this one. Not exactly a MOTYC, but definitely one of the best Bryan's matches since his return (maybe the second best, after his match against Styles).
I think you're spot on with your thoughts about Styles' performance in the match, and while I thought he could've shown more intensity & sell the feud more, he did tell the story of him trying to keep it as a straight World Championship match, not wanting it to be personal. But then Joe did his thing on the announce table & that pushed it over the edge. I am sure their next PPV meeting will be quite the brawl.
DeleteWell, it's possible that I'd appreciate the match more if I actually watched it in full length. But really, those first 10 minutes really made me go "ugh".
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