WWE BASH IN BERLIN

Another show happening at a perfect time for us Europeans, so why not watch it!

WWE BASH IN BERLIN

WWE Championship
Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens
This felt like a pretty generic big WWE match. The whole KO-not-pulling-the-trigger -angle was not something I cared about whatsoever. Owens wasn't compelling at all when briefly targeting Cody's mid-section & Cody's comebacks were hollow. Then the match is just soulless big move trading & nearfalls for the most part. Combine that with the mentioned silly drama. Very uninspiring overall. *1/2

Women's Tag Team Championship
Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn vs. Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill
Kind of exactly what one would expect I think. Nothing much & certainly not something anyone will remember, but it did its job. Solid hot tag by Cargill. *3/4

Strap Match
CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre
Now this was more like it after the SummerSlam match! A very good dislike-fueled fight. Punk rocked it all the way through with his masterful selling & great moments on the offense. The only real fear going into this was that they would pack the match with the bracelet-melodrama, but they thankfully kept that to the minimum & had a sweet, pretty damn kick-ass grudge match. ***1/2

Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio vs. Rhea Ripley & Damian Priest
This was a fun tag number. Dominik is great at getting whooped, and I enjoyed him & Liv gaining momentum via heel tactics. Priest & Rhea were good at delivering an energetic beatdown, especially Priest. Even the Judgment Day shenanigans in the last third of the match were done really well and in a way that it added to the match. Fantastic crowd as well definitely added to it all. A good time! ***

World Heavyweight Championship
Gunther vs. Randy Orton
This was real good. Long & methodical, but it fit these two very well. The match built as it progressed with Orton displaying a great strategy with him compellingly going after Gunther's arm, which Gunther answered to by selling it big throughout & having to adjust his gameplan(s) on the fly. Now I will say the match took a while to get going, but once it did, it was just some really good, compelling wrestling perfectly fit to be wrestled for the Heavyweight Strap. ***1/2

AEW ALL IN: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Gonna be watching this live, as it is happening at a beautiful time for us European folks. Feeling a lot of emotions about the main event, where my favorite wrestler of all-time is putting his career on the line.

AEW ALL IN 2024

Ladder Match
The Patriarchy vs. House of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta & PAC
I always pop for a multi-man ladder match opening a huge show like this. It's the perfect spot for a match of this kind. This was a really fun one! Everybody got shine & time to do their big spots - Nick Wayne & The Gunns in particular had a couple of really nice, big, brutal ones. Shoutout is in order for Claudio too who was, unsurprisingly, also firing it up with his always wonderful offense - that 3D counter ruled big time. ***1/2

AEW Women's World Championship
Toni Storm vs. Mariah May
Some poor selling here n' there in this match after supposed-to-be big moves, but other than that, I enjoyed this very much. One of the best feuds of the year & they delivered a big-time match here. Both women rocked their roles so well with Toni as the classic babyface with exciting offense & Mariah as the sneaky yet nasty & merciless heel. ***3/4

FTW Championship
Chris Jericho vs. Hook
This was alright. Hook has some nice throws & solid strikes. Felt like this match was just about the perfect length too, didn't overstay its welcome & served its purpose. **1/4

AEW World Tag Team Championships
The Young Bucks vs. The Acclaimed vs. FTR
A super uninteresting match on paper, and a super uninteresting match it ended up being. Felt like there was no kick or heat to it, and it was lacking in ANY stand-out moments. *1/4

Casino Gauntlet
NIGEL MCGUINNESS. Man, what a moment. Goosebumps when his theme hit. And just look at all the wrestlers involved in this, shit is crazy. Nigel's exchanges with Kyle, Okada & ZSJ were all just bliss, Jarrett showing up & showing everyone that all-timer punch of his, Ricochet debuting, CHRISTIAN!! - man. Shit was crazy. Pure pro-wrestling joy. ***3/4

AEW International Championship
MJF vs. Will Ospreay
Missed most of this. NR

AEW TBS Championship
Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker
This sadly wasn't very good. Mercedes had some neat moments when controlling things, like that big avalanche slam, but Britt just wasn't very interesting fighting from underneath with her selling not being very good/sympathetic & her comebacks not being exciting at all. Would've loved to see Mercedes have a better match on a stage like this. **1/4

AEW TNT Championship
Jack Perry vs. Darby Allin
Darby takes a shitload of innovative & visual punishment (as one would expect). It's brutal & tight. Good match. ***1/4

AEW World Championship
Title vs. Career
Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson
This was perfect. Amazing, stadium wrestling with both guys being perfect. Bryan Danielson is my favorite wrestler ever, and in my opinion the greatest wrestler ever, so this made me feel big emotions all the way through. It felt like a match that will live on forever. *****