This past weekend was HUGE for wrestling, with WWE, Impact, NJPW and PROGRESS all putting on major shows. For updates on our weekend at the Electric Ballroom and Ally Pally head to our Instagram page, where Dom captured some amazing footage.
Back to the Nerd Watch though, and this WWE show looked great on paper. Lots of matches to review, so we roped in our Twitter follower Josh Headey to deliver the opener.
Let's get stuck in, shall we?
CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP - DREW GULAK (C) v LINCE DORADO v HUMBERTO CARILLO
By Josh Headey
Sadly we once again see the stars of 205 Live take up their eternal role on the kick-off show of a Pay-Per-View. But what they may lose from their unfortunate spot on the card they usually make up for with a decent level of in-ring quality, so fingers crossed.
For those who don’t watch the weekly show you’ll notice we no longer get to here the dulcet tones of Nigel McGuinness alongside Aiden English and the dashing Vic Joseph on commentary. As of this past week, with Nigel now the sole property of the USA Network bound NXT, Dio Maddin (Brennan Williams before he got his WWE name) has come straight from the Performance Centre as his replacement.
Coming in to this one Lince Dorado is fresh off a win over fellow contender Humberto Carrillo recently that ended the dimple-blessed Mexican’s relatively long unbeaten streak. This was a really fun match that saw all 3 utilise their array of moves, but given how contrasting Gulak is to his two challengers it made for an interesting dynamic.
The main story of the match essentially saw Carrillo and Dorado do the more acrobatic and high-flying moves almost in-spite of Gulak. The champion took every chance to play party-pooper and bring his submission based offence into play whenever he could and it didn’t matter who was the victim, as long as Drew could stretch someone he seemed content.
Although both challengers came close to winning at different stages the fans seemed most into Carrillo. This was emphasised when he ran and charged at Gulak in the corner before hitting a dropkick off the ropes. Carrillo defiantly roared “COME ONNNN” and the crowd responded in kind.
They did a spot with Carrillo on the top as Dorado ran at Gulak, who then lifted him over his shoulders and into Carrillo, although Dorado didn’t seem to connect fully with the dropkick. He did though get all of the superkick he hit on Gulak, and followed up with a super-Hurricanrana to Carrillo. Lince then went back up top and executed a beautiful shooting star press, only for Carrillo to move out the way in time.
Carrillo would shortly after hit his Aztec Press finisher. But just as it seemed Aiden English was about to cry tears of joy… Drew Gulak rushed in and launched Carrillo into the ringpost and got the pin to the downed Lince Dorado for himself! Gulak retains!
This was a really fun watch, but definitely different to the usual spot-fest singles matches we see from the 205 Live crew on the big shows. As for Gulak retaining you wont catch me complaining one bit. He’s a good wrestler and a versatile character and right now I feel he’s the only guy to carry the show.
WINNER AND STILL CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION - DREW GULAK BY OPPORTUNISM
US CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - AJ STYLES (C) v CEDRIC ALEXANDER
By Ro Ahmad
So I don't usually watch the pre-shows as nothing really major happens on them, so I was shocked when I had to go back and watch the pre-show to review this.
We get the entrances... this is Cedric's hometown... could he score an upset and take the title in front of his hometown crowd??? I never realised how tiny AJ's nipples are... practically non existent... but I digress...
Onto the match... Bell rings and the match starts and BOOM! Cedric hits a Michinoku driver as soon as the bell rings for a very near fall. He follows with a tope, and back in, Cedric hits the back handspring kick for a 2 count. Chops from Cedi (WOOOOOOO... more like SUEEEEEEEEEEEE based on recent reports about Naich not happy about "The Man").
An enziguri and Styles thwarts the springboard attack and suplexes him on the apron.... that looked painful! AJ follows with a style clash on the floor outside. Back in the ring and AJ covers for 2 as he pulls Alexander up. There's a back breaker and then the calf crusher is locked in but Cedric makes it to the ropes to break the hold.
Leg kicks from AJ, but Alexander follows with a back elbow and the slingshot and covers for a 2 count. AJ hits a reverse DDT, and looks to springboard in and hits the phenomenal forearm. He immediately hits the styles clash and covers 123 for the win.
Champion AJ Styles defeated Cedric Alexander in about 5 mins. Short match and not really enough time for these two as they have the potential to have a great match if given more. I liked the false finish start where Cedric almost got the pin with the Michinoku Driver but the rest of the match was mostly AJ dominating.
Short and underwhelming. I give it 2 stars... could have given these two at least another 5 mins to have a proper fun match.
WINNER AND STILL US CHAMPION - AJ STYLES
RAW TAG CHAMPIONSHIP - SETH ROLLINS & BRAUN STROWMAN (C) v ROBERT ROODE & DOLPH ZIGGLER
By Simon Mehdi
So I decided to chose this match because I knew there will be some entertaining and tense moments involving the two tag team champions Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins. The two would later on go against each other for the WWE Universal title so it was all eyes on how they could keep their rivalry aside to defend their tag titles against the newly formed tag team challengers: Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.
Strowman starts off the match showing his strength by over powering Roode as he shoves him on his back. Roode realises that he is in the shit vs Braun and turns to Ziggler for some advice who then gets involved by tagging in to come against the monster among men. Ziggler then uses Roode as a distraction to attack Braun but eventually gets taken out by Braun’s big size 1000 boot. Roode also gets a taste of Braun’s right hand that takes him out.
Rollins who was loving the fact that Braun was doing all the work tags in and then we see some double team action as Braun whips him into Ziggler who is slowly coming back to his senses in the turnbuckle. Rollins ends up getting a two count from Strowman’s shoulder tackle on Ziggler. Dolph fights back and tags in his partner who attempts a double team manoeuvre of their own but it gets countered by Rollins who gets rid of Ziggler and now he is one on one with Roode.
The team of Roode and Ziggler gain the upper hand as Seth was sent crashing outside by Roode and was met by a DDT by Ziggler outside the ring to the floor. Both Roode and Ziggler now look to be in control. Ziggler tags back in and strikes Rollins continuously and despite a fight back from Rollins, Dolph hits a fameasser for a 2 count. It’s Roode’s turn to enter the ring as he delivers a chop (WOOOOO) but can only muster just a 1 count by suplexing Seth.
Rollins looks like he could probably do with a tag at this moment as the heels continue to dominate but his partner is maybe having his later Universal title shot on his mind. Braun finally gets his hot tag after seeing his partner getting mauled by the veteran heels. He immediately shoulder charges Ziggler twice while taking out Roode at the meantime. Braun is on a rager at this moment as he delivers a big clothesline to Ziggler on the turnbuckle.
Strowman is high on momentum, he exits the ring and starts a run up to completely run over both Roode and Ziggler who sells it perfectly as you would expect from him. Now back in the ring Braun delivers another splash to Ziggler on the turnbuckle but as he attempts to attack Ziggler again, his eyes are raked by Ziggler to which the official acts like he didn’t see the blatant act (I could hear Matt shouting from here).
As a result Dolph gets a tag and delivers a super kick as a parting shot. With Roode now the legal man. He decides it’s smart to try to lift Strowman for the glorious DDT but to no avail. Strowman launches him off and tags in Rollins. Rollins enters with a spring board knee to face on Roode followed by a super kick. As Rollins attempts to gain some momentum he is suddenly stopped by Ziggler who grabs his legs completely diverting Rollins attention.
Roode then tries another glorious DDT but flops again as Rollins reverses and then suicide dives to the outside on Ziggler who flies into the announce tables. Seth then jumps into the ring but is caught with a mean looking spinebuster however he survives the pin. Roode looks to set up for his third attempt of the DDT but Braun takes him out who is driven into Rollins whose head rebounds off the turnbuckle.
Rollins is dazed as a result and is met with the glorious DDT and we have new tag team champions! This was a solid match and was quite enjoyable to watch despite it being an outcome me and many others expected.
Despite this, the finish worked well with Rollins taking the pin for his team after a slight error by Strowman who inadvertently bumped Roode into his own tag partner. Which set up a post match stare-down between the stricken partners who now look to compete against each other later in the evening.
It also refreshingly setup the match between Roode and Rollins on RAW the night after. Roode did just pin the Universal champion after all!
WINNERS AND NEW RAW TAG CHAMPIONS - ROBERT ROODE & DOLPH ZIGGLER BY MISCOMMUNICATION
SMACKDOWN WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP - BAYLEY (C) v CHARLOTTE FLAIR
By Matt Connolly
This week I'm back in the game and given what I think could be a Doozy! Bayley defending her Smackdown title against the Women she beat to win the belt, Charlotte Flair. The video package is expert of course. I don't watch WWE weekly anymore but I am with the majority in praising the work of whoever puts together these montages. Very rarely fail to deliver and set the scene perfectly. This one is no different.
I haven't seen any of heel Bayley yet and I have to admit I'm sceptical. So Charlotte is out first. In her hometown so might aswell chalk this up as a loss. Looking for her 10th title reign which is nuts really when you think how long she has left in the tank. It's purple attire from Charlotte tonight. Does she have a losing colour like her Father? Answers on a postcard.
Bayley next. It's an initial pop followed by a low boo. She still has the Tube Men? And she offers high five's to kids? YOU ARE BAD NOW BAYLEY UNLEASH THE INNER BASTARD! Tell the kids to do one and drop the tubes. I guess she is the classic heel who thinks they are babyface and Byron is trying to drive that home on commentary but I'd rather a bigger transformation personally.
Anyway the lights lower and we have a spotlight on the two participants to give it that big fight feel. Early in the card but I buy it. On board. WOW! Hot start as Charlotte hit's her big boot early. She has won titles with that. It's only enough for a two this time but we know we are in a fight now. Bayley retreats to the outside but Charlotte gives chase.
All the early striking is from the challenger but the tide is turned by a hair pull by Bayley. It's not very Bayley. I like it. Charlotte ends up with a two of a nasty looking elbow strike before trying to tee up the Figure 4/8 but Bayley cowers to the bottom rope. Again good work from Bayley who is usually on the front foot in these matches. She makes her second exit from the ring but Charlotte goes out there and starts to fling her into the barricades like a sack of spuds.
It's all Charlotte here. She gets a two count before reigning down more strikes and then starts to drive down onto the knee of Bayley, no doubt attempting to soften up for her finish. Bayley reverses the submission attempt into a roll up which again only gets 2 before a second huge big boot from Charlotte regains control. Charlotte starts driving Bayley's head into the bottom turnbuckle with her boot. It's vicious but in fitting with the story of Charlotte doing whatever is necessary to retain what she sees as her divine right.
The ref intervenes and tells Charlotte to chill and it's the separation Bayley needs. She removes the bottom turnbuckle pad and shoves Charlotte straight into it, then capitalising instantly with a 3 count for the win. That was out of nowhere. I feel a bit short changed by that. It could of only gone 3 or 4 minutes.
I get that it's a sneaky heel win and Bayley establishes that she will cheat to get the job done but a bit more back and forth would of done more for both competitors. More of this at Hell In A Cell? I'm not mad about that.
WINNER AND STILL SMACKDOWN WOMENS CHAMPION - BAYLEY BY SNEAKY HEEL WIN
SMACKDOWN TAG CHAMPIONSHIP - THE NEW DAY (C) v THE REVIVAL
By Matt Brummitt
For anyone who had the pleasure/torment of reading my last NWW contribution, you’ll be pleased to know that I fully intend to keep tonight’s instalment below the prior’s 1,800 word count. Don’t get me wrong, this match does drag with it some intrigue. However, the overall New Day vs Randy Revival feud that this thread constitutes feels more like an appealing patchwork than a Norman tapestry.
One thing unites this match with the night’s other tag title scrap; they are both intrinsically linked with each brand’s single title matches. I am all for thematic strands within wrestling cards but disappointment arises when we analyse the power relationships at work here. If you forgive me a crude culinary metaphor; it’s the singles titles that are very much the main dishes tonight with the Raw tag titles serving as a starter (or at worst a hearty canapé) & the SD tag titles as a side dish.
Observers of Vincent K. McMahon’s predilections will not be jumping out of their gaming chairs at this suggestion. Tag team wrestling has been the problem child of WWE for the majority of the past two decades. One could argue that tag team wrestling fans should be happy that (a) we’re getting not one but two main roster PPV tag matches; (b) neither are on the pre-show; & (c) both matches actually have storylines. My rejoinder to this self-generated Braun strawman is that just because you toss me morsels doesn’t mean I can’t think about the banquet.
Woods & Dash start proceedings. Dawson reaches through the ropes to grab at Woods’ gammy knee. He misses out but Dash doesn’t as he delivers a knee kick to Woods. Big E, not happy with Dawson’s tomfoolery, clotheslines him on the outside as Woods gets back on top inside the ring. E tags in & roughhouses Dash. Dawson attacks Woods from behind with a good ol’ apron pull & the distraction is enough for Dash to hit E with a jumping clothesline on the other side of the apron.
Dash gets E back in the ring for a pinfall but only barely gets a 2. He and Dawson isolate E in their corner & do Revival stuff for a bit. E gets a minor flurry in but D&D shut that shit down pronto. Dawson tries another cover but only gets a 1. Woods is still hurt on the outside. E reverses an Irish whip to the corner but has no one to tag. Wilder tries to cut E off nevertheless and gets a belly-to-belly for his troubles.
Woods is now back on the apron & looks like a new man. Big E musters up some spirit & gets the hot tag to Woods! I like this inversion of the usual Woods/E hot tag relationship, especially with Woods returning from injury for a bit of retribution. Woods’ hot tag routine is good here; I’ll never tire of the Honour Roll, despite seeing a fledgling Consequences Creed first drop it over a decade ago. Woods isn’t done as he hits Dawson with the rope-dive DDT. He goes for a pin but Dash breaks it up by stomping on his injured knee.
This leads to the match breaking down. Whilst Woods sells his knee in the middle, The Revival hit a Shatter Machine to E on the outside. Dash & Dawson both sell this even though they were the instigators. This is a nice touch & a practice observed much less than it should be. They are up faster than E though & go straight for Woods in the ring. Woods battles back well but is stopped by a Dash chop block to his bad knee. If anyone wants to take me on a 2 week cruise to solely discuss the majesty of a well-executed chop block, please speak to my agent at your earliest convenience.
D&D continue the Woods bullying & then hit the Shatter Machine! With E on the outside, this match should be done. Dawson is about to go for the cover but Dash stops him. Mais pourquoi, mon petit Wilder? Dash then rips the kneebrace off Woods & Dawson cottons on. Dawson goes one step further and rips the tights to expose Woods’ knee.
Dash goes to the outside to keep E at bay whilst Dawson applies a sweet looking inverted figure 4 / deathlock style submission. Woods is screaming in agony as his knee crumbles. Woods gets close to the ropes. Dash is eyeballing him from the outside. Woods taps! Wowzer!! NEW TAG TEAM CHAMPS! First team ever to win the NXT, Raw, & SD tag belts. Well done fellas!
Summary: The downside of this match was the time it was given. By my count this came in at 10 minutes on the money which is probably on the light side of what it deserved. Another 5 minutes could have ramped up the atmosphere for the finish. With that said, the short time made the finish feel more of a surprise as well as keeping things tight. The guys also did well at cramming everything into the time they had & that finish felt fresh & interesting. Worth a watch if you have 10 minutes spare.
Post-match: As Woods sells the knee, The Revival stand at the top of the ramp & cut a promo on how good they are & how stupid The New Day are. They then segue into how Randy Orton will win the title later. They even referred to Orton’s win being “an even bigger treat” than The Revival winning the tag titles! What did I say about this match being the side dish of the story?
WINNERS AND NEW SMACKDOWN TAG CHAMPIONS - THE REVIVAL BY OPEN KNEE SURGERY
WOMENS TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - ALEXA BLISS & NIKKI CROSS (C) v FIRE & DESIRE
By Pete Hitchcock
Here's an unpopular opinion for all of you. Alexa Bliss has done more for and elevated Nikki Cross about ten times more than Asuka did in NXT. For that matter, these two have done more for and elevated the tag titles more than Sasha and Bayley and the Iiconics combined. Haters stay mad.
Truth and Carmella show up during the backstage promo beforehand with one of my favourite props, a giant fucking boom mic. Alexa snitches on Truth for his 24/7 belt and sends him packing, total Karen move there. Promo for HIAC. I don't know why I'm watching this. Can Wrestling Should Be Fun rebrand as an 80s puro promotion.
Fire and Desire make their entrances, have they always had the dodgy mashup theme where it cuts back and forth between their solo songs seemingly at Random? Ouch. Also, I get Mandy is probably desire but how is Sonya fire? Bliss and Cross out next with the short Nikki entrance followed by Alexa's theme, Corey tries to shit on it, but it's easy to tell who's got the star energy.
Bliss and Cross have their regular gear schemes but the colours match, which is a nice touch. Mandy gets the advantage immediately slamming Nikki before doing a cartwheel to show off. YOU ARE WRESTLING FOR A TITLE.
Nikki with a basement dropkick and Sonya tags in, who is thankfully much more down to do business. Bliss is doing moves! Mandy and Bliss in the same ring at the same time and I'm expecting Corey to have a stroke. Bliss does the insault to injury before Truth runs in followed by the 24/7 posse and Bliss gets a rollup on Truth but it's just for 2!
Is that the first time someone has kicked out of a rollup for the 24/7 belt? The distraction allows Sonya to get the heat. Mandy with a vertical suplex and Sonya follows with a knee. This, unfortunately, isn't much. Sonya 'slowing the match right down' according to Renee which is exactly what we need.
Bliss gets a rollup for 2 on Mandy, before both women cross-counter and are both down. Corey was an EMT once? That's interesting. Nikki gets the hot tag and oh god she has Becky Lynch running syndrome, I can't believe I haven't noticed that before. Nikki hits a crossbody and tags in Bliss but the heels are able to rally and knock Nikki to the outside and slam Bliss into the middle.
They hit their double team finisher, which does look cool but Nikki breaks it up just in time before Mandy misses a knee in the corner. Cross hits the solo rope assisted Magic Killer that Evil and Sanada occasionally use to get the pin.
This wasn't much but the camera work during Mandy and Sonya's double team finisher did at least make it look like Nikki came in out of nowhere for the save which was cool. Back to the studio.
WINNERS AND STILL WOMENS TAG CHAMPIONS - ALEXA BLISS & NIKKI CROSS BY SOLO MAGIC KILLER
INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - SHINSUKE NAKAMURA (C) v THE MIZ
By Daniel Wildash
On one side you have a WWE veteran who has probably been the most consistent superstar in the last 10 years. The other side you have someone who never really hit the heights of his NJPW days. This should be a cracking match!
Miz out first. I hate face Miz. He's so much better as heel and seeing him high five a child makes me sick to my stomach. Now I'll be honest, I don't really keep up to date with WWE that much anymore (sorry Ross) and Sami Zayn coming out is confusing me. We'll just skip this part.
Nakamura comes out with a cape looking like Zorro and they flashback to last Tuesday where Zayn got chokeslammed by the phenom. Cheers WWE for the helping hand to tell me why he's got a massive bandage round his neck Bell rings and off we go!
Sami has the mic talking about how bad The Miz and the Carolina Panthers are. Zayn's mic soon gets cut which he is visibly frustrated with. Miz taunts Nakamura and goes to the outside where he chucks Zayn's now cut off mic up the entrance ramp Nakamura lands some kicks on Miz's chest but ends up getting countered onto the ropes where Miz digs his knee into the back of his leg.
Miz on top for a while and tries for a figure 4 which gets countered into an arm bar. Quick pin and Miz hits a ddt onto Nakamura. Skull crushing finale gets countered by Nakamura. Zayn gets incredibly excited as Nakamura is starting to get back on top after earlier. Kinshasa incoming but Miz counters into a figure 4 leg lock "in flair country" as Michael Cole yells.
Nakamura grabs the ropes and gets out of it. Zayn grabs Miz's legs to distract him and gets his beanie stolen off him. Never steal a man's hat Miz as Nakamura hits a vicious knee onto the back of his neck. Somehow Miz kicks out of that! He's looking for the Kinshasa but Miz counters into the skull crushing finale.
Zayn jumps up onto the ropes and distracts the ref from counting the pin. An incensed Miz chases Zayn round the ring and gets kicked square in the jaw by Nakamura. KINSHASHA from Nakamura ends it.
Honestly, this was pretty good. Nice pacing and both guys did the job pretty well. Miz still chasing that ninth IC title!
WINNER AND STILL INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION - SHINSUKE NAKAMURA BY DISTRACTION KINSHASA
RAW WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP - BECKY LYNCH (C) v SASHA BANKS
By JCH
So I watched this show and took no notes. So this is all from memory. It should be mainly correct. There was a pretty good video package before catching me up. The match was pretty solid. The crowd were into it, which helped.
Then Becky smashed the ref with a chair and it all kicked off. Sasha realised she may have woken the Beast in Becky and tried to run. Becky followed and just destroyed her. Disarmer over a railings, mustard to the back.
Beating her All round the arena as Sasha tried to run away. Eventually Becky chased her back to the ring where she put the Disarmer on over a chair. Sasha again tapping wildly. The original ref by the way is still out. What is he made of? Paper?
Some other refs dragged Becky off and she is announced the loser as she shrugs and walks up the ramp, Whilst the victorious Sasha cowers in the ring. I quite enjoyed this, but I don’t think Sasha came off particularly well after entering like a badass - she left broken. Becky on the other hand, looked like an absolute killer.
WINNER BUT NOT RAW WOMENS CHAMPION - SASHA BANKS BY BROKEN BADASS
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP - KOFI KINGSTON (C) v RANDY ORTON
By Mat Carlson
Mat went on holiday and didn't have time for his WSBF duties. His card is marked and will be facing disciplinary action soon. Nerd wrestlers court assemble - what should his punishment be?
WINNER AND STILL WWE CHAMPION - KOFI KINGSTON BY CARLSON FORFEIT
ERICK ROWAN v ROMAN REIGNS
By Nineties Mike
So, what to do with a problem like Roman Reigns? Nobody knows whether to boo him or cheer him. His matches are pretty formulaic, even more so since he’s been back, but he ALWAYS bloody wins. And so began the saga of who was trying to kill Roman. Unbelievably, this story goes as far back as July, when on Smackdown a (definitely not rigged) piece of standard backstage gear falls onto our unsuspecting Samoan.
The next week on Raw, he is nearly mown down by a mystery driver in a car in the parking lot. Samoa Joe was with him, so that ruled him out. He accuses Buddy Murphy of knowing who did it because he saw him hanging around, and then bullies Murphy into naming Rowan as the culprit (who is the face here?).
Despite denials and demanding apologies for what appeared to be a false accusation, Daniel Bryan and Rowan revealed the culprit to be… Fowan, a weird, old Rowan-alike. This has now been omitted from history, however, and left out of the pre-match promo, which ends with Rowan attacking Roman, revealing that he was proud of what he’d attempted, turning on Bryan with an Iron Claw into the announce table, and then brawling with Rowan to close go-home edition of Smackdown.
Listening on the Network version of this event, Roman gets mainly cheered, but you never know how much the noise has been altered these days. Out comes Roman, looking suitably mean and moody, but in a nice, fan-friendly way of course. Rowan enters next, staring out anyone in the ramp area daft enough to look him in the eyes. ROMAN CAN’T WAIT FOR THE BELL, COS HE’S, LIKE, REALLY ANGRY.
Rowan rolls into the ring to try to escape, but he takes so long getting his jacket off that Roman catches him and starts the second-rope-ten-fists-of-doom spot he dearly loves, only for Rowan to cut him off at nine! Rowan throws him outside and kicks off the slow-death-march of battering Roman for ages (until he comes back and wins) by throwing him at the wall and face-first onto the German announce table.
More barrier and then ring steps, before The Big Dog avoids The Big Ginge’s charge into the steps. Now Rowan smacks Roman over the barrier with the steps, followed by a kendo stick strike. The fans must be petrified with this attempted murderer running amok amongst them! But then Rowan ruins it all by asking “Who’s looking at me now?” Erm, all of us, dickhead….
Anyway, Roman fights back with some patented heavy rights, and then his awfully-named Drive-By, leaving Rowan floored. The announce table is cleared by Rocky Maivia’s Least Favourite Cousin, but before he can use it, Rowan appears from nowhere with a charge and Reigns is flattened. It’s now Rowan with the momentum, and he’s picking Roman apart with punches, kicks, slams and whips into the buckles.
A big splash leaves Roman looking like he’s going to vomit (but unlike Warrior, he holds it in), and that’s BEFORE Rowan hits him with a second-rope clothesline for 1… 2… NO! The Decimation Of Roman Reigns continues (ugh, Todd Phillips said that exact thing just as I typed it) but we all know he needs to be shot or stabbed for him to stay down. He tries to fight back, but Rowan strikes again with a Uranage.
Rowan misses a clothesline and Roman gives him one of his own, sending Rowan out, but he’s still standing! He then sends Reigns face-first into the LED board and back in for a 2-count. Graves has now mentioned about five times how Rowan has both brains and brawn. Rowan drops the steps over the top rope and into the ring, but Roman ducks the latest attempt at murder, only just picks up the giant (not THE giant) and a Samoan Drop puts him down, but just for 2.
Rowan misses a charge, gets hit with the steps and a SUPERMAN PUNCH, but kicks out at 2 again. Both brutes are showing the effects of battle now and get a nice breather before Roman tries a RUNNING SUPERMAN PUNCH, only for Rowan to suss this out and Power Bomb Reigns through the (balsa wood) announce table. He tosses him into the ring, and surely this is it?! Reigns rolls out at 2.4 (LOL).
We’re going back into the crowd now and Reigns gets clocked with the time-keeper’s bell on their way out (incidentally, wrestling timekeeper is a fake job, surely?), before they trade blows all over the TV equipment behind the fans. A massive Iron Claw through a table from Rowan, and he then carries him towards the stage, presumably to batter him all the way back to the ring.
They then look like they’re copying Rowan hitting Reigns with a camera spot from Smackdown, but Reigns picks up a metal pipey-thing and hammers it into the midriff of our Ginger Brainiac, before twice repeating the camera-as-a-weapon spot. We then get our second SUPERMAN PUNCH.
Just as Roman goes for a probably-match-ending Spear, he’s kicked in the face by… LLUUKKE HHAARRPPEERR! YESSSSSSSSSSSSS! The most under-rated and under-used big guy is back, the Bludgeon Brothers are reunited (and it feels so good)!
Wrestling giants in combats and metal band t-shirts rule! Reigns is thrown into the ring, Harper Irish Whips Rowan into Reigns in the corner, Rowan feeds him to Harper and he hits a BIG Clothesline. Iron Claw in the centre of the ring, and that’s your 1, 2, 3! Sadistic smiles all round from the Brothers of Bludgeoning. And Reigns hasn’t moved since the Iron Claw. Harper getting “Welcome Back” chants? He’s a heel, you morons!
So, where does this lead? Bludgeon Brothers vs Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan at Hell in a Cell? SIGN. ME. UP. The end was great, and they kept it mercifully short, so this nearly gets a thumbs up from me. Well done, lads.
WINNER - ERICK ROWAN BY BLUDGEON BROTHER REUNION
UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP - SETH ROLLINS (C) v BRAUN STROWMAN
By Ross Casey
Seth Rollins has pulled off some tremendous performances as Universal Champion against Brock Lesnar, so this match against the Monster of Men should also be a great one in my opinion.
Pre match, Seth says that he respects Braun - even considers him a friend - but he slayed a Beast before and now its time to add a monster to his collection. Nice line, that.
I loved the start to this - it immediately showed the tactics from both competitors. Braun came out of the blocks with a running shoulder tackle showing his hand early, which elicited plenty of excitement from the crowd and Seth's response was to attack the legs of the monster in an effort to ground him.
He succeeds and then lands a beautiful frog splash - which gets a ZERO count. Seth looks perplexed. What now? In desperation, he goes for the curb stomp finisher! However, Braun simply catches him and slams him to the mat.
At that point the pace of the match decidedly slows, with Braun picking Seth off with power shots. Seth gets shoulder tackled outside twice, but Braun misses the third and crashes into the commentary table. A pair of suicide dives sees Braun disintegrate the table underneath him - it looked very slapstick - which tickled me.
A little nod here - Seth keeps on rolling outside, because he can't lose the title there. That won't apply at Hell In A Cell!
Back in the ring, Braun - now sporting a bloody nose - hits a ridiculously good top rope splash. The mountain of a man almost fell up top, but saved it and absolutely killed Seth there. He hurts his knee in doing so though, so can't follow up for the pinfall.
Hands up who thinks that should be his new finisher? *Raises hand*
Seth soon turns the tide, and hits a curb stomp. BRAUN KICKS OUT AT ONE! A second stomp... BRAUN KICKS OUT AT TWO! A third Stomp... BRAUN KICKS OUT AT 2.5!
Braun reverses a fourth stomp and looks for his running powerslam - but his knee gives out. PEDIGREE by Trips' former protege. A FOURTH CURB STOMP! This time, Seth gets the duke.
That was an excellent sprint. Seth again excels at working from underneath and Braun continues to put in great performances, whilst also playing the role of the nearly man. That is now EIGHT Universal Championship matches he has failed to bring home the red gold. Will his time ever come?
Post match as Seth is celebrating, The Fiend appears and hits a Sister Abigail on the stage, following up with a Mandible Claw on the champion... to rapturous cheers from the live crowd. Seth's cheers at Summerslam must seem years ago to him!
So, in conclusion, the match was a success in terms of quality, with Braun and Seth both delivering their end of the bargain. However, it got neither over like the Brock v Seth one did last month - but it never was going to thanks to the face v face dynamic.
The Fiend attacking at the end capped off a decent PPV in my opinion, bring on Hell In A Cell.
WINNER AND STILL UNIVERSAL CHAMPION - SETH ROLLINS BY STORED FINISHERS
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