WWE Extreme Rules 2015 Review
Pre-Show Match
Neville def. Bad News Barrett(10:36)
Thoughts: Originally, Barrett was supposed to face Daniel Bryan for the Intercontinental Championship, but D-Bry was taken off the card for health concerns, so they decided to pair Barrett with the newcomer, Neville and truth be told, we got a match that would probably be as good as D-Bry/Barrett might have been. Now I'm not saying that Neville is the next Daniel Bryan, since they're two different types of wrestlers with two different styles, but as long as D-Bry remains on the shelf, the more we'll being seeing of Neville. Anyway, this was a very good match, especially for a pre-show match. It told a nice big man vs little man story and it also showcased the amazing high
flying ability of Neville, which is always a plus and while the chin locks were a little tedious, the
final stretch was hot stuff.
Rating: ***1/2(Not counted towards Final Rating)
Chicago Street Fight
Dean Ambrose def. Luke Harper(56:10)
Thoughts: Is there anyway better to start the show? Dean Ambrose is going to get the crowd excited and it's a freaking Chicago street fight, who native of Chicago wouldn't love that. As the match went on, it was turning out really good...and then, they went to the back where Harper got in a SUV and straight up bolted with Ambrose hoping in the back. They're still having the match, but they have to move on with the show, but for the sake of convenience and because I don't want to repeat myself later, let's talk about the ending. They finally comeback two matches later, only this time, it's Harper in the back seat and Ambrose is driving. How in the love of fuck did that happen? Harper heads for the ring, but Ambrose takes and shortcut and flies at
him in the aisle. Ambrose and Harper fill the ring with steel chairs
and begin dueling in the middle of the ring. Harper powerbomb Ambrose
onto a pile of chairs but only gets a two count. Harper buries Ambrose
under a pile of chairs and heads up top, but Ambrose springs up and
launches Harper onto the pile of chairs. Ambrose hits Dirty Deeds onto
the chairs and gets the three count. I'll give it this; it certainly was creative, but I’m just annoyed that every Ambrose match has to revolve around
him being a cartoon-ish lunatic instead of being a psychotic badass that
got him over in the first place. I was loving the match before they
left for an hour, but I really just wanted this to be a stiff, hardcore
brawl. This was a major disappointment and the match was sacrificed for
the sake of doing something cute for the show. Also, couldn't they do film something with them fighting in the streets of Chicago, like how about the two fighting in Wrigley Field? That would've been awesome!
Rating: ***(Would've been higher had it not been for the intermission)
Kiss Me Arse Match
Dolph Ziggler def. Sheamus(9:16)
Thoughts: I'm not sure why, but everyone seemed to be thinking that Sheamus would win this match and it makes sense why; he had just returned, turned heel and this was him match stipulation. However, I was one of the few who thought Dolph would win. Why? Because this is the type of match where the heel must lose. And guess what? I was right as Ziggler managed to steal a 3-count. It was funny seeing Sheamus freaking out after the match and trying to find a way out of getting
out of the stipulation. He finally gets on his knees, but instead of kissing Dolph's ass, he goes
low on him!!! Brogue Kick to Ziggler and Sheamus says he promised
the world Ziggler would kiss his arse. He shoves Ziggler’s face into his
ass and stands tall. Overall, a good, albeit short match. Sheamus got a chance to show off his
aggressive new attitude while Ziggler was game enought to take a beating for him.
With more time, this could have been really good. But they have another PPV match coming.
Rating: ***
WWE Tag Team Championship
The New Day(Kofi Kingston & Big E) def. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro(c)(9:47)
Thoughts: As I said in my Wrestlemania XXXI Review, I came out of the Tag Title match really liking Kofi & Big E has a tag team and so did WWE I guess, since they gave them a title shot. However, they also made The New Day a heel group, which was a great decision. It's kind of a thing that(to the best of my knowledge) Bo Dallas started: a heel who thinks he's a face. However, New Day do that much better. They're so annoying in their positivity that it grates on everyone, but they don't see that; they think they're bringing inspiration to everyone and that's what has made New Day actually fun to watch the last couple of months. Despite that, I still didn't expect them to win here...and yet they did! It makes sense in hindsight since Cesaro & Kidd have gotten over as faces, so they need a heel team. Without a doubt, this is the best showing I have seen from the New Day, as the heel
turn seems to have breathed new life into the act. Even with the time
constraints, they didn’t even have a heat segment, so we had a hot
and wild tag match that the crowd was really into. Another match on the
show that could have used more time, but they did great with the
limited time they had to work with.
Rating: ***1/4
Russian Chain Match:
WWE United States Championship
John Cena(c) def. Ruzev(13:35)
Thoughts: To his credit, John Cena has made the US Title interesting for the 1st time in a long time, all thanks to his US Championship open challenges he has on RAW. However, he still has to deal with Ruzev, so he are. They playing with 4 corners rules: 1st to touch all 4 corners in succession with halting progress wins. Personally, that killed the match for me. They should've just let them go at it with regular pinfall/submission fules, but attached to each other with the chain. In fact, by doing that, we got a nonsensical finish. Both Cena and Ruzev touch three corners and succession and they meet in the middle of the ring and realize they have to touch that same final corner to win. Of course Cena AA's Ruzev and wins. Technically, the ref should have reset the boards since both Cena and Ruzev didn't make any forward progress when they were in the middle before they went for the final corner, but whatever, it's WWE Logic. Of all their matches, this is my least favorite, but that doesn't mean it's bad. They both did their best to work around the limitations and did some good spots, but this still lacked the intensity that both the previous 2 matches had.
Rating: **3/4
WWE Divas Championship
Nikki Bella(c) def. Naomi(7:18)
Thoughts: Naomi's got some new music and sporting these electric, color-changing boots. How on earth did Chris Jericho never think of this? Anyway, this was a pretty solid outing. They actually got the dead crowd to get into the near falls towards the
finish. I was a big fan of Naomi’s work here and her new aggressive
heel edge is going to do wonders for her, especially when she does win the Divas Title.
Rating: **1/4
Last Man Standing Match
Roman Reigns def. The Big Show(19:46)
Thoughts: To WWE's credits, this was really the only match they could give to this two that would make the fans give a damn about this match. Nobody has given a fuck about the Reigns/Show feud, but at least it ended(I hope) on one hell of a match. I loved how in the beginning, Show was teasing the fans by putting away weapons whenever Reigns got them out and even breaking a table at one point. They put in some great spots, but it did end cheap with Reigns buring Show by using the announce table. Still, contrived spots and some plodding moments aside, these two guys took
some spectacular bumps, particularly Reigns and had a pretty awesome
brawl. Reigns showed awesome fire and resilience here and is working his
ass off, so performances like these will help him in his rebuilding
process. Reigns is quietly having an excellent in ring year, having the best match of the night on 3 straight PPVs.
Rating: ***3/4
Steel Cage Match:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Seth Rollins(c) def. Randy Orton(21:02)
Thoughts: The RKO is banned from this match and Kane is the gatekeeper. This begs the question of who's the keymaster, but whatever. My favorite part of the match was when Orton wanted to go for the RKO, but remembered he can't, so what does he do? He steals Triple H's finisher instead. This calls back to Orton/Michaels from Survivor Series 2007 where Shawn's Sweet Chin Music was banned. As you probably guess, Kane eventually gets involved, though only because Rollins kicked the door right into Kane’s face. He chokeslammes J&J and then chokeslammes both Orton and Rollins, but puts Rollins over Orton, but that only gets 2. Kane goes to Tombstone him, but Orton counters into an RKO on Kane. Rollins RKOs Orton and that gives Rollins enough time to escape the cage. Of course, this begged the question was the RKO banned for both guys, but really, it's not important. Overall, this was a decent cage match. It was really slow
early, but picked up prior to all the overbooking and I love Rollins
acting like a weasel and trying to escape at every turn while Orton
found unique ways to punish Rollins without going to the RKO. What I find
frustrating though, is that the focus of this match was primarily on Kane and the
stuff involving him at the end was just too much and when Kane's the focus of the major storyline, you know that WWE is just killing time till they get to Summerslam
Rating: ***1/4
Final Rating:
2.84 out of 5
Pre-Show Match #1
Fatal 4-Way Match: WWE Tag Team Championship
Tyson Kidd & Cesaro(c) def. The New Day, Los Matadores and The Usos(9:58)
Thoughts: I normally don't bother with pre-show stuff, since it doesn't amount to my Final Rating for the show, but since it's Wrestlemania, I'll take a look. One thing that I don't understand is why this wasn't moved to the main card when the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal got moved to the Pre-Show, but whatever. This was a pretty good way to get the crowd energized. This felt like one of those old ROH scramble tag matches where there
were some moments of sloppiness and chaos, but everything was fun and the
action was captivating and non-stop. Cesaro and Kidd retaining was not really surprising. What was surprising to me is that I left this really liking Kofi and Big E as a tag team. Don't get me wrong: I HATE the New Day gimmick, but I think these two make a good team; perhaps they'll get a run with the belts one day. Overall, this was a good warm up for the crowd.
Rating: ***1/4(Not counted towards Final Rating)
Pre-Show Match #2
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Big Show def. 29 other competitors; last eliminating Damien Mizdow(18:05)
Thoughts: First off, to those who actually thought Curtis Axel was going to win this, I laugh at you. Now then, this was pretty much at the same level of last year’s battle royal. This also got a
ton of time(making me thankful that this was moved to the Pre-Show and not rushed out on the main card)and there were some interesting moments during the match.
Mizdow got the spotlight shined on him here and the crowd was dying for
him to win. However, I do understand why they gave Show the win, since he never won a battle royal(at least not it WWE)
before and this gives him another accomplishment, but this really should have
ended with Mizdow dumping Miz for the win.
Rating: **1/2(Not counted towards Final Rating)
Ladder Match: WWE Intercontinental Championship
Daniel Bryan def. Bad News Barrett(c), Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper, Stardust and R-Truth(13:47)
Thoughts: This was a really fun match and a great way to kick off the show; it
ended up being what I thought it could be and what it needed to be. Sure, there were some sloppy points here and there, but the parade of dives at the
beginning was great and after the superplex spot, the match got gradually
more and more exciting. It ended with a great finish sequence between Ziggler and Bryan. It did make me wonder something: How would the crowd react if Ziggler won? I mean D-Bry is so over that if Ziggler had won, the crowd might've booed him and WWE would've been forced to turn him back to a heel. Thankfully, that didn't happen. D-Bry is going to be a great IC Champion
and I can’t wait for D-Bry and Ziggler to continue their feud over the coming months.
Rating: ****
Randy Orton def. Seth Rollins(13:15)
Thoughts: I liked that they played up the "Former face of WWE vs the new face of WWE" quite well for this match. Now I know you all want me to talk about the finish, so let's get to it. Orton countered the asai DDT from Rollin into the RKO, but
Rollins kicks out at 2. J&J returned late and each eats an RKO to protect
Rollins, who then hit the curb stomp, but Orton kicked out at 2.
Following a roll through on the Phoenix splash try, Rollins went for
another curb stomp but Orton pressed up and then caught him with perhaps the sickest RKO EVAR!... and scored the win. I think I speak for everyone when I say that that was one of the best RKO’s I’ve ever seen. This was a pretty damn
good match, Rollins continues to work his ass off and make every single
big opportunity he gets counts. Orton brought his A-game too and the
results was a captivating back and forth contest and J&J continue to
be a great act and add to the drama of Rollins’ matches.
Rating: ***3/4
No DQ Match
Triple H def. Sting(18:30)
Thoughts: Sting got a pretty cool entrance with a Japanese inspired theme music and drummers wearing Sting masks. Triple H had the better entrance though with a Terminator theme and Arnold Schwarzenegger giving him an intro and any Terminator fan should know that Cyberdyne was based in San Fran. Early in the match, it felt very much like a Sting/Flair match and considering that Trips idolized Flair and Flair is the man that gave Sting his best matches, it makes sense. After several minutes of solid action, Sting is about to put Trips in the Scorpion Death Lock, but DX(X-Pac, Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) runs down and Sting takes them out before they could get in the ring. He then goes up top and hits a dive onto the pile of bodies. Sting would later
kick out of the pedigree and then as Triple H gets his trusty sledgehammer, the
nWo (Hogan, Hall and Nash)appears. It feels like everything they
wanted to do back in 2001. Now for those wondering why would the nWo help Sting out after feuding with him for so long...well, he was a member of nWo Wolfpac(granted it was stupid, but he was a member) and nWo looks after there own, so that's why they help Sting. The nWo lays out DX and Sting hits a Scorpion Death Drop for 2, which is followed by the SDL and Hogan takes the sledgehammer of the picture, but is taken out by X-Pac as he slams him into the post. DX and nWo take each other out as Trips finally makes the ropes. Sting goes for the SDL
again but Shawn Michaels appears and kicks Sting's head off! HHH covers
for 2! Gunn hands HHH the sledgehammer while Hall gives Sting
the baseball bat! Sting nails HHH in the midsection with the bat and he fucking broke the sledgehammer in half! How strong is that fucking bat?! Sting works over HHH
in the corner and he hits the Stinger Splash. He goes for a second one,
but HHH nails him with the sledgehammer right to the face for the 3! We all knew that Sting would be limited, so they needed some smoke and
mirrors to help this match out and I gotta say, I loved the way then went about doing
it. Bringing in DX and the nWo and going the more
fun rout made fans feel nostalgic all over again. The
wrestling was pedestrian, but god damn did I have a blast watching this. Although I thought Sting was going to win,
Triple H winning doesn't bother me at all and if this is Sting’s swan song, this
was a fun way to go out.
Rating: ***1/2
AJ Lee and Paige def. The Bella Twins(6:42)
Thoughts: After Sting/HHH, the crowds were drained and as a result, the crowd wasn't all that hot for this one, which is a shame since this was pretty solid. Sure, it was sloppy at certain points, but the 4 worked hard here and while I wish they had gotten more time, this was still above average for a Diva's Wrestlemania match.
Rating: **1/2
WWE United States Championship
John Cena def. Ruzev(c)(14:30)
Thoughts: Ruzev got a really cool entrance(the 3rd of the show) with a Russian federation theme(naturally) and coming out in a tank. Cena got this really awesome America video montage before Cena comes out to a basic entrance. He doesn't even recreate the Apollo Creed entrance from Rocky IV, nor did he wear American Flag themed trunks or shorts I guess would be more fitting. You know, I’m starting to wonder who the real communist is here in this feud. Anyway, the match here was pretty much on par with their match from FastLane, but if I had to pick which is better, I'm going to pick this one for one reason and that would be the springboard stunner, which was awesome! We'll probably never see him do that again, but it was still perfectly executed, so you gotta give Cena credit. The only thing this match is lacking is heat, which the FastLane match did much better and Cena was more vulnerable in that match as well, but this was a well done
follow up. Rusev’s performance here was outstanding and I
keep liking him more and more with each performance. He played
off being more desperate this time around since he didn’t want this
match to begin with and his facial expressions when he couldn’t put Cena
away were phenomenal. Cena was more focused and pride drove him to
victory. A well executed match that I wish the crowd was more into, but the
Rocky IV like storyline wasn’t going to click with a more international
crowd.
Rating: ***1/2
The Undertaker def. Bray Wyatt(15:15)
Thoughts: Wyatt got cool entrance #4 with scarecrows lifelessly walking with him to the ring. It's really a shame Levi Stadium doesn't have a roof, cause if it did, this entrance would've been better than Triple H's Terminator entrance. Undertaker looked like the American Badass Taker we saw during the early 2000s, which I thought was really cool. Now I'm just gonna say it: This was one of Taker's worse Mania matches. That doesn't mean it was bad, just not as good as it could've been. I don't blame Taker for this since he looked good and he was in far better shape than he was at Wrestlemania 30 and despite Wyatt suffering an ankle injury hours before the show, I can't blame him either. Matter of fact, I tip my hat to him cause I almost forgot about that injury during the match. Really, the problem is just the fact that nothing was really on the line here. The magic of Taker's matches with the Streak on the line is gone and while I accommodate Taker and Wyatt for still giving us a decent match despite everything against them, a part of me just can't help but feel a little disappointed.
Rating: **3/4
Main Event
Triple Threat Match: WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Seth Rollins def. Brock Lesnar(c) and Roman Reigns(16:43)
Thoughts: Before we get to the part everyone wants me to talk about, let talk about the Lesnar/Reigns part of the match, which was amazing. Reigns took the absolute worst beating of his life and Brock delivered one of the greatest lines EVER! This was just one hell of a fight and one of the most realistic matches I've ever seen. But of course, that's not what people will remember this match for. They will remember it for Seth Rollins cashing it his MITB contract during the match, making it a Triple Threat. The IWC bitched about it(as they do with everything) since they screwed Reigns, but that crowd wasn't giving any love to the guy at all, despite the phenomenal performance he put on! With this result, WWE turned Seth Rollins into a huge main event player for years to come, kept Brock Lesnar the unstoppable beast that he is and put Roman Reigns back on the right track to get the fans to like him again, which I think they will at some point. It's obvious that we're going to see either Rollins/Lesnar or Rollins/Lesnar/Reigns at Summerslam and whichever match it is, I'm looking forward to it.
Rating: ****1/2
Final Rating:
3.50 out of 5
Six Man Tag Team Match
The Authority(Seth Rollins, Big Show and Kane) def. Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback(13:01)
Thoughts: This wass a good choice to open the show. WWE does six-man tags well, they've established this feud and the crowd gets into Ziggler &
Rollins big time. The obvious negative is that we have to watch Kane and
Big Show. The heels got the heat on Rowan, which was a huge mistake because
no one gives a damn about Rowan, at all. I mean, you have Dolph up on the corner and the crowd ALWAYS reacts huge for him. The best plan would be to get the heat of Ziggler and give the hot tag to Ryback. Eventually, Ryback does get the hot tag and lays out everyone. He shell shock's Rollins, but a big splash by Show to Ryback allows Ziggler to tag in and after a few minutes of doing what he does, he eats a jumping KO punch from the Show, which was really impressive, for the three count. Overall, this was a solid outing. The final few minutes were great and action packed but we had to sit
through one of the most dull babyface in peril segments I’ve seen in
some time with Rowan to get there.
Rating: ***
Goldust def. Stardust(8:55)
Thoughts: Cody has changed up his look a bit here, dropping the top of the body suit and going partial face paint, which I like. I hoped that he would keep that look, but it doesn't look like he will. Anyway, these two have been working to get this feud and match for the last three
years or so and they got it, but unfortunately the crowd was not into
this. What resulted was a very boring match. The crowd didn’t care for the storyline and weren’t engaged in
Stardust’s antics or cared about Goldust playing face in peril. This
ended up being a huge disappointment considering these two have wanted
to have their one on one program for years. If I could describe this match in one word, it would be: Letdown.
Rating: *1/2
WWE Tag Team Championship
Tyson Kidd and Cesaro def. The Usos(c)(9:33)
Thoughts: Unlike the previous match, the work in this match was really good. The problem is that
the crowd just could not get invested until the final stretch, which is
a shame. Now I gotta say, it was a surprise that Kidd and Cesaro won the Tag Titles here since I feel it would be more important if they won them at Wrestlemania...granted, it would've been on the Pre=Show, but it would still be Wrestlemania! Be that as it may, I’m happy Kidd and Cesaro are getting a run with the belts and
hopefully they get a long run with them and get a few more matches with the Usos cause I know both teams
are capable of greater matches. Not that this was bad, cause it wasn't. It's just I feel both teams can produce something better.
Rating: ***1/4
WWE Divas Championship
Nikki Bella(c) def. Paige(5:34)
Thoughts: There isn't really a whole lot to talk about with this one. Yeah, there was that one screw up with the botched corner roll-up, but other than that, this was actually a solid effort and better than usual Diva’s match.
The crowd still could have cared less about this match, but at least the
effort was there this time around. Both women looked good here and the major problem here was lack of time, as it normally is for Divas matches. Otherwise, a solid outing here.
Rating: **1/4
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Bad News Barrett(c) def. Dean Ambrose via DQ(7:58)
Thoughts: While it was funny to see how Dean got this match, the build-up wasn't exactly the stuff of legends. But that doesn't really matter; what matters is what these two produce in the ring...and it was a little bit of a letdown. The match was picking up steam before the finish, so chalk this up as
another disappointment on this show. I really don’t get what their end
game is with Ambrose. Personally, I think that sooner or later, all these crappy finishes are going to kill the
poor guy.
Rating: **1/2
WWE United States Championship
Ruzev(c) def. John Cena(16:45)
Thoughts: I really liked the build to this one and I was really looking forward to this one. Cena always delivers on PPV and going up against Ruzev, you know that John will bring the best out of him and that exactly what we got. The problem with this match was that, once again, the crowd wasn’t all that into the match, which really says
something bad about the product. I mean between the USA vs Russia theme and
the fact that the crowd always reacts one way or another to Cena, the
overall lack of fucks given here is alarming. They eventually got into
the finishers and such, but that’s about it. Cena fought forever in the
accolade, he was breaking it when Lana got in the ring and the ref took
his time to escort her out. With the distraction, Rusev kicked Cena in
the balls and then superkicked his head off, reapplied the accolade
and Cena passed out. Without a doubt, I can say that this was Ruzev best performance of his career so far. They actually made him look at a monster against one of the few legitimate
threats on the roster. I loved they built up to Cena finally landing
the AA after multiple attempts and Rusev seeming to know Cena’s offense,
having some sort of counter at every turn. While this was missing some big
impact moments and some spots that really could have stretched Cena’s
vulnerability to put this over the top as something special were missing too, this was still the best thing the show produced at this point.
Rating: ***1/2
Main Event: Number 1 Contender's Match
Roman Reigns def. Daniel Bryan(22:51)
Thoughts: Both men have a legit claim to face Lesnar at Wrestlemania, so he we are. Now let me just say this: If Roman Reigns were up against opponents like D-Bry and NOT BIG SHOW during the build towards Royal Rumble, then I don't think the backlash for him winning the Rumble would be anywhere as severe as it was. Yes, I agree with the majority of you that he has been forced down our throats as the next chosen one, that his
promos blow and his matches aren’t organic, but if he had a run of matches like this, with opponents like D-Bry and have
strong competitive battles where Reigns proved he was the better man,
his run to Wrestlemania probably would've been much stronger. Overall, this was
an excellent match and Bryan worked his ass off to make Reigns look
strong as he possibly could and a great way to end the show.
Rating: ****
Final Rating:
2.86 out of 5
March to Mania Year 3:
WWE Wrestlemania XXVIII Review
World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus def. Daniel Bryan(c)(0:18)
Thoughts: Given that Edge/Del Rio opened at Mania 27, it makes sense that this match would open Mania 28. Now watching this live, I expected Sheamus to win, but certainly not like the way he did. With that said, I definitely understand the notion that because Bryan has retained
the championship in bizarre and fluky ways during his entire reign, it
seems only fitting that he should lose it in such a bizarre and fluky
way as well. However, while that concept might play out fine on
Smackdown or a smaller PPV, I’m not sure I can ever get behind the idea
of eighteen second title matches at WrestleMania. Still, to see Sheamus win like that was so epic, so I can't really hate on it and they do get an actual match at the next PPV. So if you want to see a great Sheamus/D-Bry match, check that one out.
Rating: N/A(+5 for Epic Squash)
Kane def. Randy Orton(10:58)
Thoughts: This was a perfectly fine little match, but it really seemed like
the same sort of match we see on Smackdown every week. I expect
something special from every match at WrestleMania and this match
didn’t deliver that. However, the most notable aspect of this match was
that fact that Kane picked up the win. I expected Orton to defeat the
monster and begin his built to an eventual title match, so having Kane
get the pin was definitely a shock. Though to be fair, Kane, at the time, hadn't won a PPV match since...I can't remember the last time actually and after a draw and loss to Cena in the first two 2012 PPV's, he needed a win on PPV badly.
Rating: **3/4
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The Big Show def. Cody Rhodes(c)(
Thoughts: This certainly wasn't a technical classic, but it did provide a
feel-good moment for Show winning both the IC and the Grand Slam Championships and provided a logical finale to his feud with
Cody Rhodes. Big Show didn't really need the IC Belt, so thankfully his reign didn't last long.
Rating: **
Maria Menounos and Kelly Kelly def. Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres(6:22)
Thoughts: This action in this match was little more than the standard Divas
tag team match fare, but what is definitely remarkable is that Maria
Menounos wrestled the match with fractured and/or broken ribs and
feet. Many celebrities in her position would have backed out of the
match all togethe, and most of the rest would have stood on the apron
for the entire match without taking a single bump. To her credit, Maria
wrestled a substantial fraction of the match and allowed Beth and Eve
to exploit her injuries. She had to be in pain the entire time, and I
give her a ton of credit for every bit of effort she put in here.
She’s not a wrestler. This isn’t her career. She didn’t need to do
this. And yet she did. In my mind, that makes her a true professional,
whether or not she ever steps foot in the ring again.
Rating: *1/2
'End of an Era' Hell in a Cell Match
The Undertaker def. Triple H(30:47)
Thoughts: I think there are some people who probably say this match went 10 minutes too long, but I say to hell with those people. This was a masterpiece, not in technical wrestling, but in story-telling. It told a story that has been building for decades and it did an absolutely
phenomenal job of providing resolution and closure to that story.
Despite all the animosity between these three men and despite them all
having truly legendary egos, the truth that emerged in Hell in a Cell is
that none of them truly wanted to be the one to end an era. When
Triple H had the Undertaker beaten, he repeatedly begged Shawn Michaels
to call the match. Later in the match, the Undertaker hesitated before
finishing Triple H, waiting just a moment to give Triple H the chance to
surrender. And through it all, Shawn Michaels proved that all he
really wanted to do was the right thing. He never counted fast or slow
and he never robbed either man of his dignity by calling the match. Back then, I
thought that the perfect way for this match to end would be to have
Triple H finally end the streak, but now I can see that this scenario
was just as good – if not better. The story that was told after the
match was truly beautiful, as years of tension and resentment faded way,
leaving only respect and camaraderie. Shawn Michaels and the
Undertaker helped Triple H to the top of the ramp and all three men
turned to look back on their fans and their careers as they got a standing ovation. They embraced each
other and the next phase of their lives before ducking behind the
curtain. It probably should've been the final match for both Undertaker and Triple H, but then we would've never seen Taker/Punk from Mania 29 or HHH/D-Bry from Mania 30. But then Brock would never have ended the streak.
Rating: *****
10 Man Tag Team Match
Team Johnny(The Miz, David Otunga, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry, Jack Swagger and Drew McIntyre) def. Team Teddy(Santino Marella, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, The Great Khali and Booker T)(10:32)
Thoughts: Between active wrestlers, general managers, flag bearers,
girlfriends, and Bellas, there were TWENTY people involved in this
match. It’s almost impossible to have that many people all play a
memorable role in a match, and in trying to do so the end result was a
muddled mess. All that really stands out in the end is that Booker T
played face-in-peril quite well. In the end, Miz was able to shine at WrestleMania
by picking up a key win and Zack Ryder was kicked in the nuts,
both physically and metaphorically, in just about every way humanly
possible. Why he got de-pushed like that, I'll never understand. I would have loved to see Team Teddy get the win so that
Teddy Long could take over Raw and Smackdown, fade into the background
and let the in-ring talent shine, but I think we all knew WWE loves evil
authority figures too much to pass up the opportunity to let John
Laurinaitis run both shows, if only for a brief amount of time.
Rating: **
WWE Championship
CM Punk(c) def. Chris Jericho(22:23)
Thoughts: When I first heard they were doing a Punk/Jericho match for this show, I fell in love with the idea and after watching it live and re-watching it a few times, I'm happy to say this delivered in a major way. Heading into the show, I did wonder if the storyline would overshadow the wrestling...and it looked like that for a few minutes, but then things picked up and everything from then on was awesome. It had a great closing sequence to end the match with. Thankfully, these two would get a second PPV match at the following PPV and they would have another great match there as well.
Rating: ****1/2
Main Event: The Rock def. John Cena(30:34)
Thouhgts: Some didn’t like the mix of old school WWF/Hogan era action on
this one, but being I thought it was a lot of fun to watch. They built this match wonderfully and the crowd was with them
throughout. This crowd was as crazy as the crowd from Wretlemania 18 where Rock/Hogan took place, but that had a
different feel. Cena delivered on the big stage like he always does
and The Rock looked pretty great considering his long layoff. I mean, he went 30 minutes after being gone for more than 8 years.
Great job by both men...But of course, Once in a Lifetime didn't stay that way for very long.
Rating: ****1/4
Final Rating:
3.86 out of 5
March to Mania Year 3:
WWE Elimination Chamber 2012
Elimination Chamber Match: WWE Championship
CM Punk(c) def. The Miz, Chris Jericho, Kofi Kingstion, Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth(32:39)
Thoughts: I was that
this match would be the main event of the show, so I was shocked when
Chris Jericho’s jacket was the first man through the curtain. Now you may recall that I've said that when a WWE Championship match opens a PPV, something shady is about to go down, but that didn't happen. It was just about the match itself and boy what a great match it was! This
match had a younger, more athletic roster than the World Heavyweight Championship Chamber match and
they proved it by bouncing all over the ring for half an hour. However,
I will admit that at times it felt as though guys were hitting the
steel just for the point of hitting the steel and not to really further
the story of the match. All of the brutality in the WHC Chamber match
felt as though it had a point, but many of the spots in this match felt a
bit gratuitous. That’s especially true for the “getting tossed over
the ropes and landing on the steel” spot that we saw countless times
throughout the match. The worst offender seemed to be Dolph Ziggler,
who at many times seemed to be purposefully pinballing himself around
the chamber. I applaud Ziggler for taking those bumps and I even
understand why he was doing it, but I couldn’t help but be reminded of
SummerSlam 2005, with Ziggler in the role of Shawn Michaels and the
chamber in the role of Hulk Hogan. My only other criticism of the match
was the way in which Jericho’s injury was sold. Having Punk knock
Jericho out of the ring and cause Jericho to be eliminated without being
pinned or submitting was the perfect way to set up Punk vs. Jericho
at WrestleMania. However,
Jericho’s injury was oversold just a bit too much for my taste. There
needs to be a dividing line between kayfabe injuries and legitimate
injuries, so that we as fans can sit back and enjoy the story when that’s
actually what we’re watching. We’ve all seen far too many legitimate
injuries in this industry and some of them have been truly tragic.
Wrestling promotions need to be respectful of those legitimate injuries
and not try to manipulate us into believing that kayfabe injuries are
anything more than part of the story. The look of concern on Punk’s
face and his tentative throwing of the X crossed that line for me and
for a moment I didn’t know if I was simply watching the story anymore.
Obviously, his injury was completely kayfabe and I believe that the
way in which that kayfabe injury was sold is indicative of a larger
mishandling of kayfabe injuries in today’s professional wrestling
industry. But I'm rambling aren't I? Overall, a great Chamber match, despite my complaints.
Rating: ****1/4
WWE Divas Championship
Beth Phoenix(c) def. Tamina Snuka(7:14)
Thoughts: This certainly wasn’t a great match, but it did veer precariously
close to being a good match and it never felt like a waste of time on a
PPV. That’s a lot to say for a WWE Divas Match. The quality of the
WWE Divas Championship Matches on PPV had been steadily increasing over
the previous few months before this show and I’m certainly pleased that the trend remains. Beth
and Tamina worked well together, and as usual, I would have liked to
have seen them given four or five more minutes, but what we got here was solid.
Rating: **1/2
Elimination Chamber Match:
World Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Bryan(c) def. Santino Marella, Wade Barrett, The Big Show, Cody Rhodes and The Great Khali(34:04)
Thoughts: This match seemed cursed from the moment it was announced. Mark
Henry had to be replaced with Great Khali due to his suspension (in
kayfabe) and his injuries (in the real world), although you can argue
about whether Henry was ever actually slotted to be in the match. Then
Randy Orton had to be replaced with Santino Marella, in essence trading a
proven contender and world-class worker with a gimmicky joke. Add
those replacements to the fact that the Elimination Chamber environment
doesn’t play to the strengths of Daniel Bryan or Cody Rhodes and
naturally, you would assume that this match was going to be bowling shoe ugly.
But I was wrong on almost every level. Just like great booking should
always do, the booking of this match made the best use of every
competitor. Khali’s time in the ring was kept mercifully short and
Big Show was able to impose his will on both his opponents and the
chamber. Watching Show climb into Daniel Bryan’s pod and beat him half
to death was one of the best three or four spots in Elimination Chamber
history in my opinion. As I mentioned during my comments on the WWE Championship Chamber match, the brutal
spots in this match all seemed to serve a purpose. None of them seemed
gratuitous and they all played a role in progressing the storyline of
the match. I want to give special credit to Wade Barrett for stepping
up big time here. He started the match and was in it almost to the
end and he drove the action for much of that time. This match was the
first time that I could legitimately see Barrett as someone capable of
carrying a world title in WWE. And then, of course, there was Santino.
Dear, sweet Santino. He’s a joke. He’s a gimmicky comedy character
and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I think we can all agree that he was a mid-card guy on his
best day and we’ve all made our peace with that... or so we thought.
But then the crowd went wild for him on Smackdown and then he lasted
more than three seconds after his pod door opened and then he was one
of the last two men in the chamber and then when he hit D-Bry with the Cobra and went for the cover,I kid
you not, I thought he’d done it. When I first watched this, I honestly thought Santino Marella was
about to win the World Heavyweight Championship, even though everything
I’ve ever learned as a fan of professional wrestling has taught me that
such a thing should be impossible. In those two seconds while Santino
had Bryan pinned, I wondered if he would lose the title on Smackdown. I
wondered if he could possibly carry the title all the way to Mania.
But I honestly thought he was about to do it and that, my friends, it
the power of great booking! Bryan kicked out and Santino tapped soon
after, but that hardly matters. What matters is that Santino Marella
can now and forever say that, if only for one night, he was an
honest-to-god star in this industry, and he can say that, if only for
one night, we believed. Overall, a great chamber match that's almost on par with the earlier one.
Rating: ****
WWE United States Championship
Jack Swagger(c) def. Justin Gabriel(2:59)
Thoughts: I've already explain plenty of time this month why impromptu matches blow, but if you forgotten, then let me list the reasons why they blow.
1)Impromptu PPV matches suck most of the time.
2)This impromptu PPV match sucked.
3)To their credit, Swagger and Gabriel did the best they could with a three minute match, but they need far more time to have a good match.
4)This time could have been used to watch Santino try to seduce the fugly girl from the pet store...Actually scratch that one!
And 5) Yes, this whole thing was precipitated by a midget making a “cut the cheese” joke.
Rating: *1/2
Main Event: Ambulance Match
John Cena def. Kane(21:22)
Thoughts: Story of 2012 PPV's: Cena gets the Main Event spot over BOTH world title matches no matter who he is facing. The only way this would've made sense as the Main Event would've been if The Rock showed up, but that didn't happen. The match itself was good, but by no means good enough to go on last. The match was tediously boring to start but got increasingly better as they
got to the real bulk of the match, so definitely a step above the bout they had at the Royal Rumble.
Rating: **3/4
Final Rating:
3 out of 5
March to Mania Year 3:
WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Review
Triple Threat Steel Cage Match:
World Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Bryan(c) def. Mark Henry and The Big Show(9:08)
Thoughts: This all began when Bryan cashed in his MITB shot after Show
defeated Henry at TLC 2011. Each man got a title shot, only to
have it end in a no-contest, drawing the ire of SmackDown GM Theodore Long, thus leading to the triple threat cage match. If there was a fourth man involved in this feud, you just know this would be a tag team match. LOL! Anyway, this was a weird choice to open and an even weirder match with a very surreal setting. We had Cole running down D-Bry on commentary like he was a face, Booker T
defending him like he was a face and the crowd chanting for him like
he was the face…but then he did the whole cowardly heel shtick the whole
match and a weird dynamic. About as good as you could expect given the
limitations of 2/3rds of the participants though. Bryan celebrated
afterwards like he just won the Super Bowl which I found a bit funny.
Rating: **
Eight Diva Tag Team Match
Beth Phoenix, Natalya and The Bella Twins def. Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox and Tamina Snuka(5:29)
Thoughts: Only the second match on the show and you could tell this was everyone's piss break match. I really hoped with all the Divas involved that it wouldn’t be the
normal piss/food break. It turned out to be a decent match, playing off
some feuds(Tamina/Natalya), and Kelly Kelly provided a great effort in
this match. I was glad to see Beth pick up the win here, because she WAS
the champion at the time. For Divas standards, it wasn't terrible. Yeah, there were a few sloppy moments, but the plancha spot from Kelly was quite nifty.
Rating: *3/4
John Cena and Kane fought to the Double Count-Out(10:56)
Thoughts: I'm not sure if it's the welder mask or what, but Kane looked good here; the best he had looked in years. The match really surprised me; not only did they actually keep me interested for the entire
match, but they also kept the crowd into the match as well. I actually
like the double count-out finish here, because it protects both men and
honestly either man who took the fall would suffer here. The finish
allowed for the beatdown that followed to occur,and I was glad to see
that Kane got the upper hand. I was hoping that he would. Cena tried to be
SuperCena and rise above the hate and in the end, Kane proved to be
the stronger. This would ultimately set up their rematch at EC. Also, always nice to see someone
Tombstoned.
Rating: **1/2
Brodus Clay def. Drew McIntyre(1:05)
Thoughts: Say hello to the burial of Drew McIntyre. This was just a squash match to make Clay look good...and the crowd seemed into it, so they got the job done.
Rating: 1/4*
WWE Championship
CM Punk(c) def. Dolph Ziggler(14:32)
Thoughts: Amazing match from amazing performers. I had high expectations for
this match, and they didn’t disappoint! It was every bit as awesome as I
wanted it to be and the only negative was the overbooking during the
match. What could have been a great match was marred through the
unnecessary storyline going into it, and it really broke up the match.
The positive is that it was only a small hindrance. This match was back
and forth bad assery. I could literally watch these two guys wrestle each other every single
day and twice on Sunday. Hot crowd, some absolutely stellar counters
(the GTS into the Fameasser was awesome) and just an overall great
little match.
Rating: ***3/4
Main Event: Royal Rumble Match
Sheamus def. 29 other competitors; last eliminating Chris Jericho(54:54)
Thoughts: Very interesting Rumble effort this this time around. There was a LOT of comedy and
nostalgia acts involved so be forewarned if you can’t take a bit of
that spread out in a match, you’re not likely to enjoy this as much as
others. The second half of the match kicked up the heat though and the
final showdown with Jericho and Sheamus was excellent stuff; about as
good as you can work a battle royal match. Jericho was supposedly
supposed to be the winner here, which would have made sense given his
recent return to the company, but they apparently changed it to Sheamus
at the last minute to swerve us. It definitely worked as the crowd
seemed stunned when Jericho lost. Not one of the best Rumbles or
anything and not anywhere as good as the previous year’s matches, but a
nice combination of fun and hard-hitting action in the finish made this a
fairly good and entertaining Rumble match, ending an otherwise mediocre show.
Rating: ***1/2
Final Rating:
2.23 out of 5
