WWE Goodness Gracious! Great Balls of Fire

[AlmostNinjaLike]

Easily PPV of the year so far.

[Ricky Jackson]

Easily PPV of the year so far.

Yeah, probably. But there are so many shows now that they all blur together and I can't even remember some of their names and what month they happened in. I know I've liked the last three Raw shows and Smackdown has been kinda hit and miss

[AlmostNinjaLike]

 

Easily PPV of the year so far.

Yeah, probably. But there are so many shows now that they all blur together and I can't even remember some of their names and what month they happened in. I know I've liked the last three Raw shows and Smackdown has been kinda hit and miss

 

 

I doubt I'll forget this one anytime soon tbh.

[Ricky Jackson]

Well the name is easy to remember that's for sure

[The Chief]

Kind of disappointed they didn't go all out with the name and gimmick. I thought we were gonna have guys coming out of a 50's diner for their entrances.

[goodhelmet]

Really enjoyed Miz on Raw Talk

[The Thread Killer]

Sasha certainly gave the impression she legit doesn't like Alexa Bliss, but on these types of shows you never know what's a work and what has shooty elements.

[EricR]

Kind of disappointed they didn't go all out with the name and gimmick. I thought we were gonna have guys coming out of a 50's diner for their entrances.

 

It would have been the perfect time to bring Cherry into the women's division.

[The Chief]

Sasha certainly gave the impression she legit doesn't like Alexa Bliss, but on these types of shows you never know what's a work and what has shooty elements.

That was really weird. Sasha came across as very petty. Is there an issue between those two?

[Strummer]

Yeah pretty sure they had heat in NXT

[Matt D]

She did basically get Sasha's top of the card heel run on Raw, no?

[Jmare007]

Can Reigns and Braun legit fight forever? They made a fucking ambulance match dope as fuck.

[elliott]

That was a really great show. All of the matches I was intrigued by either delivered or over delivered.

[SirEdger]

Pretty good PPV indeed. Nothing I could really add further only that now, I'm wondering if the main event for the Universal Championship won't turn into a Fatal 4-Way with Brock, Joe, Roman & Braun. That could be insane.

[SmartMark15]

I thought this was really great. The Tag Titles were hot and fun, the Ambulance match was CRAZY GOOD, and the main event had a big fight feel. Overall great stuff.

[The Thread Killer]

I liked this show. From what I am seeing online, I don't think I liked it as much as other people did, but I thought it was solid.

Neville vs. Tozawa

Neville is single-handedly carrying this entire division on his back right now, and heaven help us if he gets injured. I think he's outstanding. I don't mind Tozawa but I wasn't expecting much out of this match, and that's what I got - not much. These two don't seem to have the chemistry that Neville had with Aries or Gallagher. By the way, LOL at the announcer (who the hell was that play-by-play guy anyhow?) listing all the contenders that Neville has beat and totally failing to mention Aries.

There were some half decent exchanges and sequences in this match but it never really totally gelled, to me. I also don't get the whole deal with Titus Worldwide. Vince doesn't like managers, but all of the sudden we get a babyface manager, of all things? It's weird seeing a manager who is so big and muscular that he towers over his client, and the opponent. He didn't add anything to this match.

I thought the ending was kind of weak, the whole crotching a guy on the top rope and then finishing him with a kick...not sure if that kick was supposed to be to the groin or the gut, but the finish was really anti-climactic to me. Maybe it was supposed to come across different? Unfortunately, based on the backstage segment they showed, Tozawa will be getting a rematch, which on one side makes sense, since Neville has cleaned out this division.

Personally, I'd like to see Roderick Strong called up to be the next challenger. He weighs 200 pounds and now that his storyline with Roode has come to an end in NXT, it's probably the best he can expect from here on out.

Rollins vs. Wyatt

So this happened. I actually kind of like Bray Wyatt (in theory, if not always in execution) but this whole angle has been as boring as mud. I laughed when the announcers were trying to sell the stupid "I am a God/No you're not" reasons behind this rivalry during the commentary - and even they couldn't explain it.

Graves: "Bray Wyatt has really taken exception to the comments made about him recently by Seth Rollins."

Cole: "Why?"

Graves: "I don't know. You'd have to ask him."

Speaking of which, the commentary on this show was pretty damn awful. Cole was at his hyperbolic shouty worst, and Booker T was also doing his share of inane comments, shouting and talking over other people. So bad. Phillips and Graves are so much better than Cole and Graves or Phillips and JBL. At this point, I'd almost take Mauro Ranallo back.

The match was what it was. Like everybody else seems to feel, I thought this was like an average TV match, which is about the best you could expect out of these guys. At least Rollins kept his usual nonsense to a minimum. I was surprised Wyatt went over, because he rarely does, but in the end, who really cares? We were never given a reason to.

Big Cass vs. Enzo

This went pretty much how everybody expected it would, which is a shame because once again, Enzo proved with his pre-match promo that he has a hell of a lot to offer on the microphone. Apparently, we can tell Cass is a heel now, because he has generic threatening sounding music, and he spends a great deal of time holding his taped fist high above his head. Even the announcers are wondering what this means for Enzo now, since I don't think this is going to be a feud.

Cesaro/Sheamus vs. The Hardyz

Hot damn, I had high hopes for this match and did it ever deliver. Not too much to say that hasn't been said already. On paper I wouldn't have thought that I'd have enjoyed this rivalry anywhere near as much as I have, but first their match at Payback was great, and now this was even better. Poor Matt got busted open like mad on that flying headbutt, huh? I get the feeling this one will be placing high on the MOTY lists.

Miz vs. Ambrose

 

Ugh, this rivalry is so played out. I was getting tired of them on Smackdown, and this stupid feud keeps going and going. I really hope it's finally over now. I am slowly coming around on The Miz. He certainly does a great job with promos, I still think his ring work is mediocre at best (some of those kicks of his tonight were ridiculously soft looking) but he has done a great job of making the I/C title seem important again. I don't much care for Axel and Dallas as flunkies, but Axel seems to be embracing the role wholeheartedly, at least.

 

My main issue with this match and feud is Ambrose. His act is boring as shit to me. If the fans get on Roman Reigns then they should be booing this guy out of the building. At least Reigns looks like he's trying out there. Ambrose is just a one trick pony. He acts sort of PG era crazy, and he does a rebound clothesline. Whoopee.

 

Please tell me Miz is moving on to a better rivalry now. Balor maybe?

 

Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

 

As a character I think Bliss is excellent. As a wrestler, I think she's wholly unremarkable, and I don't think Sasha is the one to carry her to great matches - for that I'm guessing you'd need Mickie James or Charlotte, maybe. This wasn't the worst match I've ever seen, but it didn't really engage me until the stuff after the countout. I do worry Sasha Banks is going to cripple herself sooner rather than later with some of the stunts she pulls.

 

Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns

 

So here is where I express the opinion that will likely be pretty unpopular. I didn't really like this match, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I hate matches where pinfalls are not the way to win the match. That was why I hated the Extreme Rules PPV. I hate when guys spend half the match trying to escape a cage or climb a pole or slap on a submission or in this case - throw a guy in an ambulance. To be fair, this match was more about the two of them beating the crap out of each other before the ambulance even came into play, so full marks for that. But I wish it had been done Texas Death Match style where you had to pin the guy, but then lock him in the ambulance for the win.

 

But...that is just my own personal gripe and I don't expect anybody to agree with me. If you just wanted to see a couple of big guys beat the piss out of each other, this the match for you.

 

The second issue I had was this match was Roman Reigns. I don't hate Roman Reigns. I'm not one of those fans who is mad at him because he stole Daniel Bryan's spot, or some stupid shit like that. Even if I cared about that (which I don't) it was years ago and long past time to get over it. And I don't think he's a bad wrestler, either. At one point, I was unconvinced that he was good, but his matches against AJ Styles sold me. (Then again, you have to suck pretty hard to have bad matches with AJ Styles, but still.) The issue is, I just don't care about him. I can look at this match from a dispassionate standpoint and say that it was well laid out as a brawl and had good spots etc., but I don't give a crap about Roman Reigns for the same reason I don't give a crap about John Cena. I hate the whole tweener angle, and I fucking hate his hollow, lifeless, scripted promos. He does nothing to engage me as a viewer. He's the epitome of what is wrong with WWE creative right now, as far as I'm concerned. Once again...maybe that's just me. I don't expect anybody to agree with me.

 

The final thing I hated about this match was the angle at the end. I never liked stupid shit like this. I hated it when the nWo did it to the Rock, and all the other countless examples over the years where they bring vehicles and collisions and dumb shit like that into storylines. This is wrestling not fucking Monster Jam. But even still, if they had stopped it with just the collision backstage, and told us to tune in tomorrow on Raw to find out about Strowman's condition, I could have lived with that. They way they oversold it, especially with the announcers and their super serious voices really annoyed the fuck out of me. It's right before the Main Event, and they dragged this nonsense out for way too long.

 

Finally, I will gladly eat my words if this leads to a double turn, but I'm not convinced it will. It SHOULD, but Vince has such a hard-on for Reigns being a babyface (or whatever he's supposed to be now) that I can see them trying to use this to sell Reigns as a badass, or something. Besides, they do such a shitty job at differentiating between babyfaces and heels now, I doubt they'll book it right anyways. If Roman Reigns comes out tomorrow on Raw and tells all the fans to kiss his sweet ass, I'll be the first to say they played the angle right, but I bet we're in for more of the insipid "I'm not a good guy, I'm not a bad guy, I'm the guy" moronic nonsense, which is the reason I don't like Reigns to start with. I'm stunned that this company apparently has a crew of almost 20 writers and they still can't get a guy over as a babyface properly. I'd like to think this will make him a solid heel, but I'm betting it won't. And I'm not sure how Strowman would work as face anyhow, not to mention that even if there was a way, WWE would fuck it up.

 

Brock vs. Joe

 

They got the booking for this whole angle and match right, I'll say that for them. I would have dearly loved to see Joe go over, but I don't think we're ever going to see that day. Bottom line is, this actually felt like a real, legit, championship fight. It was presented that way, and that's how it came across. It was a tad short for my liking, but that's my only complaint. Joe looked good, and I don't think he lost a ton of face by losing the match. Lesnar did sell nicely for him, right up to the closing shots of him heading up the ramp rubbing his neck with a concerned look, while Joe gave him the death stare. I have no issue with this match, and I hope it serves to elevate Joe into the Main Event scene firmly.

[The Thread Killer]

 

Sasha certainly gave the impression she legit doesn't like Alexa Bliss, but on these types of shows you never know what's a work and what has shooty elements.

That was really weird. Sasha came across as very petty. Is there an issue between those two?

 

 

I read somewhere that it's more an issue between Alexa Bliss and the entire female locker room. Apparently, she's not well liked.

[El-P]

Complete yawnfest of a show.

And I did ff through Bray vs Seth freakin' Rollins (that's not me being sarcastic, that's the work of the creative people backstage) and Enzo vs Test Hoyt (seriously, come on, please)

Tag team match was quite good. And for a 30 minutes Hardy match, that's a feat. I never got the love for the Hardies. Jeff is still doing the sloppy flying shit he was doing 15 years ago, only slower. Matt is moving like Terry Funk when he was 50 but his crazed looks and goofy antics makes him kinda fun (he sure needs the Broke gimmick to be really fun though). Cesaro shined through and through. Sheamus was good too. Keeping the things moving with tons of pinfalls made it work, as really nothing much was happening in between falls, but they keep the flow going with the story of Hardies being behind on falls. Very good match overall with a hot finishing stretch.

 

Sasha vs Alexi was really good I though. Ah, that funky arm thingy. Kinda fell rehashed though at points, but I enjoy the dynamic, there's plenty of "character work" as they say, and plenty good work to go along. I love Lil Bitchy Alexi. The Money Inc. finish (AGAIN) doesn't bothet me that much since we get a nice post-match angle and spot and it means this feud is going on.

 

From there. The real yawnfest begins. I've enjoyed Miz work over the last year, but this was pretty much a nothing match. Not enough Miz being a chickenshit an too much spot working stuff, in which he's exposed as not very good mechanically. Ambrose is Ambrose. I kinda don't care but I don't think he's bad like many do around here. The Miztourage is so not needed.

 

Sorry, but Roman Reigns vs Braun Strauman was so nothing, right out of late 1998 Austin vs Taker pedestrian brawl with stupid gimmicked up spots. Worst Braun PPV match in a while, this guy has always been very fun to watch until this one. But this was nothing. A bunch of throwing themselves in the post and the stairs outside, wich have been routine WWE clichés spots since the Attitude era. And Reigns selling is stupid because he's not a babyface worth a shit. The only funny part was Braun doing an inverted Hulking up, no selling the chair shots. Of course it didn't made a lick of sense, but whatever. The ambulance part was awkward. If I don't get Shaggy 2 Dope sliding off the ambulance roof like a slimy corpse, an ambulance gimmick is pretty much not worth my time. Post-match angle was the kind of retarded shit I hated in 1999. Still completely idiotic in 2017 guys. And please, make it the official Reigns heel turn (how could not that be ?) because he's such a complete bore (yeah, I totally echo Thread Killer on Reigns, as a whole). Braun should be let loose and kill people in an organic, chaotic way. This was a boring, nothing happening, carefully gimmicked-up WWE brawl.

 

Joe vs Lesnar. I didn't get my hopes up because Lesnar's matches have been terrible in forever now (expect when he was being speared by Goldy). Damn. Suplex City. Low-blow. Sleeper. Suplex City. Sleeper. Finisher. YAWN of YAWNS. Another Lesnar zero star match as far as I'm concerned.

 

Sorry, but Asuka & Nikki Cross on NXT the other week made me feel like they were killing each other a thousand times more than the four hosses in the two last matches.

 

Very boring PPV with a downright bad last hour. Much to my surprise, a 30 minutes Hardy match in 2017 was basically the high point of the show, along with Sasha vs Alexi.

 

(and how shit, they actually got Ray Rougeau back ? With Jean fucking Brassard ? Just so they can do the *Quebec* broadcasting ? Hey, when I told you people that the French spoken in Quebec was not the French spoken in France… still, I'm amazed they got Ray to come back. And Brassard on WWE TV in 2017 is complete WTF)

 

Next PPV in… 2 weeks ? Damn. I'm not cherry picking enough at this point.

[Cap]

Brock/Joe was fun for what it was. I am somewhat overly critical of I think. There were little nitpicky things that bothered me, but aren't worth harping on. I am not disappointment really, but I am somewhat guarded. If that is the last time they wrestle it seems like they partially wasted the best build they have executed in a long while. If there is still meat on the bone for this feud down the road (seems quite possible), I am pretty good with all this. I am getting a little tired of Brock's offense being reduced to suplexes though. They need to return him to form, let him have some longer matches.

[Matt D]

Brock/Joe was fun for what it was. I am somewhat overly critical of I think. There were little nitpicky things that bothered me, but aren't worth harping on. I am not disappointment really, but I am somewhat guarded. If that is the last time they wrestle it seems like they partially wasted the best build they have executed in a long while. If there is still meat on the bone for this feud down the road (seems quite possible), I am pretty good with all this. I am getting a little tired of Brock's offense being reduced to suplexes though. They need to return him to form, let him have some longer matches.

The build was for something more than a Brock match. They didn't deliver.

[Cap]

 

Brock/Joe was fun for what it was. I am somewhat overly critical of I think. There were little nitpicky things that bothered me, but aren't worth harping on. I am not disappointment really, but I am somewhat guarded. If that is the last time they wrestle it seems like they partially wasted the best build they have executed in a long while. If there is still meat on the bone for this feud down the road (seems quite possible), I am pretty good with all this. I am getting a little tired of Brock's offense being reduced to suplexes though. They need to return him to form, let him have some longer matches.

The build was for something more than a Brock match. They didn't deliver.

 

They at least built to a brock match circa '12-'15. I keep assuming we will eventually get that again, but maybe that just isn't the case.

[gordi]

I genuinely enjoyed Roman and Strowman, as foemen, roamin' in the gloaming.

But...

The announcers with their "serious voices" and in particular Dingleberry all stuttering and finding it hard to get his words out in the aftermath of that ridiculous angle.


Yikes.

That was BRUTAL.

[DMJ]

Overall, I found the show quite watchable. Full review on my blog. A few notes for conversation's sake:

 

- Disagree with the comment that Miz's entourage is unnecessary. Found their involvement (and Maryse's) to be the only remarkable thing about the Miz/Ambrose match and an element that helped it stand out. Plus, as others have pointed out, Miz's batting average is really high at getting himself and his partnerships over (see his work with Morrison, Big Show, Sandow, Riley, R-Truth, etc.) and even if it doesn't do anything for Bo or Axel in the long run, its not like we're talking about two undeniable blue chippers getting held back. It's Bo and Axel.

 

- Wasn't as big into the Ironman match as others but am willing to chalk it up to this sort of stipulation match just not being "my thing." It wasn't a bad match (I rated it above average), but it won't make my short list of MOTY contenders.

 

- What might've made that list (at least until the finish) was Bliss/Banks. From beginning to end, I was hooked in this match and found that it may have been Banks' most seamless match in awhile. It helps when the internet is buzzing about "shoot" heat and then you see a match where both performers are not only laying their shit in, but looked like they were actively competing to be "the star" (this was Banks as The Boss in a way she never got to be against Charlotte while Bliss looks and work like she legitimately savors the championship and how it places her above her jealous opponents). Others may have seen the dislocated elbow bit before, but it was new to me, so, yeah, I loved it (and didn't find that it happened "too early" in the match at all as it actually would've been even dumber to have that as your finish knowing that it had been used before). Tack on a better ending to this match that sees Bliss cheat to win and keep the awesome post-match spot and I'm probably at 4-stars for it.

 

- If there was a moment in the Braun/Roman match that screamed "babyface" to me it was Braun shrugging off chair shots. Just awesome. The post-match angle and commentary definitely put some heat on Roman, but I don't think the WWE is halting production on Reigns gear any time soon. I think they've come around to the idea that Roman is not going to be "the next Cena," but maybe they see him as the next Lesnar or (and I'm puking in my mouth as a type this) Triple H in that Roman will get whatever reaction he gets depending on who he's facing and will maintain his main event position/credibility because he'll be the "cornerstone" of the company the way Triple H was from say 2001-2005 (as mostly heel, but also face at times). With Cena, his challengers were almost always heels throughout his run, but Reigns is currently a different case as he's gone up against increasingly popular new guys like Strowman, "smart" fan favorites like Joe and AJ, and "casual" fan favorites like Lesnar and Taker.

 

With Reigns, I think the strategy makes some sense - the more intriguing question to me is how it will work with Strowman. Braun gets cheered when he's tossing Roman around or when he's going face-to-face to Lesnar. I think he'd get cheered for beating on Wyatt. But against Balor? Against Ambrose? There's some interesting dynamics to consider if they ever do decide to "lighten" Braun's monster side and have him actually become a full-fledged "good guy."

[Loss]

As Dave mentioned on WOR, WWE seems to want their top guys to be both babyfaces and heels now so they aren't limited in the matches they can run on top. See Brock, Reigns, and now Strowman. Joe may be going in that direction too.

[NintendoLogic]

And Asuka in NXT.