I was angry with this PPV before it even started, because of who stood tall on the previous episode of Smackdown. Having said that, this pay per view was very entertaining, and definitely a step up from previous main roster offerings.
The Club vs the Bludgeon Brothers (Pre Show)
This match is pre much what I expected. I really like the Club, but the way they lost this match was so botched feeling. There’s no other way to say it for me, so here it is. Outside of the New Day, and the Usos, I really can’t stand the way the tag team division is being utilized on the main roster right now. There are so many good tag teams on the main roster today, and there are more waiting in the wings at NXT. There are so many feuds that could be happening within the tag division, but right now they are being wasted so badly.
Daniel Bryan vs Big Cass
This match was better than I thought it was going to be, but that’s not saying much. Honestly, Bryan carried this match. I know that the commentator said that Cass was working with Drew Gulak on submission’s moves, but I don’t think Cass learned anything. If this match didn’t have Daniel Bryan in it, this would have been the worst match of the night. For me, as a longtime pro wrestling fan, Big Cass is just not working for me.
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Now, this is how a ladder match is supposed to work. I LOVED this match. The women had me chanting “This is Awesome!” before the match was even halfway complete. Lana, look at you being awesome in this match. Man, Lana has come a long way in a short time. I can see her wearing one of the Women’s belts on her current trajectory. Ember Moon is the Warrior Goddess. She rocked the spot in this match. Indeed, everyone in this match rocked and actually were up to the challenge that the NXT roster put out the previous night. I really wanted Becky Lynch to win, but I knew that it was going to Alexa Bliss…just made sense. If I had to pick my favorite matches of the night, this is definitely one of them.
Seth Rollins vs Elias for the Intercontinental Championship
This is just another good match to add to Rollins list. Also, Elias performed great in this one as well. There was good back and forth in the match, and Elias was allowed to show more of his hard-hitting chops. I liked the match.
Roman Reigns vs Jinder Mahal
Sunil Singh was the MVP of this match. In fact, he was the only thing interesting in this match, with the fake injury, and his heel tactics.
Don’t get me wrong. I actually like Roman Reigns. Having said that, I do think it’s time that he takes a break, and goes off to learn some more moves, because this match showcased the fact that he (in terms of move set) is quickly becoming another Hogan or Cena, and that’s not good for longevity. Also, taking a break would give Reigns a chance to work on a new gimmick, or to tweak the gimmick he has, which isn’t bad.
Mahal…sigh…he is just a top best super jobber to me. I know—I know this is an unpopular opinion. I have a few of them, but it’s how I feel. I don’t like Jinder Mahal being in the top of the mid-card, which is what this is at the end of the day, because right now Lesnar holds the top belt on RAW.
Bobby Lashley vs Sami Zayn
I didn’t care about this match. I love Sami Zayn. Why is he a heel? I have never believed him as a heel, and frankly, he would be better served to be a tweener, if he can’t be a face. I liked that for a while, he was just the guy who is giving his all to win, even if he had to go monster to do it. Why can’t Zayn be that guy?
As for Lashley, they are dropping the ball on him. He is monster material. He’s good in the ring, but I want to see more of his personality to shine through as well. He needs to team up with Titus Worldwide, and have Titus or Dana Brooke as his manager. I think that way, he can have the time to grow into a character for main, instead of whatever the hell creative are trying to do with him, because that ain’t working.
For a second, I would have thought Paul Heyman might be a good choice, but frankly, I don’t know if that would work. if they are trying to build Lashley towards a feud with Lesnar, it would be weird to have Heyman managing both of the opponents. Though it would have been interesting to see how Heyman would react to having both his clients fighting for the same prize.
Nia Jax vs Ronda Rousey for the RAW Women’s Championship
I think this match did two things for me. One, it showed that Rousey can adapt to different situations in different types of matches. It also showed how she is so ready for main. Two, as much as I love her, it showed how much Nia Jax still needed experience before having obtained the belt, no matter how much I marked out when she won the belt at Wrestlemania.
Rousey played the role of a girl trying to take out the big, obnoxious heel well. We already know that she’has wrestling prowess, so it was all about whether she could tell a good story in the ring. I think she showed us all that she can do that. Now all she needs to do is work on her mic skills, and she will be a solid pro wrestler, as we already know that she is a solid MMA fighter. Also, she did very well selling throughout the match. That will take her a long way.
Nia Jax on the other hand, I felt had a lot of rinses and repeats in her moves. She told a good story in this match, but for me, if you are gonna be a monster–even a female monster, you don’t do all the yelling that I saw in that match. Don’t get me wrong, I know an armbar hurts because I’ve had it put on me before, but still a monster yelling like that?
I knew if Bliss won the ladder match, she was gonna cash in, and I had no problem with that. I have no problem with the fact that she won the belt back. I can see a three-way feud forming from the end of this match, and it has the potential to be a great one.
Asuka vs Carmella
This match was the reason why I was angry going into this pay per view. With Asuka standing tall during the previous Smackdown, I knew that Asuka wasn’t winning this match, and it pissed me off. There is no legit way in the world that Asuka should have lost this match. Honestly, she’s too good of a wrestler to have lost to Carmella period, let alone in this manner. I love that James Ellsworth is back, but this just smacked of the first women’s money in the bank match. Maybe that’s what creative wanted it to feel like, but good grief this was garbage to me. It is honestly hurting me to see the way they are treating Asuka now. I know that she needs to lose a few matches, but not to Carmella. Also, what is going on with Carmella? The way Lana has gotten better in the ring by leaps and bounds; it seems that Carmella has falling back a bit. The screechy yelling aside (which really got on my nerves), she was botchier than I’ve ever seen her, and I actually like her as a persona. For me, this was just further proof that there is a hierarchy within the women’s division, and clearly, Asuka is top shelf, and Carmella is not.
AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship
Now, this is the match that they should have had months ago. When given the time and the chance, these two put on the best match they could have within the WWE main roster confines. This match had stiff hits, crazy spots, and great storytelling. I loved this match, and the ending was actually very satisfying. Both of these men proved why they should be on the list of the top wrestlers of all time, regardless of promotion. This is the other of my favorite matches of the night. Much respect for this match and the both of them.
Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
This match was very good. I think the Women’s match was better, but there were some great spots in this match. Also, a good story was told in this match. I just think the briefcase would have been served better by being won by someone else. Why does Strowman need the belt? Quite frankly, he should be the number one contender for the belt anyway. I would have preferred that Joe or Finn had won the match because it would have served them better unless they are about to turn Finn tweener or they are about to put Joe in WWE Championship storyline. Oh and I really hope Kevin Owens is ok. He took a high, hard fall from a ladder, and wasn’t seen for the rest of the match. I was…am very concerned for him. There was a lot of good selling and action in this match. Though I think that AJ/Shinsuke should have been the main event, I think this match was an adequate main event.
On the whole, this pay per view was very enjoyable, even though they pissed me off before it began. There were enough amazing matches to counter-balance the crap matches that made no sense story wise. This is actually one of the best main roster pay per views from top to bottom in a long time.
What do you think? Leave a message in comments.
