Category: WWE News

Courtesy of WWE.com 

By Jeff Hamlin, WrestlingObserver.com

The Big Takeaway: In a phenomenal start to the buildup of the SummerSlam main event, The Undertaker made his first Raw apperance in over a year. It culminated with a sensational pull-apart brawl with Brock Lesnar, which was the textbook way of how to build a main event between two larger than life titans. It looks like John Cena will face Seth Rollins at SummerSlam, as well, so the Kevin Owens is history. 

Show Recap: 

The Undertaker (star created in 1990) showed up to “Undertaker” chants and big cheers. He said he’s a remorseless, vengeful grim reaper. He said the painful truth is streaks are made to be broken, but Brock Lesnar (star created in 2002) had to remind everyone week after week of his greatest accomplishments, and enough is enough. Lesnar has taken what was once smoldering ashes and turned it into a raging inferno. Undertaker said last night was his resurrection.  

He said Lesnar can’t kill what won’t die and he will challenge Lesnar’s mortality. He will conquer was has yet to be conquered. In the end, just like all living things, man or beast, Lesnar will rest in peace. 

HHH (star created in 1999) and Stephanie McMahon (star created in her own mind) watched this scene elated from backstage. HHH said Undertaker and Lesnar would main event SummerSlam. However, HHH didn’t want Lesnar or Paul Heyman showing up tonight and putting the main event of their next PPV at risk. Stephanie left to call the marketing department to start promoting Lesnar-Taker (shouldn’t that have been done weeks ago?) while HHH called Heyman and told Lesnar not to show up to the arena. Yeah, if I had promoted Pacquaio-Mayweather, the last thing I’d want is to have Mayweather show up at a press conference or something. 

Team BAD, Sasha Banks (just arrived), Naomi (50/50 club) and Tamina (50/50) were at ringside for the Divas match.

Charlotte (3rd Raw) was shown embracing her father Ric Flair after her match at Battleground last night.

Charlotte defeated Brie Bella (9:00)

Charlotte won with the Figure 8. Brie Bella (50/50. Since a pattern?) was a step slow in spots, particularly when Charlotte missed a Pescado before the break. Brie threw kicks to Charlotte’s body and the crowd chanted “Yes” in salute of Daniel Bryan (star created in 2012, despite the company’s best efforts otherwise). Nikki, Alicia Fox (50/50) were in Brie’s corner while Paige (50/50) and Becky Lynch (2nd Raw) cheered on Charlotte. 

HHH was on the phone with Heyman when The Miz tried to talk with him. Heyman resisted but HHH told him not to bring Lesnar to the building. Meanwhile, Miz was mad about Big Show punching him last night. HHH really wasn’t listening and said Miz would face Big Show tonight and told “Obi One” to leave. 

Los Matadores defeated the Prime Time Players (C) in a nontitle match (4:03)

Diego (jobber) pinned Titus O’Neal (50/50) with a back stabber after the New Day came out and distracted the Prime Time Players, who still aren’t as over as their push. El Torito has added a muscular body costume that makes him look like Giant Gonzalezito. 

The Big Show defeated The Miz (1:28) 

Show (star created in 1995 by WCW) pinned the Miz (50/50 after the most drastic fall from the top of the card in company history) with an elbow smash off the second rope in a squash. Show challenged Ryback for the I-C title and said he would appear on Tough Enough tomorrow night and told him to show up then. So they’re shooting angles for Tough Enough now.

HHH and Stephanie were backstage talking to an artist backstage about creating a mural for the SummerSlam main event when they saw Heyman. When they confronted him, Heyman quivered and said he just wanted to deliver Lesnar’s reply to the Undertaker. Heyman swore Lesnar wasn’t there. After he left, HHH and Stephanie didn’t believe him and said they needed extra security.  

Next up was the time honored tradition of HHH and Stephanie dressing down the entire locker room. HHH said their entire livelihoods depends on keeping Lesnar and Undertaker apart tonight. HHH said they weren’t asking the locker room, they were telling them.  

Heyman was in the ring to deliver Lesnar’s retort. He blamed Undertaker for Lesnar not being WWE Champion. He brought up April 6, 2014 as the night Lesnar conquered the Undertaker’s undefeated streak, which got some boos. And 469 days later, the Undertaker has returned for revenge.  

Heyman brought up all the names who challenged the Undertaker at WrestleMania and failed. He didn’t mention C.M. Punk. In a babyface manner, Heyman said Undertaker sold his soul to the devil, but his ass belongs to Lesnar.

The lights went out and Undertaker was in the ring. Taker teased going after Heyman when Lesnar’s music hit to a huge pop. The announcers hit the road, the crowd went nuts, Lesnar ran to the ring like he had $10,000 in his hands as they started brawling. It was one electric scene. A group of jobbers first tried to break them up to no avail. HHH came out and emptied the locker room to get them apart. The ring was filled with midcarders, which now includes Kevin Owens (Cena program, which is a new third category. And a populated one, at that). Meanwhile, Roman Reigns (on the verge but not a star yet) and John Cena (star created in 2005) were MIA. Lesnar got free twice before about 30 guys got to him. Crowd chanted “This is awesome.”  Great hype segment. 

Once Lesnar got to the back, he saw Undertaker and it all started again. It was humorous watching R-Truth (jobber) and Bo Dallas (jobber) on the ground trying to pull Lesnar off. No announcers for any of this. You just heard police finally separating Lesnar, who had his hands cuffed with plastic bands. Lesnar told the officers not to touch him as he was escorted to a police van.  

Seth Rollins (what does it say when the WWE Champion is an afterthought? It says he isn’t a star yet) walked up to HHH and Stephanie and asked for a chance to address the fans. He’s the champion, shouldn’t he get interview time without having to ask anyone?  

Bray Wyatt (Cena program) and Luke Harper (50/50) were backstage. Wyatt said the fans annointed Reigns and they would burn for it. Harper said they would pick Reigns apart until there was nothing left.  

Roman Reigns defeated Luke Harper by DQ (13:01) 

They had a good match until a cheap finish where Wyatt tripped Reigns after Reigns hit a drive-by on Harper and Wyatt. Reigns sold his right arm most of the match. Harper is the proverbial “good hand in the ring” that’s great for making guys shine. He did a great job in this match. Dean Ambrose (50/50, check the PPV records if you don’t believe it) came out to be in Reigns corner. Michael Cole said Reigns hasn’t won a match since Wyatt cost Regins the Money in the Bank match. How can anyone who attends a house show take that statement seriously?  

Wyatt threw Reigns into the announcer’s table. Ambrose starting brawling with the heels until Wyatt threw him into the timekeeer’s table. Harper clamped on a crossface on Reigns until Ambrose ran back in. It ended with Reigns hitting Wyatt with a Superman’s punch just as Wyatt was about to give Amrbose Sister Abigail. Reigns was more over in this segment than a long time. Very good presentation. 

Rollins came out to very little reaction. He bragged about still holding the WWE title after Battleground and called himself the most underappreciated champion in the history of the WWE. Rollins says he can’t help but feel like he was robbed last night after the Undertaker got in the ring to interrupt the main event. He asked Lillian Garcia to get in the ring and asked her to announce him as the winner from last night’s match. She started to announce Lesnar as the winner by DQ, but Rollins was still champion.

Cena (star created in 2005, the Chris Berman of the WWE) came out.  Rollins thought Cena was there to issue another U.S. Open challenge. Cena said he was there to thank Rollins. He said every time the fans see the US Championship belt, they would see excellence from challenger and champion. If it wasn’t for Rollins, that wouldn’t happen and called Rollins a lousy excuse for a champion. He said Rollins’ actions make people lose respect for the WWE championship and gain respect for the US Championship.

Rollins shot back that Cena can keep worrying about the US title, he would keep on being the WWE Champion. Rollins started to leave, but Cena said Rollins was about to walk away from another challenge. Cena dared Rollins to man up, said the man makes the title and called Rollins a joke. He challenged him to man up. Rollins teased going at it with Cena and naturally left. So it looks like Rollins vs. Cena at SummerSlam, though that wasn’t announced. 

Sasha Banks and Naomi defeated Paige and Becky Lynch via submission (13:29)

Banks won with the Bank Statement on Paige. Team Bella was on commentary with Brie not selling her two losses in 48 hours to Charlotte at all. This was the curse of a 3-hour show as fans treated this as a popcorn match. The charisma of Banks and Lynch didn’t translate to a bigger crowd, at least not tonight. Fans did get interested after Paige got the hot tag. Match was OK. 
 ‘
Next, of all things, was Jake Gyllenhaul training for his role in the upcoming film “Southpaw.” Billy Gunn, Lita and Booker T talked about how Gyllenhaul works so hard for the role. All I can say is if you compare Gyllenhaul’s physique from his Donnie Darko days to his 2010 film “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” it’s….interesting. 

Renee Young talked with Lana (50/50 after being on the verge of getting over huge, inexplicable face turn killed it) regarding Dolph Ziggler. She said the doctors haven’t medically cleared him, but he’s talking again Then Summer Rae (50/50) peared dressed as Lana. Rae said Rusev (Cena program) like her in that outfit. Rusev walked up and kissed Rae, then told Lana she looked tired. Lana looked shocked. Rae started to console Lana, but slapped her instead and walked off laughing. For a movie that didn’t do very much at the box office in 1994, there sure are a lot of wrestling angles based on “Single White Female.” 

Randy Orton, John Cena and Cesaro defeated Kevin Owens, Rusev and Sheamus (14:56) 

Apparently they were looking for ways to have weirder psychology than last week’s Rusev-Cena match. As the heels were getting the heat, Cesaro (50/50) pushed Owens (Cena program) into Sheamus (not a star because the fans aren’t biting even though the company sure is pushing), who collided with Rusev. This led to Sheamus pushing Owens and walking out. Owens went to tag Rusev, but Rusev was still down after getting hit by Owens. So Owens slapped Rusev, then kicked him, and left, as well. So Rusev, the heel, was left alone to face three babyfaces. It was a weird sight seeing Cesaro crawling to make a hot tag in what had turned into a 3-on-1 match. It ended with Lana coming down and tackling Summerr Rae, tearing the bun out of her hair. In the ring, Cena gave Rusev the AA, Cesaro gave him the Giant Swing into Randy Orton’s (star created in 2007) RKO, which is the most over finisher in the company. Orton got the pin.

SUMMARY: You can’t say enough good things about that Lesnar-Undertaker pull apart. That’s what makes the WWE wonderful. And this was a good show. However, did you notice any new stars in the above section created after 2007? No. Which is what makes the WWE so frustrating. They know what to do with the hand they’re dealt, so why can’t they just do it? I know Dave’s annual Wrestling Observer Awards are reserved for entities, not concepts. I wish that would change, because the notion that the WWE is a star creating company might be the most overrated concept in the industry. 

Hi Dave

Thumbs down

best match – Cena vs Owens

worst match – Tag match

Typical WWE, just when they are about to create something new and big with Kevin Owens, they have to make sure Cena gets his win back, and make Owens just another guy. They just can’t pull the trigger. They were so close this time…

Death, taxes, and WWE screwing up pushes…

Dan Cerquitella
Oklahoma City

WWE Battleground

Thumbs Up

Best Match: Kevin Owens v John Cena

Worst Match: New Day v Prime Time Players

Can a couple of AARP members save SummerSlam? That’s the question WWE is going to ask itself in the next month. The influx of young talent seems to be intriguing the passionate, smaller, vocal fan base. But the larger, more casual wrestling audience does not seem to be buying into the youth movement. Rather than chance a bad entry into the fall season, WWE is going back to the well with the Undertaker AND Sting (although not together in the same match). Will it work? Probably for a one-time pop, although fans are going to be conflicted on how to feel about Lesnar as a tweener.

Does Cena topping Owens once more mean they’ve temporarily put on hold the “Cena works hard to get over the young guys” movement? Is it moving back into the main event mix? Or is this a sign they’ve slowed their interest in Owens? Or is Sting going to face Cena? Or does the booking even make sense these days?

So the divas all put over how excited that Stephanie is giving them a chance. So Stephanie is the new Dusty, as far as promos putting over the boss.

Jeffrey Cohen
Flushing, NY

Thumbs down.

Best match:  Toss-up: Cena-Owens
Worst match: Lesnar-Rollins

Lesnar-Rollins was decent until Undertaker interference that essentially negated the match.
I understand the set-up (Lesnar-Undertaker rematch), but don’t think this was right the way
this was handled.  This was a TV ending, not a pay-per-view or special-event ending.
Unacceptable.

Wyatt-Reigns was very well done, and with the right finish this time out.  Cena-Owens always
delivers — the question is what’s next for Owens after Cena’s clean win.

 –Mike Omansky

Thumbs down
Best match: Cena vs Owens

This show was basically to set up an angle at the end. Stephanie just comes off as tone deaf to this whole women’s thing and her promo was so well rehearsed it was unbearable.

Cena vs. Owens was good again but they blasted through a two year program in seven weeks.

Mike Hiscoe

Thumbs up to Battleground, booking aside.

Best match:  Cena vs Owens III
Worst match:  King Wade vs Truth

Was not excited for PPV aside from top 2 matches.  Better than expected in ring.  Opener was strong enough to start the show.  Orton winning got the crowd going.  Bray vs Roman was a match that I could’ve cared less for.  However, the match more than over achieved and  I’m happy both guys delivered that performance.  Only thing I would change was how much Reigns took before losing in the end.  Can’t believe Cena won…over it.  Match and finish killed main event till #GONG.  Don’t understand people calling Taker’s return, a heel turn.  Flair hit low blows on guys and last 10 years and got cheered.  But I do understand the criticism in  the logic of Taker waiting 16 months to avenge The Streak being broken.  Or am I really supposed to believe that Brock’s destruction of Kane was the catalyst?  

I’ve watched the first four, G1 matches.  Will have to watch Tanahashi vs Ibushi after work.  Tenzan should not be here.  Him tapping out Doc was ridiculous.  Fale’s shoulder was up after 1 and is regressing to Nelson Frazier like levels.  I liked Naito’s new look and attitude.  And I really enjoyed Styles vs Shibata.  Four stars.

James Brown

Thumbs Down
Best Match : Cena v Owens
Worst Match : Lesnar v Rollins

I’m 18 months behind on audio from the website and it’s amazing how
many of the issues raised from that period are still relevant today.

I do so love Stephanie’s champion of feminism act. ‘Give diva’s a
chance’ this from a company that has mocked and ridiculed women for
supposedly being ugly and fat nonetheless Sasha grasped this
opportunity with both hands. She’s heads and shoulders above everyone
but Becky in ring and the swagger she carries herself with will get
her over with the crowd. Charlotte needed the win more than Sasha,
it’s what happens next that is the key to whether this is a lame
attempt to placate fans or a genuine effort to change the perceptions
of Women’s wrestling.

Cena v Owens was devoid of psychology. It was a series of moves
interspaced with the burial of finishers. This was ROH or TNA 10 years
ago. We’ve moved on.

The phycology of the main event on the other hand was perfect. Brock
throws Rollins around, Rollins starts targeting the leg to slow the
big man down. The finish diminished Brock’s position as the companies
biggest star, it took away his heat and once the Undertaker jobs at
Summerslam, what exactly will be achieved? And where does this leave
Rollins? In a title v title match against Cena?

M B Mehdi, England

Hey Dave,

Thumbs down, like Tna PPV bad

Best Match: Divas Match

Worst Match: Owens/Cena (will explain why)

Barrett/R Truth- The less said the better.

Orton/Sheamus- Solid opener. No surprise the hometown crowd was behind Orton, and the boo/yea sequences were pretty entertaining.

New Day/PTP- Another solid match. Xavier Woods is very entertaining outside of the ring. I have to give props to the New Day for going from a defunct gimmick to being one of the most over acts on the roster.

Wyatt/Reigns- No complaints here either. Physical bout, and for right now the right guy went over. I enjoyed when Wyatt pandered to the crowd, it blows my mind how they’ve completely misused him.

Divas match- Best divas match on a WWE main card event in a long, long time. Although Charlotte won, this really was a showcase for Sasha Banks. My GOD did Brie look out of place in this match. She got a lot of heat, but not good heat. More you’re annoying, stay out of the way heat.

Let the ranting begin.

Owens/Cena III- As far as the match went, it was the worst of the three with easily the worst finish. Can someone explain to me how Owens TAPPING OUT in the middle ring does him ANY GOOD??!!

This is not a knock on Cena, cause quite frankly he’s done his best work this year. This had Vince all over it. Who gives a rat’s ass what Owens looks like, he’s one of the IF NOT THE BEST HEEL ON THE ROSTER. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but they protected Rusev better than this. The only way they rehab Owens after this is if they do a submission match at Summerslam (Austin/Bret style not cartoonish I quit with mic style) and Owens does to Cena what no one in the WWe has been able to do since Kurt Angle back in Feb 2004…make Cena actually give up.

Now they wonder why when the big events come they constantly go to the well for the over the hill part-timers…BECAUSE THEY KEEP JOBBING OUT THE UP AND COMERS.

Main Event- Speaking of over the hill…I mean the match was fine. But who in their right mind wants to see Lesnar/Taker? They in the span of one night killed the heat of two of their biggest stars.

Where does Rollins go from here?

Shame, Summerslam is in my hometown (Barclays is a 10 minute train ride) and I’m looking forward to takeover a lot more than summerslam right now. Oh well, let’s see in 5 weeks. Will send notes next month from attending.

Alexander Cerrano

Thumbs Up
Best Match: Cena/Owens
Worst Match: Prime Time Players/New Day

Orton/Sheamus: Really good match here. The hometown Orton crowd certainly helped and the wrestlers responded. Both of these guys generally give you a good effort, but they usually only reach a certain level. This went above that usual level. Good drama towards the end and the right guy won.

Prime Time Players/New Day: Fun match but definitely well below what we’ve seen from the tag division over the last couple of years from teams like the Usos, Harper & Rowan, and Kidd & Cesaro. Xavier’s commnetary on the outside of the ring was hilarious and my favorite part of the match. Still think the belts go back on New Day sooner than later. Well, just as long as Titus doesn’t win any more awards.

Wyatt/Reigns: This feud lost me early on, but the wrestlers got me into the match. A little slow at times, but hard-hitting and very entertaining overall. Reigns continues to string together good match after good match. The character and promo questions are still there, but the guy can work. Definitely the best Bray in a while. It felt like he mattered again. Good use of Harper. A waste to have him on the sidelines.

Charlotte/Sasha/Brie: Good effort overall and fun throughout. The Sasha/Charlotte dynamic from NXT to the main roster can give you headache, but that didn’t take away from the match too much. And unfortunately that’s been the norm for the Divas from a character standpoint for a while. Whether the NXT women are having the impact they could have is still a question, but it’s still much better than anything the Divas have done in a long time. Man, I hate that name “Divas.” 

Cena/Owens: What can you say? Another great match. Even the Canadian Destroyer didn’t look awkward this time. I wish the matches had been spread out some more, and I wish the other guy would have won, but I still go home happy. It probably isn’t over, anyway. Perhaps Cena/Owens/Cesaro/Rusev at Summerslam, and Owens leaves with the belt then?

Rollins/Lesnar: Good while it lasted. This answered the “why does the guy wait so long to interfere?” question we usually have. And with Brock being so dominant, Taker coming in early made sense. I’m fine with this. Brock couldn’t get the belt back already. And it’s Undertaker, a legend, and still the most over guy in the company (which isn’t necessarily a good thing). Plus I didn’t want to see Taker’s career end with another year off and one more match. This should be the sendoff he deserves and that will draw money. I would have liked Brock to put up more of a fight, and an actual finish to the match (or announcement, at least), but a hot ending nevertheless. Very excited for tonight’s Raw, so it worked for me.

Jeffrey Kleinberg
Massachusetts  

Hi Dave,

Thumbs up.
Best match: Rollins vs Lesnar
Worst match: Brie vs Charlotte vs Sasha

Thought every match was good to great, but the Divas match felt a bit clumsy. A lot of people will look to Brie’s involvement as the reason, but I don’t think the booking helped, as she was always the ‘odd one out’. Had she had more time one-on-one with either Charlotte or Sasha, she would have been fine. Sasha was undoubtedly the star of the match, though.

The finish obviously hurts the Lesnar/Rollins match, but they told a story and executed everything perfectly.

Big irritation for me is these Cena/Owens matches, which I feel are greatly overrated. Spot, near fall, rest, spot, near fall, rest, repeat … it becomes very dull watching they don’t actually build any heat for the finish. We’re just waiting for the one move that will finally end the match. The crowd heat was generated by who the fans wanted to win, which they had decided before the bell. During the match, they did nothing to generate any interest, other than, as I say, performing a big spot (some looking very contrived) leading to a near fall.

In terms of storytelling, I thought Sheamus/Orton and the tag title match put the Cena/Owens match to shame.

Thanks,

Nick Draper
Wimbledon, England

Slight thumbs down
Best match: Tanahashi/Ibushi
Worst match: Naito/Fale

Well, this was the opposite of what I expected to send in, in terms of the thumbs down. I expected that I’d at least give this show a slight thumbs up. When the 19 shows were announced, and then they announced that they were splitting the blocks up and giving each their own shows, this is what I was afraid of. Splitting the shows creating a lack of depth on the card that leads to ultimately disappointing shows. There’s really nothing remarkable about this show other than the main event being a very good match and Shibata vs. AJ being a complete disappointment. The six man with Elgin was good, I enjoyed seeing Elgin break out the old Rick Steiner powerslam and German suplex in this match. Whether or not he did that as a tribute to the Dogfaced Gremlin, who really knows but it was cool to see. 

Tanahashi/Ibushi had a really hot finishing stretch, Ibushi’s second rope German looked incredible here. Not really sure what happened with Shibata and AJ. It wasn’t the injury, or even that Shibata lost the match (I expected him to). The way the whole match played out was very flat and just didn’t click with me which is sad because that was the match I was most looking forward to from this show.
Ricky Schmidt

Thumbs up, as they are for pretty much every New Japan show.
Best Match: Tanahashi vs Ibushi
Worst Match: Goto & CNJ vs Takahashi & Hall

1) 10-Man Opener: Exactly what you’d expect, was a notch above most opening tags but went too long. (**3/4)
2) Hirooki Goto & Captain New Japan vs Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall: Hall is so green. He starts beating on Captain but runs out of moves and tags out. Goto was the highlight despite not doing much. Not worth my time. (**)
3) Shinsuke Nakamura & ‘Loose Explosion’ YOSHI-HASHI vs Karl Anderson & ‘Bad Boy’ Tama Tonga: Decent action, but these tags to start G1 shows are going to be so draining by the end of it. (**3/4)
4) Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo vs Michael Elgin, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi: Ishii and Kojima are so awesome, and Elgin looked good here. Builds next day of matches nicely. (***)

5) A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Doc Gallows: Who thought this was a good way to open G1?!? Slow Tenzan, bad Gallows (name ONE good Gallows match in New Japan) and just an uninspiring way to start the tournament. (**1/4)
6) A Block: Togi Makabe vs Toru Yano: I actually enjoyed this for what it was. Believable near-falls, which is all you can ask for from Yano. (**3/4)
7) A Block: Tetsuya Naito vs Bad Luck Fale: The match of mixed opinions – I was in the middle. Naito was good but Fale wasn’t the best opponent for him to introduce his new persona. If the goal was to get Naito over as slow and lazy, they failed because Fale was slower and lazier. (**1/2)
8) A Block: AJ Styles vs Katsuyori Shibata: Beautiful, beautiful match that was too short to be on the level of some of last year’s matches. Great action from start to finish. (****)
9) A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi: This was the match the show needed at this point. This could have headlined the finals, or any show in the world. It seems the debate with these New Japan main events is whether they are match of the year level, and in my opinion this absolutely is on that level. Ibushi is electric and there is nobody better in big matches than Tanahashi. Amazing to see after months with Yano how much the fans ADORE him. They really have something special. (****3/4)

Overall a great show, but some guys seemed tired and unmotivated. The tags have potential to be a positive impact on the show, but they failed to deliver tonight as there was too much generic stuff and Cody Hall. The first three G1 matches were disappointing to some extent, but you can’t give a show with a final two matches like that anything lower than a thumbs up. Looking forward to the next 18 shows.
Brian Jackson

Thumbs in the middle
Best Match : Tanahashi/Ibushi
Worst Match : Hirooki Goto & Captain New Japan / Cody Hall & Yujiro Takahashi

Last two matches saved the show. Tanahashi/Ibushi was a legit MOTYC and could have been even better had Ibushi remembered to sell the leg Tanahashi was working on since the start of the match. Really super performance from Tanahashi with him pulling all the stops including the best sling blade i’ve ever seen spiking Ibushi right on his head. Styles/Shibata was excellent but was way too short. It looks like Shibata isn’t 100% and they had to scale down the moves, but still it was great with counters and stiff looking kicks/forearms/suplexes. Other block matches were ok. Tenzan/Gallows was ok for what it was. Naito/Fale was very sloppy but Naito did try his best to try drag Fale through. Yano/Makabe was fun for a short match with few roll-ups which i could have bought as match enders. Tag matches were ok, nothing great. Usual run of mill stuff

Siva Punisamy

Hi Dave,
  Just wanted to give some feedback on Battleground. I gave the show a thumbs up, with the best match in my opinion being the Divas triple threat match just because it was finally something that showcased the changing divas division in such a positive and awesome way, and the worst match probably being the tag title match between the Prime Time Players and New Day, only because I really don’t have much interest in either team at the moment. But overall, a very entertaining show, and cool return during the main event of the Undertaker.

1. Sheamus VS Orton – Good match, monster pops for hometown boy Randy Orton. I was good with either guy winning since I really didn’t think it mattered who won.

2. Roman VS Bray – I thought Bray winning was a good idea since it can continue this feud and they can build on that. Good to see Luke Harper get involved, hopefully this marks a return of the Wyatt family since all three members of the Wyatt’s have pretty much been floundering since they disbanded the group.

3. Charlotte VS Banks VS Brie – I thought this was an awesome divas match and got my vote for best match of the night. They are finally showcasing the divas division in a strong light and I’m sure they can continue heating up the division in this manner to be on par with the men and main event matches. All of the women involved really put themselves on the line and held nothing back, awesome match, good to see the divas finally getting the time to showcase what they can do and what NXT has been doing with the women.

4. Cena VS Owens – Great rubber match between the two, however not as good as their first two matches in my opinion. Was hoping Owens was going to win the title, but no such luck. Hopefully they have a rematch at SummerSlam in some sort of stipulation match or maybe even a cage match to make things fresh and Owens takes the title.

5. Brock VS Seth – This was both a good and bad match for the same reason. Good match until the Undertaker got involved and was just weird how Rollins and the ref were both MIA and it was not announced if there was a winner by DQ or not as they simply were gone. But also a good moment and probably best moment of the night when Taker appeared and attacked Lesnar and gave him two tombstones. Although a little late, as this would have been more effective about a year ago, but better late then never and Taker clearly needed the time off after his Mania match last year with Lesnar so I can see why they waited. Not sure what the plan is from here, are they going to have a match at SummerSlam or what all the way until next year’s Mania? My hope is Summerslam where maybe Taker can get his win back, and then in a perfect world, to see Taker and Sting face each other at next year’s Mania in a retirement celebration match for both against each other, and both going
 into the Hall of Fame at the same time as well? (Hint to the WWE booking team!) lol.  But otherwise a good PPV for a “B” show, a little short which was surprising, and the main event return of the Taker was a little sloppy but very effective.

Thanks,
Jon Southerland
Clovis, Ca.

Hi Dave, 


Thumbs up.
Best Match: Cena vs.Owens 
Worst Match: Lesnar vs Rollins

Good show with fairly good wrestling. Opener was fine, crowd loved it. I really enjoy PTP so I’m glad to see them win. Curious to see where the New Day go from here. I didn’t care for Wyatt vs. Reigns at all. Went way too long and I was finding it hard to pay attention at some points. The Divas match was OK, but not what you want to start off the “Divas Revolution”. Questionable to book the first match, which they wanted to showcase how great women’s wrestling is, as a triple threat with Brie Bella. Owens vs. Cena was a good match with a bad finish, the “worst” of their three matches. Everyone bought the top rope AA as the finish, and in hindsight it probably should’ve been. For them to book Owens so weakly on Raw lately and then have him lose, I don’t get it. Rollins vs Lesnar could’ve been far better. Brock vaulting over the barricade and catching Rollins was the highlight. The Undertaker came off very heelish to me, I may be the only one. Brock beat Taker cleanly at WM30, Taker costs Brock a match against the top heel, hits him with a low blow, and beats him down. But hey, it’s The Undertaker.

Casey Goss
Virginia

Battleground

Thumbs in the Middle: Most of the matches were good but I don’t get this product anymore. There are two way to present pro-wrestling: as a sport or as a drama. WWE has always been a drama and that’s fine, but drama needs 3 basics elements: Protagonists and Antagonists; Character development; and Continuity. Right now their product doesn’t have any of those. Triple H is a heel on Raw but a face on NXT. Same with Stephanie, last year she helped Nikki to the title, but now helps Paige against the Bellas, who are face or heel depending on the day of the week. Paige, Becky and Charlotte are faces but they just follow Steph orders anyway. Sasha is a heel that only cares about herself, but then joins Naomi and Tamina because Stephanie told her so. They are all suppose to be strong independent women, yet the first thing they do is act like geeks that just follow their boss orders. Lesnar is the only hot face they got, what they do they do? Book him against Undertaker who is a legend that nobody would boo. I guess that’s a good way to make sure that people react to Reigns as a face, mostly because they don’t have any other choice. If Undertaker was so mad about losing to Lesnar, why he didn’t went after him before? They were both at Mania this year, right? And Taker didn’t had much of a challenge in beating Wyatt while Lesnar had a hard time taking on Roman; in fact, Brock was so beat up that Seth took advantage of that; either Taker is an idiot or he secretly works for The Authority. Funny, after all these years of WWE making fun of WCW they just turn into them. A great talented roster but with no clear direction, no clear Heel vs Face dynamic, no upward movement, and storylines and matches that don’t make sense. 
Best Match: Cena vs. Owens. 
Worst Match: Barrett vs. Truth

1. Barrett vs R-Truth. Actually not that bad, but the whole reason for this match was beyond boring. Hopefully this was the end of their “feud” *1/2

2. Orton vs Sheamus. Good opener, but this match was out of place. Why put the hometown hero on the opener? He is going to get a reaction anyway. ***1/2

3. PTP vs New Day. Crowd was so-so for this one, probably because they had to follow Orton in St Louis. **3/4

4. Wyatt vs Reigns. Good but it never clicked to anything more. If this was angle to set up a Shield reunion then Ambrose and Reigns should be executed for sheer stupidity. ***

5. Charlotte vs Sasha vs Brie. Another good one. Sadly the whole Divas division is just a backdrop excuse to showcase Stephanie, who is being prepared to be feed to Ronda Rousey who is not part of the company. Strange business model. ***

6. Cena vs Owens. God forbid that Cena ever lost a feud. They can do whatever they want with Owens but it’s just too late for him. He is now officially another guy in the roster. So far he has lost a match, lost a feud, lost by pin, lost by submission, is no longer a champion, and his opponents had kicked out of his finisher multiple times; all in the span of 3 matches. What’s special about him anymore? What’s is left for other faces like Sami Zayn? Same happened with Rusev. But the match was great, so I guess everything is fine. ****1/4

7. Rollins vs Lesnar. What little they did was fine but the finish, or lack of, was terrible. As far I’m concern that match still going on. So far Rollins title reign has been as dominant as Rey Mysterio’s. N/R

Leonard Mendez
San Sebastian, Puerto Rico

Thumbs down

  Best Match: Prime Time Players (c) v. The New Day.  Titus and Big E
are a joy to watch.  The action moved quickly in and out of the ring and
the result was a match with excellent pacing and combat that looks as
natural as it gets in WWE.  By the end of this match, I want to see more
of all five participants.

Worst Match: Seth Rollins (c) v. Brock Lesnar.  Maybe this sparks a
great angle, which leads to a great feud, which leads to a great match. 
Even if that is the case, this match had heat and hype only to be thrown
away.  Rollins and Lesnar put on a non-WWE match for a few minutes,
which is phenomenal to see in the main event, before the Undertaker
pulled the plug.  Is the match still going on? What happened to Seth
Rollins?  What happened to the referee?  I care way more about the
answers to those questions than, “Why is the Undertaker back?”
Casey Goldman

Thumbs in the middle show.
Best Match: Cena vs Owens
Worst Match: Reigns vs Wyatt

Why would anyone bother watching the pre-show.
1) Randy Orton vs Sheamus: Decent opener, but nothing I haven’t seen dozens of times already. (**1/2)
2) Prime Time Players vs New Day: Decent tag title match, but nothing I haven’t seen dozens of times already. (**1/2)
3) Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt: I call this type of match the WWE 2-Star Special. There’s some cool moves, a couple nice spots but no thought whatsoever put into any moves other than all the signature spots. Flat finish. (**)
4) Brie Bella vs Sasha Banks vs Charlotte: I don’t know who decided to hype a match with Brie Bella as the match that would burn the house down. Then again, she is the grizzled veteran who fought tooth and nail to get here and with Nikki, turned the Divas division into “must-see TV”. (**1/4)
5) John Cena vs Kevin Owens: A good match, best on the show by far. Owens actually came across really well in defeat, but the submission was unnecessary in my opinion. (***3/4)
6) Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins: Hmm. It’s 2015. (*1/2)
Brian Jackson

———- Forwarded message ———-

Thumbs Up
Best Match: Owens v Cena III
Worst Match: Barret v Truth

Evert match, including what I voted for the worst, was very entertaining. I wasnt looking forward to Sheamus Orton but it drew me in. New Day was a blast on the pregame show if anyone missed that and the tag maych was solid. The womens match finally brought some of the NXT feel to the show in addition to the performers call up. I really like Reigns-Wyatt especially where Wyatt caught him perfectly on the apron dropkick. Great timing and a nice spot. Cena Owens was the best match, still not as good as the first one to me and parts felt like repeats but really picked up at the end. Owens has now lost 3 big event matches in a row. Youre not getting over that way no matter how much they push that you hung in there for another match and thats a little frustrating. As good as they work together lets get each into another program because you dont want to keep running it into the ground. Imagine the anticipation if they are kept apart for a bit and then have another big encounter.

What almost took the show from a thumbs up for me, and I only didnt because I thought everything else delivered too well, was that ended to the main event and show. Look I dont care how cool folks thought ti was that Undertaker was back and the chanting. You have this match folks have been waiting for – for Brock to get his hands back on Rollins and the usual Lesnar beatdown and then that. Many folks predicted some type of screwjob and even this particular scenario but man just came off terrible for the show to just end especially with rollins teleporting into a black hole or something. We dont need PPVs ending like 00s era WCW and even some WWF times in 2015. As dave mentioned “it wont make sense” it doesnt! Hes back for revenge on the streak over a year and half later? Hes avenging Kane who has been a total heel for a long time corporately protecting Rollins and the Authority? Lesnar being a face. Just a terrible dynaminc all around. Again many points have already been made by others but they bear repeating. Didnt need such a sour taste after an awesome event otherwise.

Michael O’Brien

Thumbs in the Middle

Good wrestling overall on the show but more questions (including where does Owens go from here?) than answers: 

Why would Brock turn his attention to a guy he beat instead of Rollins?  

Is the Wyatt match going to be forgotten so it is Taker returning 16 months later to avenge his loss?  

Will Undertaker be able to recover from Suplex City in 8 months to wrestle at Mania?

How do you avoid Taker losing (why bring him back to lose?  Brock doesn’t need another win over him to be more over) AND pinning Brock (which should be saved and at least wasn’t wasted here with Taker laying out Brock and placing a comatose Rollins on top) without adding a third person to the match (defeating the vengeance angle) or giving a flat DQ/no contest?

Is the plan to give Rollins some credibility by beating a 50-year-old guy that his boss already beat at Mania?

And where exactly did Rollins and the ref go?

It got a good live reaction and made (marginally) more sense than a Shield reunion, but I’m more concerned than intrigued.

~Jim Rogers
Phoenix

Battleground: Thumbs Up
Best Match: John Cena vs. Kevin Owens
Worst Match: King Barrett vs. R Truth

Show started off with the kick off match Barrett vs. Truth.  Hope this feud is done.  It was pointless and once again a terrible waste of Wade Barrett.  At least he picked up the win.  Just thinking about that it is weird that Ambrose, Rusev, and Cesaro are not on this show in any form.  Randy Orton vs. Sheamus turned out better than I thought. Sometimes these guys seem to go the boring route, but this was good. 

Tag Titles are next.  PTP retains over New Day.  Thought there would be a title change, but an entertaining match with some good action.  Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt again started off not that great, but picked up and delivered.  Wyatt winning with help from Harper was fine.  Hope Rowan gets back with them as well.  This was a much better act with the three guys.  All of them alone went nowhere fast.  Wyatt should put him in a good spot for Summer Slam I would imagine.  Sting maybe?  Not sure where that leaves Roman though.

Triple threat women’s match is up with Sasha vs. Charlotte vs. Brie.  I wouldn’t have chosen Brie for this spot or maybe just done a singles to showcase the NXT ladies.  Instead it wasn’t up to NXT standards, but still pretty good.  Charlotte winning was nice.  Have to see where they go with this.  How about the three teams of three in a triple threat tag at Summer Slam or Banks vs. Nikki Champions match?  Why hasn’t Sasha come out with the NXT Title?  Did she leave it in Florida? 

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens delivers yet again.  These guys have good chemistry.  Wanted Owens to win, but still a great performance.  Again not sure what happens next here for Owens.  No interference by Rusev or Cesaro.  I guess it depends on the open challenge for tomorrow.  Main Event time.  Started off good with Lesnar taking Rollins to suplex city.  Finish was bad even though it was Undertaker returning.  I mean the ref and Rollins disappear.  Why do this now?  Lesnar is super over as a face and no one wants to route against Taker.  Plus what makes Taker so mad now?  He was at Mania this year and didn’t even bring up Lesnar from the year before.  Kind of makes no sense really.  So Lesnar goes heel again or face vs. face or a triple threat with Rollins for the title?  I guess we will find out tomorrow.  Overall it was a good show, but don’t like not having at least an attempt at a finish in the main event at least call for a DQ.

Robb Block

Thumbs in the middle
Best: Cena vs Owens
Worst: Truth vs Barrett

The quality of the wrestling kept this from being a thumbs down, because the booking was once again strange and the main event didn’t deliver at all.

It makes no sense for a babyface Undertaker to cost babyface Lesnar the title.  Lesnar beat him clean as a sheet at Mania 30, so there’s no reason for Taker to screw him outside of sour grapes.  It sounded like there was some booing for Undertaker after the low blow and chokeslam, but that was it.  I guess we’ll find out if the two would’ve had a good match 18 months ago had Undertaker not been concussed early in the match, because being there live, it was the worst match on the show by far until the historic finish.

It also makes no sense, in a world title match that has been hyped up for 5 weeks, for there to be A) no bell, B) no official announcement and C) no acknowledgement of anything by the announcers.  Even a cursory “How lucky was Rollins?” would’ve been fine, unless that’s point 462 on the things announcers cannot say.  Way too many logic holes here.

And the company trying to find a new John Cena had the guy they want to be the new top guy lose, while Cena wins clean again at the expense of another rising star.  The only good part about that is the Cena open challenges are the best part of Raw, and it should pay off with someone beating him there.  Cena is also seriously a Wrestler of the Year contender, whether anyone likes it or not.

Finally, kudos to the women, as there was max effort and they had a great match by WWE divas match standards.  It wasn’t at the level of NXT takeover women’s matches, but it’s a start.

– Chris H
Lakeland, FL

WWE Battleground
Thumbs Up
Best Match:Cena vs Owens III
Worst Match:New Day vs PTP

Barrett vs R-Truth-OK match for the pre-show. Barrett going over is obviously the better play ** 3/4

Sheamus vs Orton-Great opening match. Really good physical match. Reminded me of a New Japan mid-card match. Which is a compliment. Orton gets the win in his hometown.  ****

PTP vs New Day-This was mostly atrocious. I think they got cut due to time constraints. Just didn’t have time to get going. * 1/2

Wyatt vs Reigns-Another highly physical & entertaining match. Wyatt gets the win and looks to have reformed the Wyatt Family which could make him more relevant after stagnating the last couple months. Reigns continues to show that improved consistency. Another great match  ****

Charlotte vs. Brie Bella vs. Sasha Banks-What a great match to kick of the newly revolutionized Divas division. The crowd was super-hot for this match, so that should relieve any doubts Vince may have had. What performances from Charlotte and Sasha particularly, but Brie Bella held own. Another piece of good booking by protecting Sasha, but letting Charlotte pick up a pinfall in her debut.
****
Cena vs Owens III-The all-important rubber match all thought was every bit as good as the previous two matches. Maybe even a tad better. Owens looked strong in defeat taking multiple AA’s, including one off the tope rope. but kicking out of all of them. Finally, Owens succumbed to the STF after the two stole the show again  **** 1/2

Lesnar vs Rollins-As expected Rollins took a lot of suplexes (13 I believe). He had little offense to make it interesting, but it looked like Lesnar may roll. That is until Thje Undertaker showed up. The rumors were true and The Deadman showed up just as Lesnar was about to win the title. He cost Lesnar the title and proceeded to tombstone him 3 times. So-so match never got going but served it’s purpose in furthering storylines.  ***

We still didn’t see Sting, so it looks like Taker will be facing Lesnar, or possibly Lesnar and Rollins in a Triple Threat for the title at Summerslam. I like the idea of a triple threat as it would give Taker a bit of protection his first match back. Should be interesting where they go from here. Overall, there were four matches that were 4 stars or better. Even though the main event wasn’t very good, the strong undercard and Taker appearance make this one of the best shows of the year.
J.C. Gethicker

OVERALL: Thumbs up! Way up!
BEST MATCH: John Cena vs. Kevin Owens
WORST MATCH: Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

Hi Dave! Hope all is well with you and your family. Just got finished watching Battleground and I have to say I thought this show was fantastic. Two big thumbs up from me. None of the matches were bad and the Cena and Owens match, while not the best of their encounters, was still a great match.

SHEAMUS VS. RANDY ORTON — (***1/2) These guys tore the house down. The crowd absolutely loved Orton.

KOFI KINGSTON AND BIG E VS. PRIME TIME PLAYERS — (**1/2) — Nothing wrong with this at all. They had a solid tag team match and the right guys went over.

ROMAN REIGNS VS. BRAY WYATT — (**1/2) This went way too long and the action sometimes felt slow. I guess since Luke Harper interfered and cost Reigns the win the feud will continue and it looks like the Wyatt Family will be fully functional again once Rowan is off the shelf.

SASHA BANKS VS. CHARLOTTE VS. BRIE BELLA — (**3/4) The crowd was more into this than most Divas matches. Charlotte and Sasha were fine here and Brie Bella was better than she normally was. They got quite a bit of time and had a really solid match. 

KEVIN OWENS VS. JOHN CENA — (****) So this was basically what we’ve come to know from these two: Hot crowd, Kevin Owens blessing us with his awesomeness and Cena trying to keep up. Seriously, Cena noticeably botched quite a few things in this match but he did some great big moves. The ending was perfect in my opinion.

BROCK LESNAR VS. SETH ROLLINS — (***3/4) So Lesnar does all his usual stuff with the suplexes. Rollins does his usual stuff with playing the chickin heel as well as being crafty. Crazy heat for this.  Then suddenly, the Undertaker appears in the ring after the bell tolls to an unbelievable pop and just destroys Lesnar. The end. The action for the 12 minutes the match lasted was actually great but the ending was just unbelievable!
Craig Reeves

WWE Battleground Feedback
Thumbs Up
Best Match: John Cena vs Kevin Owens
Worst Match: King Barrett vs R-Truth

I thought this was a good but not great show. It had good in-ring action with some less-than-great finishes. Sheamus and Orton had a good match but if they have anything planned for Sheamus the Orton win didn’t help matters.  I liked the tag title match and although I like The New Day as champs I probably like the Prime Time Players more at this point. Reigns and Wyatt also had a good match and the Wyatt family reunion is way overdue. If they don’t put Rowan back in I hope they put in someone like Solomon Crowe or even a revamped Bo Dallas.

The divas match was good but disappointing and Brie Bella appeared to be the reason.

Cena vs Owens was tremendous. I would have preferred a title win by Owens and really hope they continue his momentum, hopefully with a three-way with Cena and Cesaro at Summerslam.

Rollins vs Lesnar is a good example of booking a match where they wanted the draw without delivering. I did like the surprise of UNdertaker and think that is a good draw for Summerslam. The match itself was better than I expected, with the suplex city spots and Rollins getting more in than I expected. 

Dave Musgrave
Oshawa, Ontario

THUMBS DOWN, as much as I hate to say it.

BEST MATCH was Cena-Owens, though I was disappointed by the result — KO is losing too much.  Cena also seemed to make more of an effort to conceal his calling of the match while it was going on.

WORST MATCH was Rollins-Lesnar.  I bet Rollins coud have a good athletic match with this guy, but I guess nothing mattered anyway.  Undertaker should have done something with his hair to make himself look less old.  I was relieved to see the kneepads under his pants when he was getting up from the Tombstones.  I don’t see where this really goes, and I would have preferred the fantasy-booking answer of the Reuniting of the Shield.

Oh well, Summer Slam could still be good.
Richard Orloski

Thumbs up!
Best match: Roman Reigns VS Bray Wyatt followed by Orton VS Sheamus
Worst match: Lesnar VS Rollins

This could have been a “thumbs way up” show, but the Miz/Big Show segment and the main event brought it down. The time given to this match and the non-finish of the Lesnar VS Rollins match brought my enjoyment down a notch. And how are we suppose to react when Rollins gets up fresh after receiving 7 german suplexes? Yes, it was nice to see the Undertaker back, but still, we need a finish for the WWE title match. I guess the WWE will use cheap tricks like this going foreward since it’s on the WWE network and it cost less than PPVs. Last year, they promoted a Ambrose VS Rollins match that never happened. Instead we got a huge brawl between the two. I feel that down the line these specials events might become watered down.

Reigns VS Wyatt: Awesome clothesline spot by Wyatt when Reigns went for his dropkick on the apron. Great pace and great storytelling, and a couple of stiffs shots! Props to Wyatt for kicking out at 1 during the match (we never see those anymore, it’s either 2 or almost 3!).
Orton VS Sheamus: Same thing here, slow but interesting build-up. Orton is really under-rated and deserves more recognition for having great matches day in, day out. Both of their styles goes well together since they are rugged and what they do looks legit.
Prime Time Players VS New Day: Fun little match!
Cena VS Owens: I am not a Cena hater. He works really hard and delivers mostly great promos but his wrestling is getting really stale. It’s the SAME LAYOUT with every match looking and feeling the same! Just change the opponent, and voilà! I did not see any difference between the 3 matches he had with Owens! It was a fun match, but mostly just an exhibition of moves without any real storytelling. People kicking out of finishers left and right! And please, that springboard stunner looks awful.
Divas match: Fantastic match! I am very pleased to see not just an NXT women invasion, but an invasion of TALENT! Sasha Banks and Charlotte are naturals! Just add Natalya to the mix and we are set to have many months of classic matches! By the way, Brie using her husband’s kicking spot on Charlotte and Banks was lame.

Overall are very good show even without Cesaro, Rusev, Ziggler and Ambrose.

Manuel A.R.

Hey Dave,

Overall: Thumbs up show. Every match on the show met or exceeded my expectations. WWE is known for placing a comedown match between the feud filled battles. With the exception of the short Miz segment, this show travelled from battle to battle without losing steam. Lastly, the show ended on a high note with a cliff hanger that did not need description from the announce team.

Best Match: Owens and Cena wrestled their best match yet. I compare their trilogy to the progression between Windows Vista, Windows 8, and Windows 10. The matches are basically all the same, but each built on the successes of the prior match to enhance execution and increase functionality.

Worst Match: Nothing was bad enough to get the worst match label.

a.       Bad News Barrett vs. R Truth. This match was about exactly what I expected it to be. Hopefully, Barrett is on to bigger and better things. Honestly, I am doubtful that he will ascend up the ranks. He has been discredited to the point of being another face in the crowd.

1.       Sheamus vs. Randy Orton. It is not on the level of CM Punk in Chicago, but Orton has developed a growing connection with his hometown of St. Louis. Orton wrestled his standard economical match which was enhanced with crowd participation and some extra effort and physicality. Strong opener to the show with a satisfying finish. ***1/4

2.       WWE Tag Title Match: The New Day vs. Prime Time Players. I loved the New Day’s pre match promo. They each have improved on the mic, and have all found individual voices within a collective message. The match itself was better than expected. This was the perhaps the best Prime Time Player’s tag team showing I have seen. The match was physical, the wrestlers moved with purpose, and the crowd reacted to the ebbs and flows. **3/4

3.       Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt. Slow build into a solid heavyweight style match. The story told was smart and logical. Wyatt used Reign’s aggression to lure him into the steel steps and gain the advantage. Each transition had purpose, and by the end, the crowd sounded fully engaged. It may have been a little long and drawn out, but I was entertained. Moreover, they did not resort to the big move, counter, bigger move, counter, biggest move formula. This template was saved for Cena and Owens. I do not see any drawbacks in having the Wyatt family back together. Moreover, this gives a new duo for Reigns and Ambrose to square off against. ***1/4

4.       Sasha Banks vs. Brie Bella vs. Charlotte. I am glad they decided to have a triple threat match instead of the predicted three team, nine person tag match. The ladies were given the time and platform to put on a memorable match. It was memorable, but not great. There was a notable amount of good moves and spots, but the momentum was often slowed and stopped by an awkward exchange or a mistimed move. Poor Brie looked outclassed. This is telling giving the fact she is the veteran of the trio. This was better than the normal WWE Divas PPV offering, but it was not the game changer it was designed to be. **1/2

5.       US Title Match: Kevin Owens vs. John Cena. When comparing this to the prior two encounters, it was the best of the three. The execution was better and the counters were more creative. My only complaint is the sameness of the matches in the trilogy. The same moves were hit, the same moves were missed, and most importantly, the story told was identical. The match was great, but I wanted to see a different theme explored and a unique plot developed. The tap out finish was surprising for its decisiveness. ****

6.       WWE World Title Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins.   Before the lights went out, we were in the midst of a compelling WWE title match. The match story was unique to the show. Rollins attempting to work the knee was smart. His short bursts of offense provided some additional meat and potatoes to the match. Brock was Brock. I am not sure how I feel about the Undertaker’s appearance. It may not fit into the traditional heel/face dynamic, but the story of Taker wanting retribution for losing to Brock and having Paul Heymen emphasize the defeat for the last 18 months is logical. Lastly, the show ended on a high note with a cliff hanger that did not need description from the announce team. If there is one notable pitfall to the show it is the fact that this did little to build credibility for Rollins. ***

Thanks, Derrick Hubard

Thumbs down.  A laughably bad event, really.  

Best Match: Reigns vs.  Wyatt
Worst Match: Lesnar vs. Rollins.

Another event where the heels never cheat.  Orton/Sheamus was paint-by-numbers, really so was Owens/Cena.  Big move after big move with nothing in between and no chance of an unexpected finish.  Reigns and Wyatt had some clever spots, at least, although too many of them made Wyatt look smarter and more athletic than Reigns.  Tough to cheer a chump who keeps walking into big moves.

The women’s three way was decent, although Charlotte and Sasha felt way too choreographed and fed each other a little too blatantly.  The tag match was completely unremarkable.  

But, really, the main event was a disaster.  It was far too short, Rollins didn’t do anything, none of the storyline build was really in play, and then Taker shows up to avenge … losing cleanly?  I realize I’m old and no one cares anymore but what’s the motivation here?  So is Taker a heel or is everyone too cool for that still?  Was the goal to make Lesnar an even bigger babyface?  Or are we just supposed to not care and be excited that Taker came back?  

The really sad part is I don’t think any of these questions are really going to be answered. Brock will lose next month and everyone will cheer and it won’t matter that none of it makes any sense, even as wrestling logic goes.  

Pretty sad when ten bucks a month is starting to feel like a waste.

Best

John Popa

Thumbs down
Best match John Cena vs Kevin Owens
Worst match Bad News Barrett vs R Truth

This PPV fell off a cliff for me. Enjoyed the first  2 hours especially the divas match. Loved Owens and Cena till that finish that just killed the rest of the night for me. Welcome to the midcard Owens. Has anybody not already a rock solid main eventer ever benefited from a John Cena feud? The main event what can I say I was enjoying Brock beating the crap out of Rollins….and than the nonsensical return of Undertaker, who was clearly the heel in all of this but the fans dont care they are just happy to see him. Frak this what a garbage finish.

Wade Haugen

Thumbs up!
Best match: Cena v. Owens III.  Poetic finish that Owens loses since he doesn’t ascribe to the “Never give up” code?  I’m still not bored with them. Great program.
Worst match: Sheamus v. Orton.  Orton was great.  I just wasn’t invested in a Sheamus match.

Worth noting:  
The 5:29 Miz/Show spot is where a Divas segment would probably be placed.  They did a much better job with the women at this PPV.  
Lots of annoyances at the production end.  Cameras missing spots and cutting to commercials. 
Great hearing Steph recognize Muchnik and Wrestling at the Chase!
Undertaker finish got a reaction, but was a bad finish.  Sets up a Brock v. Taker rematch and we never have the Brock v. Rollins revenge settled?  Not good.

Honorable mention:
Miz was exceptional on the mic tonight.  He was great.  I thought for a split second that he might have a program in him before I saw Show arrive and realized that they have no plans.  Too bad.  I can’t remember the last time I was happy to see the Miz.

—

Nick Garcia @foothands
Columbus, Ohio

Submitted by Josh Anderson

Hot opener with Stardust (who was mega over) teaming with Heath Slater to face off against the Meta Powers.  Pretty decent comedy in the beginning of the match.  Huge “Cody” chants for Stardust.  Curtis Axel got the pin on Slater after a leg drop.

Zack Ryder was out next to a good reaction; a guy next to me said “If this is a squash with Rusev I’m going to get a beer” and sure enough Rusev’s music hits.  Rusev makes his entrance with Summer Rae in tow. They had a shockingly even, lengthy match with Long Island Iced Z getting some decent offense in. As Rusev was about to lock in the Accolade, Lana comes down the ramp to a big pop and catfights with Summer.  Ryder almost got a win with a roll up but Rusev hit a superkick and locked in the Accolade for the win.  Then Fandango randomly ran in with a little flurry of offense but he also got crushed by Rusev.

Next was Lucha Dragons versus The Ascension versus Los Matadores with El Torito.  This was a Fan Vote match, the choices being “One-Fall” or “Elimination Tag”.  Elimination match won in a landslide. Matadores were eliminated by a Fall of Man while the other Matador was flirting with Eden at ringside.  A short while later Sin Cara hit a Swanton for the win.

Next up was Bray Wyatt versus Roman Reigns, who actually fist bumped me on his way to the ring for a mark out moment.  Pretty standard hard hitting match, which Roman won out of nowhere with a school boy. Wyatt attacked after the bell but Reigns hit a Superman Punch and sent him packing.

Intermission

In the biggest disappointment of the night, after seeing the revolution of women’s wrestling on Raw, the Divas match was Emma & Layla versus Alicia Fox and Cameron.. Pretty sloppy match with no heat whatsoever outside of random Emma chants. Fox got the pin on Layla after a scissors kick.

The ring was then set up for Miz TV, with special guest Big Show.  This was originally supposed to be a triple threat for the Intercontinental Championship but Ryback’s staph infection prevented that. They bantered a bit after they showed the trailer for Big Show’s Vendetta movie, it was kind of hard to hear over all the people telling Miz to shut up.  Show hit a knockout punch to end the segment.

The main event was a “Peoria” Street Fight for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.  Very entertaining match, Rollins utilized his belt as a weapon, Ambrose used a kendo stick.  Ambrose was powerbombed through a table in the corner for two.  After a back and forth Rollins hit a Pedigree and Dean actually kicked out!  Ambrose then hit a big top rope elbow drop on Rollins through another table, when Bray Wyatt ran in and hit Sister Abigail on Dean.  Bray dragged Rollins on top for the pinfall. Afterwards they performed some double team moves until Reigns stormed back down.  Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on Rollins and Reigns hit a spear on Wyatt.

Biggest Pops:

1. Dean Ambrose

2. Roman Reigns

3. Lana

4. Stardust (He was the first entrance of the night, plus people just love this guy)

Biggest Heat:

1. Seth Rollins

2. Rusev

3. The Miz

4. Bray Wyatt (Wyatt was over but it was very 50/50)

Biggest Apathy:

1. Cameron

Submitted by Frank Costa

– Neville beat Bo Dallas with the Red Arrow

– Cesaro beat Wade Barrett with the sharpshooter

– Sheamus beat R Truth with the Brogue Kick 

– WWE Tag Team Champions Prime Time Players def. The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods)

– U.S. Champion John Cena def. Kevin Owens by DQ after a low blow. Match was very good similar to their 2 PPV matches 

INTERMISSION

– Paige beat Tamina with a roll up after she bumped into Naomi on the apron

– Roman Reigns beat Bray Wyatt with a roll up after escaping a Sister Abigail. Bray laid him out after the match.

– WWE Champion Seth Rollins beat Dean Ambrose in a street fight after Bray Wyatt interfered. Match was good with a couple table spots.

Notes:

The show went almost 3 hours. I was surprised by how many kids showed up compared to Extreme Rules in Jersey last year.

Submitted by Wayne Mason

Friday night NXT brought another night of top notch wrestling action to Cocoa, Fl and a sold out crowd. It was an intense night of action that saw plenty of bumps, a few surprises, and a main event featuring the newly crowned NXT champion, Finn Balor.

There are not many hotter ways to start a show than with the always over Cass and Enzo. The two came out to a huge pop bringing the Cocoa crowd to their feet. Their opponents for the evening are the roughnecks Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. Enzo starts out strong for his team using his speed to his advantage staying one step ahead of his opponents. Zo hits a Dash with a nice crossbody and the action continues to the outside where Zo does a new swinging kick maneuver around the turnbuckle. Soon though Wilder gets the upper hand via a little distraction from Dawson. The two pick apart Enzo with the trademark combination of brawling and wrestling acumen that one expects from Dawson and Wilder. Enzo mounts a comeback and attempts to make the hot tag but Dash pulls Cass off of the ring apron. The two turn Enzo inside out with a guillotine, but regardless moments later Amore made the hot tag to Cass. The big guy comes in clearing house ejecting Dawson from the ring and laying out Wilder with a swinging side slam. He follows with “Air Zo”, launching Enzo off the turnbuckle onto Wilder for the pin. This was a fun match and a great way to start the night.

Next up is Angelo Dawkins taking on Uhaa Nation. The two start slowly feeling each other out until Uhaa mounts some momentum early on. As always Uhaa Nation did a great job of making it look too easy until Dawkins laid him out with a cheap shot. At this point Dawkins wisely did his best to keep Uhaa grounded in a front chancery.  Inevitably Uhaa mounted a comeback with a crossbody, a clothesline, dropkick and a splash in the corner. With Dawkins rocked, Nation finished him off with a military press followed by an incredible standing moonsault. Afterwards Ty Dillinger comes out and gives the match a 0. Uhaa Nation looked incredible as always, while the Dawkins controlled parts of the match slowed the momentum quite a bit. Hopefully he will go back to teaming with Sawyer Fulton as the two had developed a tag team synergy together that will likely carry them much further than singles matches at this stage.

The Vaudevillians are out next to deliver a promo. They tell us that they have traveled all over the territory and have faced everyone. English continues by stating that they stand at the precipice of the tag team division as number one contenders, and that the will defeat Blake and Murphy. At this point the two are interrupted by the music of the champions Blake and Murphy who make their way to the ring. English asks Gotch what he thinks of dubstep and Gotch replies, “No Sir, I don’t care for it.” Unfazed Murphy tells us that it is great to be in Daytona before Blake corrects him. Blake tells The Vaudevillians they should bow out and give up their contender spot before they destroy them. Blake and Murphy take cheap shots but English and Gotch quickly turn it around chasing the champs off before a final pose in the ring. This was a good segment that showcased all four men in a good light and gave us the rare opportunity to see Blake and Murphy tested on the mic, which they did well.

Tag team action is next with “The Hype Bros” Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley taking on the newly formed team of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. In the opening moments Jordan takes the distinct strength advantage tossing around Ryder with ease. Gable tags in and Ryder flapjacks him and makes a tag to the very animated Mojo Rawley who comes in with his usual banter letting us know that Gable “Ain’t hyped!” followed by dancing and “hammertime”.  Later into the match Jordan and Gable manage to wrest control over Ryder focusing on attacking the leg. Ultimately Ryder would make a hot tag to Mojo who comes in and lays out Gable with a shoulder tackle and a big splash while Ryder nails Jordan with a Broski Boot. Rawley hoists up Gable and Ryder hits a Rough Ryder off the top rope for the win. This was actually a very entertaining match. Gable is quickly becoming one of my favorite athletes in all of NXT, while Jason Jordan is looking better than ever. I’ll also admit The Hype Bros seem to be gelling as a tag team as well, I still can’t stand the Rawley gimmick but he and Ryder work well together.

Next, Mike Rawlis attempts to take down the lone wolf Baron Corbin in a match that wasn’t quite a squash but was pretty one sided. Baron Corbin seemed to be toying with Rawlis as he took his time picking him apart. Rawlis made a few short lived comebacks that Corbin quickly shut down. In a final rally Rawlis caught Corbin with a powerslam. He followed with a flurry of punches accentuated by an impressive fallaway slam. Unfortunately for Mike Rawlis this seemed to anger Corbin more than anything. Corbin nailed him with a big boot and planted him to the mat with an End Of Days for the win.

Women’s action follows with fan favorite Bayley taking on Eva Marie, who came out to major heat. The match starts off with much grappling and several pin attempts. Eva gains momentum culminating in a nice headscissors but Bayley battles back with a one handed bulldog and her patented slip and slide on top of Eva. Later the tide turns and Eva Marie slows the pace contorting Bayley into a grounded abdominal stretch followed by a suplex and a running senton. The momentum swings back to Bayley who ultimately finishes Eva with her splash and elbow in the corner followed by a Hugplex for the win. Of course, what everyone is dying to know is how Eva Marie did. This is not the same Eva Marie you last saw in a WWE ring, while she may still be rough around the edges, her hard work and training is shining through. She shows much potential and with Bayley as ring general the two put on one of the more fun matches of the night.

Next up the perfect ten Ty Dillinger goes up against Bull Dempsey. In the opening moments Dillinger has fun easily evading Dempsey, following by flexing his glutes at the big guy. Dempsey answers with a cartwheel of his own followed by gyrating his hips at Dillinger. The two eventually get down to business and Ty takes over laying out Dempsey with a DDT and follows with a series of strikes and kicks, the often playful Dillinger is relentless when on the attack. Dempsey begins to mount a comeback but Dillinger shuts him down with a superkick. Moments later Dempsey runs over Dillinger and follows with a series of punches and a bionic elbow. With Dillinger down Dempsey climbs the turnbuckles and comes down with a seated senton for the pin. This was a good lighthearted match that could have went either way. The momentum of Dillinger increases with every show while Dempsey to gain more traction as a face than he ever did as the wrecking ball.

Solomon Crowe comes out for a short interview with Greg Hamilton. Hamilton ask what to expect from Crowe in the coming year. A fan chants “Crowe for champ”. Crowe echoes his sentiment.

I’m a big fan of Crowe but this segment sort of meandered without saying too much.

We continue with women’s tag action as Carmella and Lina take on Dana Brooke and Cassie.  Lina quite easily takes over against Cassie and dominates the early goings with Carmella. Eventually Dana causes a distraction shifting the complexion of the match. Dana and Cassie employ frequent tags until Dana eventually grounds Carmella with a body scissors. Ultimately, Carmella makes the hot tag to Lina who runs over Dana. Moments later Dana jumps onto Linas back and locks on a short lived sleeper hold. Brooke tags in Cassie but Lina puts her through the mat with a side slam and follows with an elbow for the pin. This was an entertaining match with all four women doing a great job. Dana Brooke gets better with every outing, while out of the recent class Cassie (KC Cassidy) is the standout.

Our main event of the evening is Tyler Breeze taking on NXT champion Finn Balor. The match begins with some nice back and forth grappling until Breeze take a cheap shot. It didn’t help, as Finn easily regained the upper hand. A frustrated Breeze decides to quit and head to the back but Finn gives chase and brings him back. Breeze pokes Finn in the eye and goes on the attack, targeting the leg that Balor was favoring. Breeze locks on an agonizing Figure-4 but Balor eventually reverses it. Moments later Breeze goes for a second Figure-4 but Balor kicks Breeze out of the ring. The action continues as Finn rolls through Breeze’s sunset flip and answers with a dropkick. Now in control Finn locks on a short lived Figure-4 of his own. The two battle back to their feet and Balor hits a slingblade. Balor attempts to follow with a dropkick but runs into a superkick from Breeze instead. Breeze continues with an aggressive attack on the leg of Balor. The action continues and Balor once again hits a slingblade and follows with a dropkick into the corner. Finn Balor climbs the turnbuckles and hits the Coup De Grace for a hard fought victory. This was an exciting main event, as one would expect from the NXT champion and the underrated Tyler Breeze.

The WWE has stated that the entire three-way match with Ryback vs. The Miz vs. Big Show is off Sunday’s show.

The title match aspect and Ryback participation was known to be off due to his suffering a staph infection of his right knee.  It had been unclear whether Miz and Show would remain on the show in a match against each other.

Like everything with WWE, this is all subject to change.

For 7/22

Finn Balor comes out as the new NXT champion and they announce a contract signing for he and Kevin Owens for their title match later in the show.

Eva Marie b Cassie using the sliced bread as her finisher

Baron Corbin b ?

Samoa Joe b Mike Rallis

Bayley b Emma with the Belly to Bayley.  Bayley challenged the next wrestler in NXT, who she said was Charlotte.

The Vaudevillains b Angelo Dawkins & Sawyer Fulton

Next was the contract signing.  Kevin Owens vowed to become the first two-time champion and Balor said he would eat his words.  They got into it and Owens turned over the table and knocked William Regal down.  Owens ended up backing off.

For 7/29

Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder b Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady

Baron Corbin b Jessy Sorensen

Jason Jordan & Chad Gable b Elias Samson & Manny Garcia

Charlotte b Dana Brooke

Kevin Owens b Martin Stone

Blake & Murphy retained the tag titles over The Vaudevillains due to help from Alexa Bliss

For 8/5

Bayley b Charlotte

Baron Corbin b Steve Cutler

Tyler Breeze b Aaron Solo – This is where Regal announced Breeze vs. Jushin Liger for the 8/22 show in Brooklyn.

Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder b Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder

Samoa Joe b Rhyno with the musclebuster

For 8/12

Tye Dillinger b Solomon Crowe – Dillinger debuted his Perfect 10 gimmick that has been getting over on the house shows 

Baron Corbin b Axel Tischer – Samoa Joe came out to challenge Corbin.  They got into it until Joe choked Corbin out.

Finn Balor b Marcus Louis – Owens attacked Balor and laid him out with the pop up power bomb and grabbed the titel belt.

Bayley b Beckly Lynch to earn a shot at Sasha Banks

The following is from a third party:

Seth Rollins recently sat down with the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast for a very quotable interview as he talked about the pressures of being WWE World Heavyweight Championship, going it alone against Brock Lesnar, his recent visit to the barracks on Tough Enough and more! Please find the link below:

On Upcoming Match against Brock Lesnar being the Biggest of his Career:

“I feel like I’ve had a lot of ‘biggest matches of my career’ up until this point. I would say this one is certainly special. I mean, there’s not a lot of guys who get the opportunity to go one-on-one with Brock Lesnar at this point in his career, so to be one of those guys to main event a pay-per-view with Brock Lesnar over a very prestigious title it all adds up to being certainly one of if not—I’ll leave that up to you and the other media pundits to decide what is the biggest match of my career—but it certainly ranks up there with the very, very biggest of my career.”

United States Championship vs. WWE World Heavyweight Championship and Competing with John Cena

“(The WWE World Heavyweight Championship) is (the most dominant title in the company) no matter what, no matter who is wearing what other title, this is the big boy, this is the one that everybody wants and if John (Cena) tells you any different he’s a liar,” said Rollins. 

“But the bottom line, though, is that I’m always competing with John Cena, John’s a guy who has set the bar extremely high for the past 10, 12-15 years, he’s a guy who—not only in the ring, but outside the ring—is an example of what a WWE Superstar should be and he has put in the work over that period of time to prove that and that’s definitely something I strive to be as well. I strive to have that work ethic and instill that in people around me the way John has over the past decade and a half so I’m always competing with John Cena in my mind, but my title is the title and there’s definitely no doubt about that.”

On Tough Enough Contestants not Standing Out

“Not one person stood out to me (on Tough Enough),” said Rollins.

“Not a single one, nope, not one. I went down there and I tried to help them out, give them a few pointers here and there, let them know what it takes to be a star but, let me tell you, those kids got it easy.

“They don’t know anything about anything when it comes to putting in the time, they think they’re going to get through this little three-month course and they’re going to be WWE Superstars and they’re going to be famous, and rich and travel the world. That’s not how it works, it’s a whole lot of hard work and I think they’re going to figure that out along the way, or they’re going to fall by the wayside. For me, I didn’t see a whole lot, maybe as they move along in the process they’ll show more personality and a little more guts, but for now I’m not holding my breath.”

If there will be backstage tension between Tough Enough Winners and WWE/NXT Talent: 

“Absolutely, that’s what I’m talking about. Tough Enough is phenomenal, it’s great, don’t get me wrong. It pushes WWE out into the masses and everyone can see it’s physical and they get an inside look at kind of what it’s like to be a WWE Superstar,” said Rollins.

“But at the same time you’ve got to understand that’s not all that it takes, you don’t just get to be on a reality gameshow and all of a sudden you’re just a top star in 12 weeks. They’re going to have to put in a lot of time, and a lot of hard work, and they’re going to have to sacrifice a lot of relationships, they’re going to be injured often, it’s going to take a toll on them physically and emotionally that they’re not prepared for and I think it will be very interesting to see who comes out of Tough Enough, who really is Tough Enough I guess when you look at it. Who’s going to come out of it alive and who’s going to make a success out of themselves?” 

On John Morrison recently stating he would “destroy Seth Rollins in everything.”

“If I’m not mistaken, I believe John Morrison is a zero-time WWE World Heavyweight champion. Mind you, zero. As in never once did he win the big one. And I’m, what, not even three years into my WWE career and I’ve already won Money in the Bank, won the WWE title at WrestleMania, first-ever NXT champion so there’s a lot of things that I’ve already destroyed John Morrison at and if John Morrison thinks he can take me in any of those endeavors, I would love for John Morrison to step up and say something like that to my face.”