Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa return to talk Dean Ambrose, the Cruiserweight Classic & ROH’s Best in the World PPV w/special guest BJ Whitmer!
We’ll start with Ohio becoming the state of champions between LeBron & and Cavs along with Dean Ambrose. Les shares some of his history with Dean (5:45), which dates back to the beginning of Dean’s career.
We talk about the WWE CWC Opening Ceremonies (10:32) and segue into talking about some guys Les has worked with who are in the tournament. Note, there are tournament spoilers from the 13:46 mark to the 19:12 mark, so if you don’t want to know who won their 1st round matches, you’ve been warned!
After that, there’s a run-in from ROH’s BJ Whitmer (23:52) at Charlotte Douglas International Airport to talk about his Fight Without Honor with Steve Corino taking place tonight at ROH’s Best in the World PPV. We’ll also discuss Roderick Strong finishing up with ROH (41:12), memories of the soon to be torn down Cincinnati Gardens (46:38) and Roman Reigns suspension (54:29); specifically, whether or not he should return in the exact same spot on the card from which he left.
Thanks for listening to this FREE SHOW, please feel free to share it and spread the word about this site and consider subscribing! Thousands of hours of archived audio content, 12-15 new shows weekly and both the Figure Four and Wrestling Observer newsletters are part of the very affordable price.
A Wellness policy violation by Roman Reigns (31-year-old Joe Anoa’i), who WWE has been pushing for years as the heir apparent for John Cena’s role as top star, has changed short-term plans for the company.
Editor’s Note: Most of this was written before the news of Roman Reigns’ wellness policy violation and suspension.
Since WrestleMania, I’ve been thinking about Dean Ambrose’s WWE career, about how the company missed their chance with him, about how he could’ve been a big star, and about how he may never reach his potential. Then, Ambrose won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Sunday night at Money In The Bank.
Here’s a look at his wild ride to the top.
Leader of The Shield
During The Shield’s run, Ambrose was the de facto leader of the group, mostly because he could cut a promo significantly better than the other two. He was frequently positioned front and centre, and held a singles title (the U.S. Championship) while Rollins and Reigns were tag team champs. (Trivia note: the Undertaker’s last ever TV match not on PPV was against Ambrose.)
It seemed like when The Shield would finally break up, Ambrose would be a top heel coming out of it because he was a natural. Reigns would be a babyface and pushed as a top star and Rollins, a fantastic wrestler but mediocre on the mic at the time, would end up a babyface as well, but one who would probably get lost in the shuffle. Of course, that’s not what happened.
WWE teased the breakup of The Shield several months before it happened, and it looked like Ambrose would be the catalyst. They decided not to pull the trigger, because The Shield still had life. After feuds with the Wyatt Family and Evolution, Rollins surprised everyone when he pulled the trigger that ended the partnership. Rollins–not Ambrose–was the heel.
Missed Opportunities
As it turned out, Ambrose made for a great babyface. Ambrose, not Reigns, started a summer-long blood feud with Rollins that resulted in plenty of highlights, including Ambrose busting out of a giant birthday gift to wildly attack his foe. He desperately wanted Rollins to pay for what he did, and the fans were into it. Ambrose was red hot, and the fans wanted to see him get revenge.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The Ambrose-Rollins feud culminated in a Hell in a Cell match (which notably headlined that show over a John Cena vs. Randy Orton HIAC match). On Chris Jericho’s podcast, Ambrose once said he likes doing things differently, things that may not make sense to everyone. Hell in a Cell was evidence of that. Ambrose started the match not in the ring, but on top of the cell.
Ambrose should have won this match and his feud with Rollins. Rollins was being protected anyway as Mr. Money in the Bank, a member of the Authority, and destined to win the WWE Title regardless of what happened in this feud. But a win for Ambrose would have put him on another level. The fans deserved to have their faith rewarded.
Instead, he lost after some bizarre interference by Bray Wyatt. Not only did Ambrose lose the feud to Rollins, he lost the following feud with Bray. This was the first big example of the company dropping the ball with him.
Up and Down the Card
After losing feuds to Rollins and Wyatt, Ambrose found himself fighting for the Intercontinental title. In the 2015 Royal Rumble, after Daniel Bryan was unceremoniously eliminated, Ambrose was someone the fans fell back on, hoping he would win instead of Reigns. Of course, he was dumped out of the ring like nothing by Big Show and Kane.
Ambrose continued on in the mid-card, fighting for the IC title in a ladder match at WrestleMania won by Daniel Bryan. Then, somewhat out of nowhere, Ambrose finally beat Rollins in a match on Raw. The win earned himself a title shot in a Fatal 4-Way that included Reigns and Randy Orton, but, of course, Ambrose didn’t win.
He did find himself in another singles feud with Rollins with the title on the line. After getting screwed at Elimination Chamber, Rollins barely defeated Ambrose at MITB to retain his title. Ambrose came close, but again, came up short. After this, he found himself feuding with the Wyatts again, and again, came up on the losing end.
Anyone But Roman
After Rollins got hurt and had to surrender the WWE title, Ambrose was put in a tournament to crown a new champion. This led to a match they’ve never done, a match they perhaps should have never done — Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns. Reigns won the title by defeating Ambrose, but it was somewhat forgettable considering what happened next — Sheamus cashing in his MITB briefcase to win the title.
While Reigns feuded with Sheamus over the strap, Ambrose returned to the IC title mix. It was around this time Ambrose started to gain momentum again. When his popularity was rising, he was getting comparisons to Steve Austin. Maybe that’s absurd, but fans were desperate for a new star.
With Reigns still not clicking with the audience, there was the thought, or hope, that maybe Ambrose should take his spot at WrestleMania. When Reigns lost the WWE title in the Royal Rumble, it was Ambrose–not Reigns–who was last eliminated by Triple H.
At the next PPV, Ambrose was again pinned by Reigns, this time for the number one contender spot. A few weeks later, Ambrose fought Triple H for the title at Roadblock in Toronto and came up short…again. To be fair, he got screwed, but there was basically no follow up, and in the end, the story was that Ambrose failed to win the big one.
Losing Steam
I was at that Roadblock show and there really was a feeling among fans that Ambrose could win and change the WrestleMania plans the way Daniel Bryan did two years earlier. Instead, Ambrose was roundly beaten by Brock Lesnar, both throughout the feud and in the actual Mania match.
To this point, Ambrose had lost almost every big match he has been in with Rollins, Wyatt, Reigns, Triple H and Lesnar all getting their hands raised at the end. Yes, he’s been U.S. and IC champion, and yes, he beat Jericho, but a lot of guys can say both of those things.
After WrestleMania season, Ambrose lost a lot of steam. Instead of being the unhinged lunatic who would wildly attack Rollins at any opportunity, he became a caricature. He was acting crazy, but it was just that: an act.
There were complaints about Ambrose feuding with Jericho over a fake talk show and plant, but this is the same guy who once used ketchup and mustard as weapons, and at the time, that worked. But Ambrose was losing the authenticity and credibility he once held with the audience, and feuding over plants and jackets was sad more than it was fun.
A Second (or Third) Chance
I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that WWE put the title on Ambrose when he is at his least interesting point. He’s not red hot anymore. The comparisons to Austin have stopped. But, the opportunity still exists to make Ambrose a top guy. All of the losses and times he got screwed over can add to his story, and WWE would be smart to take advantage and tell that story. Cashing in on Rollins was the perfect start.
Ambrose went from being the de facto leader of The Shield to the odd man out. But now, it seems as though all three Shield members are back on the same level. I certainly don’t think Money in the Bank was a sign that they’ve given up on Reigns. If anything, Ambrose winning was just a way to set up an angle through SummerSlam and nothing more.
It’s possible Ambrose will go back to where he was before this all happened, but that would be a mistake. This company seems filled with top heels who get cheered and top faces who get booed, but Ambrose is a face who gets cheered and seems genuinely well-liked. Hopefully he’s trending upward again.
Learning from The Shield
You could argue that all three members of The Shield should be bigger stars than they are — If only they had turned Reigns heel, if only they brought back Rollins as a babyface, if only they didn’t do all that stuff I just mentioned with Ambrose. Still, all three guys have done pretty well for themselves.
It’s important to note how protecting The Shield for as long as they did really make all three guys. Smackdown is frequently advertised and centred around these three men, while guys like John Cena are given the night off. Headlining shows with any combination of The Shield members would have been impossible if they hadn’t been booked so strongly (or if they had debuted on their own as individuals).
That’s why it’s totally fine getting upset when AJ Styles or Kevin Owens or Bray Wyatt or whoever loses a big match. Ambrose’s struggle to make it through poor booking isn’t a new story. WWE has a long history of ignoring a guy when their popularity peaks. Whether it’s because that guy wasn’t in the plans or because they like to prove the fans wrong, it’s self-destructive.
But as we’ve seen, plans can change. If the plan is to keep the title on Ambrose for any length of time, which I know is unlikely, I hope the shows feel different with him on top. During his initial rise, Ambrose’s segments were often a breath of fresh air on dreary Raw shows that are always too long.
We already knew that Dean Ambrose had the ability to be a biggest star of The Shield. Maybe now, especially in light of recent news, he will be.
Monday night’s post-Money in the Bank edition of WWE RAW certainly had its moments including the new World Heavyweight champion Dean Ambrose grabbing the spotlight impressively and Big “Johnny Laryngitis” (thanks, Enzo) making his glorious return. As always however, those diamonds were surrounded by a lot of rough spots too.
— The Hits —
DTA Ambrose
While it’s probably too early to tell, Monday’s RAW showed encouraging signs that the WWE may see Dean Ambrose as more than just a transitional champion. Ambrose was given ample opportunity to play to his strengths, demonstrating his natural line delivery in the opening segment and shining on commentary at the end of the show.
While his in-ring work remains a frantic and often sloppy work-in-progress, Ambrose’s bountiful charisma, paired with a new harder edge to his character, makes him a very realistic candidate for the role of top babyface. That added grit, which saw Dean back up his threats to take out Roman Reigns if necessary, must remain if the transition from upper-midcarder to main eventer is to stick. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin wasn’t exactly too interested in making friends or being wacky either.
Fight Forever
No, I’m not referring to the en vogue crowd chant. Rather, the seemingly neverending beef between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, complete with the always hilarious, and cartoonish, fist-flailing dust-ups.
Although only five minutes aired, the match between these two, who the announcers again claimed are “destined to fight forever”, was a very enjoyable taster for what will presumably be a rubber match at Battleground. The finish, with Zayn reversing the Pop-Up Powerbomb into a cradle, was particularly enjoyable.
Angry Dad
I’ve been as critical of the paint-by-numbers Rusev/Titus O’Neil feud as anyone, but Monday night’s resumption of hostilities between the two was a major improvement.
Titus’ impassioned backstage hollering about the Bulgarian having the temerity to disrespect his kids was excellent, ensuring that the former Prime Time Player actually received a reaction for running off the US champion for a change. While I’m not crazy about the idea of another PPV match for a guy that has no business working matches of that calibre, one must award credit where it’s due.
People Power!
Recent unsolicited auditions of Teddy Long and Kane for the role of Smackdown general manager were both leading to this glorious moment — the return of John “Big Johnny” Laurinaitis. Hearing the hoarse one protest that “Big Johnny loves change!” was music to my ears, as was his hurried “People Power!” before Shane McMahon ushered him off the stage. What a preview for those of us literally counting the days to his debut on Total Bellas.
— The Misses —
The Apology Club
Following on from the crummy finish to their match on Sunday, everything about the Cena/AJ Styles dispute fell completely flat on this show.
While AJ’s promo delivery remains great, the material he, Cena and The Club had to work with was wafer-thin, centering mostly around an insincere Styles looking to extract an “apology” from his buddies. Cena of course rejected it, but not in nearly as brief a manner as might be expected. The subsequent 3-minute encounter between he and Karl Anderson was also terrible, with Cena making his opponent look like a geek by destroying him despite gawking at the entrance ramp the entire time. Weak.
Rollins’ characterisation (again)
Seriously?! Let’s get this straight — Seth Rollins works the Money in the Bank main event as a babyface, reverts to whiny heel mode in Monday’s opening segment, and then cuts a rousing “prove myself” promo in the second hour!? The characterisation of The Man/The Future is even more inconsistent than that of his former leader Stephanie McMahon at this stage.
The kind of predictability we saw in his plodding main event against Reigns — complete with Chekhov’s (unbreakable) Spanish announce table and obvious double countout finish — would be very welcome here.
“Oooh, the Wyatts are mad at me. I’m so scared! Oooh, the Wyatts!”
The Wyatts, sans the injured Luke Harper, made their return on Monday night, threatening to ensure that “New Day Falls”. Colour me underwhelmed. The fun-loving New Day should be too, given that Bray Wyatt and co. have delivered on precisely zero of their threats to date.
In fact, it’s difficult to think of a non-jobber heel group with a lower success rate than these jamokes. Hey, at least our tag champs’ interruption prevented us from enduring some of Bray’s patented rambling windbaggery. No buys for anything involving him until the way he’s booked improves drastically.
In a shocking story, WWE announced they have suspended Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) for 30 days effective immediately due to a violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.
WWE.com wrote: “WWE has suspended Joe Anoa`i (Roman Reigns) for 30 days effective immediately for his first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.”
On Twitter, Reigns simply said, “I apologize to my family, friends and fans for my mistake in violating WWE’s wellness policy. No excuses. I own it.”
The 31-year-old Reigns dropped the WWE championship Sunday at Money In The Bank. On RAW Monday night, a match was made between he, Rollins, and new WWE Champion Dean Ambrose for Battleground, the next WWE PPV event on July 24th.
That fact raises an interesting quandry. The 30 day window would expire before Battleground, so does WWE leave an off-TV Reigns in the match and just roll with it? If they did, what type of backlash could they expect?
To that end, WWE gave the following quote:
“The suspension runs through July 20. He is eligible to return on July 21. Battleground is on July 24. We are considering all of our creative options.”
Whatever decision is made regarding the main event will likely be announced tonight in Tucson
Positioned as the new face of the company, Reigns has had many stops and starts in the past few years in an attempt to have the fans win him over. A former college football player, Reigns has been in the business for nearly six years.
WWE’s Money In The Bank is set for Sunday night in the brand-new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV, featuring the resuming of a heated rivalry in the main event, a strong MITB match, and two true wrestling superstars hooking it up for the very first time.
After the event, send your thoughts on both this show and on New Japan Dominion, with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
This is the seventh MITB show in company history, and the first in Vegas. Last year saw Rollins as WWE Champion in the main event, successfully defending his belt against Dean Ambrose in a ladder match.
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GOLDUST & R-TRUTH VS. TYLER BREEZE & FANDANGO
So the deal was Breeze & Fandango were in the tanning bed, but R-Truth and Goldust messed with them so they were all blistered and peeling from a horrible sunburn. Every time any part of their body was touched, they yelled and screamed in pain. This made for a nothing match as that kind of comedy either works or doesn’t. In this case, there was no crowd reaction. Goldust pinned Fandango with the final cut. This was short with nothing to it.
DUDLEYS VS. LUCHA DRAGONS
A lot better than their first match. Dragons won when Kalisto used the Salida del Sol on Bubba, and Sin Cara came off the top rope with a senton onto Bubba. The match was fine and just a normal match. The highlight saw the Lucha Dragons do a double running flip dive.
WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE NEW DAY VS. ENZO & CASS VS. VAUDEVILLAINS VS. LUKE GALLOWS & KARL ANDERSON — FATAL FOUR WAY
There were lots of near falls that got the crowd into it, but at times, the execution was rough. Final sequence was Gallows/Anderson hitting the Magic Killer on English, but Big E picked up Anderson during the pinfall attempt into a powerslam position. Gallows stared at this for what felt like 5 minutes waiting for Big Cass to get in the ring to clothesline him out. Kingston came off the top on a double team and New Day got the pin and win on Gallows.
– Kevin Owens did an interview and said his mom told him he is special. Chris Jericho came out and made fun of Owens having a chipped tooth. Jericho, sporting a black left eye, talked about creating the Money in the Bank match. Owens and Jericho argued back-and-forth until Alberto Del Rio came out. Owens made fun of him speaking Spanish. Owens said how Jericho and Del Rio say the same thing in every interview. Owens made fun of Del Rio calling everyone Perros every week. This segment was hilarious.
DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. BARON CORBIN
Match went too long and the crowd kind of lost interest. There were boring chants at one point. Corbin just doesn’t show much of anything and people aren’t that into him. The feud has done Ziggler no favors. The finish saw Ziggler on the top rope, but Corbin tripped him and he fell on the top turnbuckle. Corbin won clean with the End of Days, and the announcers indicated the feud was over.
WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPION CHARLOTTE & DANA BROOKE VS. NATALYA & BECKY LYNCH
The early matches went long as they were light of time. Most of the match was working over Natalya. Natlaya had Charlotte in the Sharpshooter, Brooke made the save, and threw Lynch into Natalya. Charlotte used Natural Selection on Natalya for the pin. Natalya went heel post-match, turning on Lynch for costing her the match and beating her down.
Dean Ambrose did an interview, and was asked about Rollins vs. Reigns. He said Roman is going to have a good time beating up Seth because beating up Seth is fun.
SHEAMUS VS. APOLLO CREWS
Crews won, but the story was it was a fluke. Sheamus had him pinned with the White Noise off the middle rope, but Crews kicked out. Sheamus started yelling at the ref, and Crews pinned him with a crucifix. This was the kind of a finish that made you think it’s just the beginning between these two. The match was solid, Crews got the crowd behind him by the end, and looked good. One notable spot was Crews doing a moonsault off the apron with a splash onto the floor.
JOHN CENA VS. A.J. STYLES
Excellent match. The story was that Styles was the better wrestler than Cena, beating him at every turn but that he couldn’t finish him. Cena kicked out of the Styles Clash, and Styles kicked out of the Attitude Adjustment. They also both made the ropes on the STF by Cena and Calf Crusher by Styles. Styles never used the forearm and Cena got his knees up on a springboard 450. The finish saw Cena have Styles up for the Attitude Adjustment, but the ref went down and out of the ring. Cena hit the move but there was no ref to count. Anderson and Gallows came out and used the Magic Killer on Cena, and Styles got the pin. The story is that Gallows & Anderson interfered on their own and that Styles didn’t know they were doing it. JBL was going crazy saying how they ruined his dream match.
MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH: DEAN AMBROSE, CHRIS JERICHO, ALBERTO DEL RIO, SAMI ZAYN, CESARO, KEVIN OWENS
Another excellent match with tons of spots involving ladder bumps. Cesaro, in particular, took all kinds of crazy bumps. Everyone did their finishes and took big ladder bumps, but there was nothing really insane like used to be the case in these matches. Everyone took big moves, and Owens took out Zayn with a power bomb on the ladder. Ambrose took out Jericho and climbed up to win.
US CHAMPION RUSEV VS. TITUS O’NEIL
This was in the death spot and they really had no chance with the crowd. They worked hard in a physical match. O’Neil got some offense and near falls before Rusev used a high kick, a superkick and the Accolade for the submission.
Rusev then went up to O’Neil’s kids at ringside, told them that their father was a loser and said “Happy Father’s Day.”
WWE CHAMPION ROMAN REIGNS VS. SETH ROLLINS
The match was flat at times because it went so long. People just weren’t into Reigns at all and Rollins was more popular but not that over as a face either. The match itself was very good in the sense they went 26 minutes and it well. By the end, the crowd was into it. Reigns missed a spear and crashed into the barricade and was injured. He tried a pedigree but Reigns drove him into the ref who went down. Reigns hit the spear but Mike Chioda was down and hesitated which enabled Rolins to kick out. He went for a second spear but Rollins turned it into a pedigree and Reigns kicked out. Rollins got the pin after a second pedigree to regain the WWE title.
Then, Ambrose’s music hit and out he came with the MITB briefcase. He cashed it in, the match started, Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds, and eight seconds later, Ambrose was your new WWE Champion.
Pretty good crowd. The very top sections weren’t used, but overall, it seemed fairly full. Byron Saxton was the host and ring announcer for the evening.
– Cesaro beat Alberto Del Rio using the Neutralizer
Del Rio always gets a good pop in L.A., but fans still sided more with Cesaro. Good match.
– Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson beat Lucha Dragons with the Magic Killer on Kalisto
Fun match. Anderson was mocking the Lucha chant with the arm movements.
– Baron Corbin beat Dolph Ziggler with the End of Days
Pretty good match, but it didn’t make me want to see it again Sunday. These guys need new opponents.
– Sasha Banks, Natalya, Becky Lynch, and Paige beat WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte, Dana Brooke, Summer Rae, and Eva Marie
Banks made Dana tap out to the Bank Statement. Eva got a big negative reaction as she always does.
– Dean Ambrose defeated Chris Jericho in an L.A. Street Fight
Jericho did some mic work telling everyone to be quiet and take in the gift of Jericho. Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds. They used a kendo stick, chair, and Jericho went through a table.
– US Champion Rusev (w/Lana) beat Titus O’Neil
Lana came out first to a good reaction. O’Neil didn’t get much offense in and Rusev beat him pretty fast with a kick to the face. Doesn’t bode well for MITB.
– Sami Zayn beat Kevin Owens with the Heluva Kick
Good match. These two always work well together. Owens had some fun insulting fans and playing with the crowd. Everyone was singing Sami’s song.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns beat AJ Styles and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match
Styles and Rollins worked over Reigns a lot together before they finally turned on each other. Styles was late on one save when Rollins has Reigns down and the ref had to really stop from counting to three which caused a “Ref sucks” chant. The match was good and we even got a “This is awesome” chant. Reigns won with the spear on Styles, and got his usual mixed reaction.
– No return date was announced. Overall, a fun show that went three hours including a short intermission.
– The Shining Stars beat Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger in a lousy match. Swagger was pinned after finally getting the hot tag.
– Karl Anderson beat Jey Uso. Gallows was ringside, but didn’t wrestle. He did interfer. Lots of Usos signs, and there were a few Bullet Club chants.
– WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day got the biggest pop of the night, and beat the Vaudevillians in a long match. Everybody sold a lot.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte pinned Natalya by using the ropes for leverage on a roll-up.
– Cesaro beat Alberto Del Rio in a decent match.
– In a three-way match with Seth Rollins, WWE Champion Reigns pinned AJ Styles after a ton of near falls in the main event. Crowd was three quarters behind Reigns with the rest behind Styles. AJ gave a quick smile when he heard people chanting for him. Rollins looked great. Match drew “this is awesome” chants.
Truth came out first and got a loud pop. Breeze had little reaction. Started out as comedy match, then Breeze took control until run-ins by Fandango and Goldust. Truth won with a roll up after about 8 minutes.
– Cesaro vs Primo
Cesaro came out first to a really loud pop. Primo had no reaction until he cut a local promo. Epico wasn’t there. Back and forth match, Cesaro hit all his spots, and won with the Sharpshooter after about 10 minutes.
– AJ Styles did a local backstage video promo. Hard to understand, but the crowd was heavily booing throughout.
– Karl Anderson vs. an Uso (not sure which)
Anderson and Gallows came out first to medium boos then one of the Usos came out to a huge pop. The other Uso wasn’t there. Anderson won with a roll up after Gallows distracted Uso.
– Baron Corbin vs Dolph Ziggler
Corbin came out first to little reaction. Dolph has one of the biggest pops of the night. Crowd wasn’t really into except six little kids relentlessly chanting for Ziggler, Baron eventually zeroed in on them and started saying each punch was for them and the like. This got the crowd more into it. Ziggler won by DQ after about 14 minutes when Corbin used a chair. Ziggler then came back in and kicked Corbin in the nuts, and hit the Zig Zag.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte vs Natalya
Natalya entered first to a pretty good reaction. Charlotte got a really loud reaction, probably 70% negative. They worked the crowd before the match and got the crowd all on Natalya’s side. Crowd was probably most engaged in the near falls of this match than any other, besides the main event. Good match, eventually Charlotte started working the leg. Ended when Charlotte pinned Natalya, but ref missed Charlotte’s feet on the ropes.
– US Champion Rusev vs Sin Cara
Rusev got a lot of boos. Sin Cara got an ok reaction, but it was obvious that crowd was wanting Kalisto, who wasn’t there. Crowd couldn’t decide between chanting “USA”, “We want Lana” (who wasn’t there), or “lucha.” Rusev wins with the Accolade after about 9 mins. After the match, Rusev cut a promo until Titus O’Neil entered the ring and eventually hit a spinebuster.
– WWE World Champion Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins vs AJ Styles
AJ came out first to almost entirely boos, even though I saw quite a few people with his t-shirt on. His reaction was definitely not as strong as the other two guys. Rollins out next, and his reaction was about 70% boos. Finally, Reigns came out to by far the loudest reaction of the night. I would guess 80 to 90% cheers. Rollins started as cowardly heel, sitting out until he found a spot.
Really fun match, eventually Seth and AJ teamed up, and Seth teased tapping “too sweet” hand signal with AJ, but eventually turned on him. They kinda went back and forth working with Reigns, until everybody hit their signature moves (forearm, Superman punch, and Pedigree). Roman eventually won with a spear on AJ after about 17 minutes.
Huge pop for Enzo and Cass when the music hit. They were one of the most over acts of the night. Lots of crowd interaction with the Dudleys and fans as well as with Enzo & Cass and the fans. Several hot tags with Enzo & Cass. Lots of “Oh Enzo Amore,” “How You Doin” chants. Enzo was in really good form, excellent selling. Big Cass was also really over with the crowd. Enzo’s charisma is magnified in person, easily one of the most charismatic people on the roster.
– Titus O Neil def. Viktor
A pop for Titus when he came out. Viktor was also interacting with the crowd at ringside, which was something I did not expect. It was a good match, seemed to be shorter than the others.
– Goldust def. Tyler Breeze
Big pop for Goldust when he came out. Tyler was booed. It was a solid match. Fandango attempted to interfere which led to R-Truth coming out as well. Huge pop for R-Truth. Following the match, R-Truth did his rap, and several tried to throw Truth off by saying he was in Milwaukee or Green Bay. It was a really fun segment.
– Anderson & Gallows def. The Hype Bros
Good match. Mojo got a big pop from the crowd and there was a “Let’s Go Packers” chant that started. (Mojo was with the Packers pre-WWE for a short time). Anderson & Gallows were booed, but also got a good mix of cheering for them as well.
– Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens
This was an excellent match match. Great promo by Owens who played off of the crowd and how he wanted to “get out of this town” Zayn and Owens both had some incredible selling during the match and kept the crowd engaged and going for the match.
– Apollo Crews def. Sheamus
Sheamus got a big pop, and cut a really good promo before the match. Apollo is super agile, had a near fall on Sheamus with a standing moonsault that got a huge pop. There was a CM Punk chant that started to which Sheamus responded with the “go to sleep” gesture which was funny.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte def. Natalya
Charlotte is really good at interacting with the crowd. There was a “Charlotte sucks” chant again, which she played off of perfectly. Lots of submission work by both, which got huge pops. atalya had excellent selling, really great technical work. Charlotte won by pinfall by putting her foot on the ropes for stability
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns def. AJ Styles
Odd thing is that Reigns and Styles both had a mixture of being booed and cheered for. The match spilled out to ringside where Roman was thrown into the steel steps by AJ. This match kept the crowd really engaged, great selling by Reigns and Styles.
