NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night Five
July 20th, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,683
I woke up to the news that Dave Meltzer gave Omega/Goto and Omega/Naito five stars. I mean, I can kind of see it on the latter, but the former? Dave’s such a parody. Anyway, the A Block is up today, with Kazuchika Okada looking to get his first two points against G1 rookie Hangman Page, Jay White trying to go to 3-0, and the annual Bad Luck Fale/Hiroshi Tanahashi match.
TAKA Michinoku and Zack Sabre Jr. def. Shota Umino and Toa Henare in 7:04
Kota Ibushi and Yujiro Takahashi def. Gedo and Toru Yano in 4:36
SANADA and Tetsuya Naito def. David Finlay and Juice Robinson in 7:58
The Guerrillas of Destiny def. Chase Owens and Kenny Omega in 5:40
SHO and Tomohiro Ishii def. Hirooki Goto and YOH in 6:58
A Block: Jay White [4] vs. Michael Elgin [4]
Two guys entering unbeaten. Something has to give. White’s coming off wins over Okada and Tanahashi, but this is his toughest physical challenge yet. He’s been great as a heel and the crowd was way into this. They badly wanted him to get his comeuppance. Early on, White learned that he couldn’t match Elgin and the pace was slow. Around ten minutes, things picked up as White found ways to level the playing field. If there’s one thing his character has done well, it’s being cunning/smart. We got a frightening spot where they tried some sort of suplex on the apron and both tumbled to the floor in a heap. Elgin beat the countout back in and went wild with offense, but a Buckle Bomb saw him throw White into the referee. Someone should keep count of the ref bumps in this tournament so far. A low blow and Blade Runner kept White unbeaten after 17:44. If you cut off some of the early stuff and make this around 13 minutes, it would’ve been better. The final ten or so minutes are strong, but I’m already over ref bumps here. [***¼]
A Block: Minoru Suzuki [0] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [0]
Both men entered 0-2, but Minoru has kind of dominated his matches. They met in a NEVER Title match last year (**½], which Minoru won. YOSHI brought fire at the start again, this time jumping Minoru before the bell. Suzuki responded by attacking his bad shoulder. It took away a lot of YOSHI’s signature offense. He lost a lot of the energy he brought at the start and the match suffered. Parts of it were dull and other parts saw some ugly bumps. YOSHI kept going for the Butterfly Lock, which has failed him in the tournament thus far. Minoru wasn’t about to fall victim to that shit. He survived that and an inside cradle, before putting YOSHI out of his misery with the Gotch Piledriver in 13:44. Most of what HASHI did felt flat and it killed the middle of this match, which felt way longer than it was. [**¼]
Minoru hilariously threatened to fight Kevin Kelly after the match.
A Block: EVIL [2] vs. Togi Makabe [4]
First time ever meeting here. You know what this was? A good old fashioned HOSS FIGHT. And yes, they fought this like one. It was two big dudes beating the hell out of each other all over Korakuen. They fought where Hiromu and Desperado did twice earlier this year. Of course, their war was much different. When things got back to the ring, EVIL took control and wore Makabe down. Just as Makabe was fighting back and starting to get things going, EVIL delivered the STO to get the win in 10:16. They kept this short and to the point. I’m a sucker for a good battle of big lads. [***]
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [2] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [2]
This is Fale’s fifth G1. He’s faced Tanahashi each year. In 2014 (***½) and 2015 (***½), Fale won. In 2016 (***¼) and 2017 (***), Tanahashi won. That’s not counting two matches outside of the G1 in 2016 (***¼ and ***) and one in 2015 (***¼). Tanahashi knows how to get the best out of Fale. This was standard for them. Fale dominated at points, with Tanahashi garnering the sympathy from the crowd. Fale threw him around outside and Tanga Loa got in some cheap shots. Tanahashi made his big comeback and the fans ate it up. He hit the High Fly Flow and would’ve won, but Tanga pulled the referee out. Oh, look. Another ref bump spot. Tanahashi fought them off, but got hit with a Gun Stun when Tama Tonga arrived. Fale draped an arm over Tana, but Red Shoes flipped off the Firing Squad and called for the DQ at 16:27. This was every Fale/Tanahashi match ever, but with a finish that made the Firing Squad regret their actions. Maybe they cut it out because they’ve been a drag all tournament. [**¾]
The Firing Squad jumped Tanahashi after the match. Fale complained to commentary that they can’t win with refs like this. Dude, you just had a 3-on-1 beating.
A Block: Hangman Page [2] vs. Kazuchika Okada [0]
Page’s first main event. Okada’s been a different man since losing the IWGP Title. I predicted he start 0-3, with this being the biggest upset, before winning out the rest of the way. Okada was all smiles, which angered Page. He said this wasn’t the Okada he wanted. Page started beating on him, but went overboard with the, “THIS IS OKADA NOW” stuff he shouted. Less is more, buddy. He does better with the action portions, stealing Okada’s signature spots and coming across like he was better. It seemed like getting outclassed by this G1 rookie finally woke Okada up. He got going and began to look a bit more like the Okada we’ve seen for the past few years. It took only one Rainmaker for Okada to put down Page in 17:31. A good match. It was another strong showing for Page, who has had two in a row. Okada has looked and wrestled differently, which is appreciated. [***¼]
Overall: 5.5/10. The worst night of the G1 so far by a wide margin. The opener and main event were both good, but never seemed to sniffed greatness. I enjoyed the EVIL/Makabe fight. Fale/Tanahashi was nothing we haven’t seen before and I didn’t care much for Suzuki/HASHI. I’m ready for a new B Block show.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Jay White | 6 (3-0) | Kenny Omega | 4 (2-0) |
| Michael Elgin | 4 (2-1) | Kota Ibushi | 4 (2-0) |
| EVIL | 4 (2-1) | Tetsuya Naito | 2 (1-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 4 (2-1) | Hirooki Goto | 2 (1-1) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-1) | Tomohiro Ishii | 2 (1-1) |
| Hangman Page | 2 (1-2) | SANADA | 2 (1-1) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-2) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 2 (1-1) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 2 (1-2) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-1) |
| Minoru Suzuki | 2 (1-2) | Juice Robinson | 0 (0-2) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 0 (0-3) | Toru Yano | 0 (0-2) |
NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night Four
July 19th, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,730
After two nights off, the G1 Climax returned for more B Block action. Their first show featured some great matches, though this card is less interesting on paper. However, we still have a G1 26 Finals rematch, one of the best in-ring rivalries in the world, and an intriguing first time ever bout involving the US Champion.
The show opened with a tribute to Masa Saito, who recently passed away.
Jay White and YOH def. Michael Elgin and Ren Narita in 8:11
El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki def. SHO and YOSHI-HASHI in 9:07
BUSHI and EVIL def. Toa Henare and Togi Makabe in 6:14
Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa def. David Finlay and Hiroshi Tanahashi in 6:15
Chase Owens and Hangman Page def. Gedo and Kazuchika Okada in 5:44
B Block: SANADA [0] vs. Tama Tonga [2]
They’ve met in the past two G1s (***¼ and ***), with Tonga winning both. He comes in with more momentum after a win on night two and the way the G1 Special in San Francisco ended. Commentary tried getting over how even these guys are because of their athleticism. To anyone watching, it’s clear SANADA is superior. Tonga tried stealing the Paradise Lock but couldn’t do it properly. Anyway, the Firing Squad have had their matches riddled with interference lately. Tanga Loa got involved but was ejected. With him gone, it allowed Tonga and SANADA to compete at the level we were used to in their past two matches. Alas, that couldn’t last. We got a ref bump, followed immediately by another. SANADA hit his own Gun Stun and out came the Firing Squad. Surprisingly, it didn’t lead to the finish. SANADA survived an attack, knocked Tanga off the apron and won with an O’Connor roll in 10:46. The middle portion was pretty good, but we got too much of this interference and overbooking stuff. I get it at times, but having it in every match is already tiresome. [*½]
B Block: Toru Yano [0] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [0]
After their interactions in the San Francisco tag, I’ve been eagerly anticipating this. Yano’s vow to just go out and wrestle immediately was turned on when he went for the turnbuckle. Still, Yano surprised many by wrestling and trying to trade holds with Sabre. When he finally got the upper hand, Korakuen went nuts. Sabre kept trying to win by countout to give Yano a taste of his own medicine, but Yano kept surviving. Though he was twisted like a pretzel a bunch, Yano still found a way to nearly this thing on more than one occasion. He made the mistake of trying for the turnbuckle again. Sabre ducked and pulled him into the European Clutch to win in 10:34. That was so much fun. Yano is 2-2 in good, fun matches. The crowd was into it, it was different from other G1 matches, and they did plenty of great things throughout. [***¼]
B Block: IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Juice Robinson [0] vs. Kota Ibushi [2]
I was so excited for this match. They shook hands before the bell because they’re both good boys. Juice had Kota scouted early, avoiding the Golden Star Moonsault and hitting a somersault off the apron. Surprisingly, that drew boos from the usually pro-Juice Korakuen crowd. When Kota got going, Juice again had the moonsault scouted and cut it off. The champion did his homework. He just had an answer for everything Ibushi tried. It wasn’t until Kota busted out a SICK rana off the apron that the tide was turned and he hit a moonsault, but this time off the ring post. Insane. That triggered a great finishing stretch, capped by Kamigoye and an Ibushi win in 13:03. I’ll probably be the high man on this, but I loved it. Juice had Kota’s number at every turn. Kota had to do something crazy to turn things around and go higher risk than usual. [****]
B Block: Tetsuya Naito [0] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [2]
What can I say about this rivalry that I already haven’t? Naito beat him in the New Japan Cup (****¼) and in an IWGP Title match (****½) in 2016. Ishii bested him in the US Title tournament (****¼) and G1 last year (****), but Naito got the last laugh at King of Pro Wrestling (****¼). Ishii took it right to Naito with a ton of chops. Naito spat at him and smiled, acting like they didn’t bother him. There were ref shoves in this one but it wasn’t to set up interference nonsense. It was done as a way to show how aggressive these guys are with one another. They played off their past matches and used a more dramatic build than one filled with big spots. Granted, there were still big spots, just not as many as we sometimes get from these two. Once things truly got going late, the crowd was in the palm of their hands. Naito countered the Brainbuster into a modified Destino for a near fall. He added another to win in 19:13. Another great match from these two. Despite having wrestled eight times in the past, they always manage to bring us something different. This felt fresh, was entertaining, and had some great drama. [****¼]
B Block: NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto [2] vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega [2]
Kenny beat Goto in the finals of the G1 26. I’ve still never watched that match. Kenny beat him again that October (***). Commentary hyped an intriguing idea that Kenny might want a NEVER Title shot if he won here, to complete the Grand Slam of heavyweight singles titles. For reference, Naito is also only one title away (US). This picked up early, with Kenny looking for a springboard dive, only for Goto to launch a chair at him. That drew plenty of boos. Not to be outdone by his fellow Golden Lover earlier, Omega busted out a huge moonsault in the crowd. As the match got back to the ring, they began to reel off some of their bigger moves. The crowd was invested, even buying into the wild notion that Goto might pull out the victory. Of course, a series of V-Triggers and the One Winged Angel eventually put Goto down for good at 19:25. It was a good main event and though the fans bought a near fall, I never believed there was any chance of a Goto win. They kept up a quicker pace than expected, which was nice to see. [***½]
Overall: 7.5/10. Other than the highly disappointing opener, this was a fun show. Sabre/Yano was a really fun blast, while Omega/Goto was a strong main event. The show really hit on the great Naito/Ishii match and Ibushi/Juice. If it wasn’t for the Firing Squad, the B Block would have all-time great block potential.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Jay White | 4 (2-0) | Kenny Omega | 4 (2-0) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-0) | Kota Ibushi | 4 (2-0) |
| Michael Elgin | 4 (2-0) | Tetsuya Naito | 2 (1-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 2 (1-1) | Hirooki Goto | 2 (1-1) |
| EVIL | 2 (1-1) | Tomohiro Ishii | 2 (1-1) |
| Hangman Page | 2 (1-1) | SANADA | 2 (1-1) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-1) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 2 (1-1) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 0 (0-2) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-1) |
| Minoru Suzuki | 0 (0-2) | Juice Robinson | 0 (0-2) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 0 (0-2) | Toru Yano | 0 (0-2) |
NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night Three
July 17th, 2018 | Hokkaido Prefectural Gymnasium in Hokkaido, Sapporo | Attendance: 6,489
B Block closed out their first show with two stellar matches. A Block returns following a good start with a show in Hokkaido, where the G1 has traditionally started in recent years. We’ve got rematches set from Wrestling Dontaku 2017, this year’s Anniversary Show, and Wrestle Kingdom 12.
The Guerrillas of Destiny def. Shota Umino and Toa Henare in 6:40
TAKA Michinoku and Zack Sabre Jr. def. Jado and Toru Yano in 5:38
David Finlay and Juice Robinson def. Kota Ibushi and Yujiro Takahashi in 6:11
SANADA and Tetsuya Naito def. SHO and Tomohiro Ishii in 7:16
Hirooki Goto and YOH def. Chase Owens and Kenny Omega in 5:30
A Block: Hangman Page [2] vs. Michael Elgin [2]
Page won his first G1 match via DQ, while Elgin bested EVIL. Kevin Kelly made note of the ROH roots of both men and how they went to the same training camp for the company. Elgin also came in with a 3-0 record against Page. Page was overpowered from the start. He went high-risk early, hitting the apron SSP. That gave him some room to breathe and he wore down Elgin for a bit. Once that was over, this progressed into more of an even, back and forth match. The fans know Elgin as a big hoss, but they got to see that Page could hang with a guy like him. His powerbomb into a rana counter was great and the middle rope neckbreaker near fall that followed was a highlight. Page was more than willing to trade forearms with his larger opponent. In the end, he fell to a Tiger Bomb and Elgin Bomb in 17:17. It went longer than expected and felt like it at points. However, the action was better than expected. This was all about Page. He showed that he could flat out go in this environment against a big dude. It makes me want to see when Page battles a better hoss, like EVIL. [***½]
A Block: EVIL [0] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [0]
HASHI lost a hard fought battle to Togi Makabe, while EVIL dropped one to Michael Elgin. Their G1 26 was very good (***½). Unfortunately, HASHI seemed to be missing some of what made his match on night one work. There wasn’t as much energy behind a lot of his stuff. It started off hot, but faltered as it progressed. There was a scary powerbomb spot that sent both men tumbling to the outside. HASHI kept going for the Butterfly Lock, which cost him on night one. Nobody believes it’ll win a match, so it barely got a response from the crowd. EVIL ended him with the STO for the win in 12:37. For the third straight show, the second match takes a dive in quality. It wasn’t bad, but it needed a lot more to stand out. [**¾]
A Block: Minoru Suzuki [0] vs. Togi Makabe [2]
This is the Anniversary Show rematch, where Suzuki beat Makabe (***½). As soon as the bell rang, these two came out and beat the hell out of each other. It’s exactly what you want from Suzuki and Makabe. Chairs were brought into play and we got the usual ref bump in a Suzuki-Gun match. At least with Makabe, he was more than up to brawling with Suzuki and bending the rules. It was during this time that Suzuki took full control. Makabe refused to give up and stood toe to toe with Minoru, even when getting his ass kicked. Makabe managed to hit the Spider German. Suzuki stood back up, but ate the knee to the face. King Kong Knee Drop ended this in 14:58. It reminded me of Tanahashi/Suzuki in that Minoru dominated at points, yet still loss. It was different from everything else in the tournament thanks to the violent nature of it. The kind of war you want from them, though they may have overdone some of the ref bump stuff. [***½]
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [0] vs. Kazuchika Okada [0]
Fale usually dominates the top guys in tournaments. He’s unbeaten against Okada in tournaments, including a G1 win in 2016 (**¾), though he did lose to him later that year (**) and again in a title match in 2017 (***½). Carefree Okada was back. He had fun with Fale, taunting him, slapping him, and giggling. He’s a totally different person since dropping the title. It pissed off Fale and set up Tanga Loa, who was at ringside, attacking Okada. From there, Fale threw him into the chairs outside and beat him down. Okada made the expected babyface comeback and though he’s acting like a different guy, most of his in-ring stuff remained the same. However, instead of going for the Rainmaker, he went for the Tombstone, which nearly cost him in their title match. HE did hit two Rainmakers, but Loa distracted him. We got another ref bump moment, bringing out Tama Tonga to hit the Gun Stun. A Bad Luck Fall later and Okada was 0-2 after 13:38. Okada does okay with Fale, but not nearly as good as Tanahashi, Shibata, or Nakamura. This had some moments and I’m digging the changes in Okada. However, the Firing Squad continue to have their matches plagued by shenanigans. It’s like early Bullet Club stuff. [**¼]
A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] vs. Jay White [2]
At Wrestle Kingdom, Tanahashi retained the IC Title over White (***¼), but it was before White got into the groove he’s in now. This is the building where White beat Omega, while Tanahashi has lost to SANADA and Sabre here the last two years. Considering what Suzuki did to Tanahashi’s knee on night one, it made sense for White to target it. Though Tanahashi was outwrestling him in the early stages, a shot to the knee would put Jay back in the driver’s seat. White showed how much he’s grown as he adapted his game plan. After Tanahashi got dropped on his neck, Jay put the attention there, hitting things like a Saito suplex outside. However, I wasn’t a fan of White trying to use a chair. I get that he wanted to damage Tanahashi, but going for a shot with it right in front of the referee was just dumb. That did set up a finishing stretch that the fans were completely invested in. Tanahashi got close to winning, but White knocked the ref into the corner, crotching Tanahashi. He hit the Blade Runner to win in 24:02 and has now beaten Omega, Okada, and Tanahashi in the same year. I liked most of this. White continues to nail his new character and he’s grown into it. The chair stuff was stupid and doing more spots involving the referee after Suzuki and the Firing Squad felt like a bit much. [***¾]
Overall: 7/10. There were three good matches on this show and two that kind of missed the mark. Nothing was great, but everything was watchable. Elgin/Page went too long, yet still managed to be better than expected. EVIL/HASHI was decent and Fale/Okada didn’t do much for me. Suzuki/Makabe was a fun brawl and White/Tanahashi felt like a worthy main event. There were too many ref bumps and shenanigans, though.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Jay White | 4 (2-0) | Kenny Omega | 2 (1-0) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-0) | Kota Ibushi | 2 (1-0) |
| Michael Elgin | 4 (2-0) | Hirooki Goto | 2 (1-0) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 2 (1-1) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-0) |
| EVIL | 2 (1-1) | Tomohiro Ishii | 2 (1-0) |
| Hangman Page | 2 (1-1) | Tetsuya Naito | 0 (0-1) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-1) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 0 (0-1) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 0 (0-2) | SANADA | 0 (0-1) |
| Minoru Suzuki | 0 (0-2) | Juice Robinson | 0 (0-1) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 0 (0-2) | Toru Yano | 0 (0-1) |
WWE Extreme Rules
July 15th, 2018 | PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Andrade Almas w/ Zelina Vega vs. Sin Cara
Not enough people are talking about it, but these two had a damn good TV match on Smackdown. Zelina looked incredible tonight. Sin Cara came out hot, but they’ve been telling a story that they’ve known each other for a long time. That made Almas being ready for his offense and countering a sensible thing. Following the obligatory Kickoff Show commercial, they revved things up. Big spots on the apron, a Destroyer, and even Cara busting out a Frog Splash. Zelina provided enough of a distraction for Almas to hit the corner knees and win via Hammerlock DDT in 7:01. Like the Smackdown match, this was a banger for the time given. They did a lot without ever feeling like they did too much and they kept it within the story they should’ve told. [***¼]
Tables Match: The New Day vs. SAnitY
I came in more excited for the two Kickoff matches than most of the rest of the card. Lots of action in this one. All six men went right at one another from the opening bell. They had creative spots like Big E nearly going through a table with his apron spear, only to eat a pair of knees from SAnitY. They also provided us with one of the more innovative tower of doom spots. Even with the commercial break, they kept the pace strong throughout. The finish was also quite creative. Kofi wanted to suplex Wolfe from the apron through a table. Wolfe bit him to break free and Young came off the top with an elbow that put him through the table at 7:35. It was kind of short, but was fun. They came up with some cool ideas for a stipulation that has been done to death. Kudos. [***]
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: The Deleters of World [c] vs. The B-Team
Was not expecting this to open. This has been one of the stranger programs in recent memory and not just because of how weird everyone is. The B-Team have dominated the match results in the build, so the champions came out hot. They looked to take Bray and Matt off their games. From a character perspective, Bray seemed more motivated than ever. The action moved at a quicker pace than expected. Bray seemed on the verge of a win but got cut off. Bo surprised everyone when he hit a hanging neckbreaker variation to give his guys the titles in 7:58. Better than I expected. It was a fun little sprint. [**½]
Post-match, Charly Caruso interviewed the new champions. It was funny and Axel likened the feeling to “Stretch Armstrong” landing on the moon.
Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor
Finn debuted new gear for this. Corbin wrestled in his constable slacks. Despite the strange attire, Corbin was all about bringing out some interesting moves. He busted out a sneaky sunset flip style spot and hit the always awesome looking Deep Six. He talked smack and played the bully, while Finn was the resilient underdog little man. It’s not an ideal role for Finn, who can do much more, but it worked for this match and the program. Finn hit the corner dropkick, but Corbin cut off the Coup de Grace. However, Finn found a way to counter the End of Days into a small package for the win in 8:18. Another solid, yet unspectacular match. They told a fine story and the stuff in the ring worked. [**¾]
Backstage, the Bludgeon Brothers attacked Team Hell No.
WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Carmella [c] vs. Asuka
James Ellsworth was in a shark cage above the ring. He joined Paul Ellering, Chris Jericho, and Enzo Amore as people in that position since 2016. Right off the bat, he dropped a weapon to Carmella. She didn’t get to use it, but it was perfect character stuff for them. They’re all about trying to outsmart people. With Asuka in firm control, Ellsworth manages to escape the cage and got stuck hanging upside down from it. Asuka lit him up with kicks. Officials tried putting him back in, only for Asuka to beat them up and attack Ellsworth again. Asuka got too focused on Ellsworth, allowing Carmella to shove her face first into the shark cage and steal it in 5:23. Technically great? Hell no. Strong storytelling and character work? Yup. Carmella and Ellsworth continue to find ways to best their opponents. Carmella beat Charlotte because of the Iiconis and then because Charlotte hurt her knee. She beat Asuka because of Ellsworth last time and this time was because Asuka was too focused on him. Brilliant. [**¼]
WWE United States Championship: Jeff Hardy [c] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
In a fantastic move, Nakamura hit Jeff with a low blow before the bell. As soon as this started, Nakamura hit Kinshasa and won in 0:06. Again, perfect character stuff. [NR]
Nakamura’s celebration was cut short by the arrival of Randy Orton. People expected Randy to go after Nakamura, but instead, he attacked Hardy. Good, because face Orton is incredibly dull.
Steel Cage Match: Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens
WWE traditionally doesn’t do well with cage matches. Also, why should we cheer Braun? He’s just been bullying Owens. They told the proper story with this. Owens wanted nothing to do with Braun and avoided him at all costs. He tried escaping, but couldn’t. Braun was in full control. However, Owens wisely handcuffed him to the ropes. Instead of leaving, he taunted him and got chokeslammed. He added another taunt and blew a kiss to Braun on his way out, but Braun broke the cuffs and caught up to him. Braun met him at the top and chokeslammed him off and through the announce table. It was a wild spot, but also one that got Owens the win in 8:06. The story made sense, but it was too boring until the final big spot. It was a doozy of a spot, though. [**]
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Bludgeon Brothers [c] vs. Team Hell No
The dominant champions against the newly reformed Team Hell No. At least that’s what we thought. Kane was too hurt to come out, so Bryan went at it alone. Handicap matches typically don’t work well. This one mostly did. Bryan was clearly at a disadvantage, but fought with a ton of heart. He found ways to get hope spots in and even caused the champions to hit each other by mistake. With all three men down outside, Kane’s music hit and he came out in a walking boot. Kane did his thing without using much of his leg. Bryan fired off YES kicks. But they didn’t have enough. A Doomsday Device on Bryan ended this in 8:17. Bryan did most of this without Kane and gave the champs their toughest and best match to date. It was a fun handicap match with the crowd hanging on everything that happened. [***]
Backstage, Roman Reigns walked around and the B-Team stopped him. They told him he could join them if he beat Bobby.
Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns
During the build, Roman made it clear he wasn’t intimidated or impressed by Lashley. That was clear in the match as he acted cocky, talked smack, and tried lackadaisical pins. He also refused to break holds until five, showing that he was aggressive. The match was going along fine until Lashley took a ridiculously huge bump. He got dropped over the top and to the floor, smacking it with an awful sound. From there, things picked up for a more physical battle. Lashley suplexed him over the announce table, before Reigns responded inside with a massive Superman Punch. Roman looked to win there, but Lashley interrupted him with a huge Spear for the clean as a whistle win at 4:51. That started okay but truly picked up and turned into one hell of a hoss fight. I love that it ended cleanly. The best Lashley match since his return and a return to form for Reigns in PPV singles matches. [***½]
WWE Raw Women’s Championship Extreme Rules Match: Alexa Bliss [c] w/ Mickie James vs. Nia Jax w/ Natalya
Nia beat Alexa at WrestleMania (*¾) and again at Backlash (**). Alexa cashed in Money in the Bank last month to take the title back. The big story was Ronda Rousey at ringside. Right off the bat, Alexa ran from Nia and got weapons. Nia just kept knocking them away from her. During all this, Natalya and Mickie started fighting because Mickie tried getting involved. That caused Ronda to hop the guardrail and DESTROY Mickie. The fans chanted for her as she stared a hole through Alexa. She chased her down but Mickie attacked her with a kendo stick. With Ronda and Nattie down, Alexa and Mickie beat up Nia with weapons. A DDT on a chair ended this in 7:22. It was a lot of nothing until Ronda made things exciting. [*¾]
WWE Championship: AJ Styles [c] vs. Rusev w/ Aiden English
I haven’t been this hype for a WWE Title match since 2016. AJ’s chemistry with Kevin Owens never clicked and his stuff with Nakamura was lackluster. However, he had bangers with Jinder freaking Mahal, so I knew he’d step back up once he had someone new to work with. He did. Rusev was awesome here. Though he’s popular, he worked like a great bruising heel. AJ as the face fighting from under is a place he excels, so that made this work. They gave us several near falls and even though it seemed obvious that AJ would retain, I bit on several of the close calls for Rusev. It says something about a match when you can pull me in the way this one did. AJ took to the leg to chop down his larger opponent, while Rusev worked the back to set up the Accolade. Smart, sensible wrestling. It’s not hard, people. After AJ took out Aiden English, he used the Phenomenal Forearm to retain in 15:32. Match of the night. Great work building a smart match that played to the strength of both men. [****]
WWE Intercontinental Championship Ironman Match: Dolph Ziggler [c] w/ Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins
Ironman matches can be tricky. Some work well, but others have issues. Look at Sasha/Bayley for a great example and Sasha/Charlotte for one that struggled. This was one worked at a faster pace than some considering all the falls that took place. Seth went up 1-0 in less than five minutes. He added another pin a few minutes later and then Drew attacked him for a DQ that made it 3-0. However, the beating put Rollins in trouble and Dolph used him being worn down to rack up four straight falls and take the lead. The crowd proved that the negative reactions to stuff like Reigns/Joe at Backlash weren’t just because of Roman. The fans got a fresh PPV main event and still reacted by paying attention to everything but the match. They spent their time counting down the last ten seconds of every minute like it was the Royal Rumble. It was annoying and hurt the match. Stop trying to get yourselves over. Watch the show you paid for. Anyway, Seth tied it late and was about to win as the clock expired. Dolph seemed to retain but Kurt Angle arrived and sent us into sudden death. Drew McIntyre, who had been ejected, returned and set up Seth to fall to a Zig Zag at 30:17. Why do sudden death if that was what you did with it? The match was technically strong and had some good moments throughout. The finish was dumb, the crowd was awful, and some of the overused Ironman tropes were there. Those things kept it from being something memorable. [***]
Overall: 6/10. An above average show. I’ve seen people crap all over it, but there was nothing outwardly bad. The worst match to me was Alexa/Nia and it wasn’t even that terrible. Everything had something of an enjoyment factor and we got strong stuff from Lashley/Reigns, Cara/Almas, and especially Rusev/AJ.
