PPV Review // WWE Evolution // Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella

On 28th October 2018, just over three week's removed from Super Show-Down, WWE presented it's first ever women's only PPV, Evolution, at the Nassau Colliseum in Uniondale, New York. Billed as a historic moment for women everywhere, the show was main evented by Ronda Rousey defending her RAW Women's Championship against Nikki Bella, whilst other top matches saw Charlotte Flair get a shot at Becky Lynch's SmackDown Women's Championship in a Last Women Standing match and an NXT Women's Championship match between champion Kairi Sane and challenger Shayna Baszler, whilst Sash Banks, Trish Stratus, Natalya, Mickie James and Kelly Kelly were all also in action. But was it any good? Lets take a look.

Trish Stratus & Lita returned for their first matches since the Royal Rumble in January, picking up the victory over Mickie James & Alicia Fox in a simple and fun opening match, that had more than a little nostalgia to help it through. Whilst both Stratus & Lita have performed on a number of occasions since their "retirement" matches, this was the longest either has spent in the ring since 2006, so it would be unfair to comment on some of the sequences being a little awkward, especially considering there was more than enough that worked. A handful of nice moments between Stratus and James, especially the build up to the top rope rana, made this more than worth it's spot on the card. James and Fox both worked hard to make their opponents look every inch of the stars that they possibly could, with some sound and solid heel work, helped by logical booking, whilst James in particular sold very well, in one of her best performances since her return. It's a shame that Alexa Bliss was out injured as her involvement would have upped the level of "moments" that could have taken place within the match and whilst Fox has a nice Northern Lights suplex, she felt more like someone there to make up the numbers and even ended up being out of position on breaking up a nearfall right at the end. What really made this match come together though was the crowd treating it as something special, getting behind Stratus & Lita and booing James & Fox, stuff like that makes all the difference for me as a viewer at home adding to each moment or spot the ladies went for. 

Dasha Fuentes interviewed The Bella Twins with Nikki possibly cutting her best promo of all time, heeling it up fantastically as she dedicated her match to Ronda Rousey's Mom.

The IIconis got some promo time before the battle royal, which was cute, they mocked the legends and putting themselves over. You can guess the first spot of the match. 

Nia Jax earned a shot at the RAW Women's Championship, by last eliminating Ember Moon, in an entertaining over-the-top rope battle royal. The majority of the legends included were used to put over the regular roster with that and the fact that almost every elimination felt like it's own moment, meant that there were a number of wrestlers who came out of the battle royal better off for having taken part. The IIconics got a lot of time before the match before their instant elimination, Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose eliminated Molly Holly, Kelly Kelly and Torrie Wilson before Rose turned on Deville, Carmella got to dance with Ivory before helping her new friend to eliminate Rose and Asuka worked a nice sequence to eliminate Ivory. The highlight for me had to be Ember Moon eliminating Asuka, because the crowd was hot for a showdown between the two former NXT rivals and Moon finally managed to get one over on the woman she could never take the NXT Women's title off. There was some awkardness though, as Lana ended up being out position for a spot involving Jax and Tamina, whilst Carmella and Moon ended up cocking up a tilt-a-whirl rana spot, which Michael Cole would describe as rather unique. The crowd seemed to be behind Moon winning the match when it came down to her and Jax, which is always a problem when going for a babyface final two, but if it leads to something more substantial down the two, who have been portrayed as friends on RAW, then this finish will be absolutely fine.

After the match, Jax was interviewed by Charly Caruso about whether she'd rather face Nikki Bella or Ronda Rousey for the title, with Jax wishing them both the best and telling them to enjoy the moment, because it won't last long. Short and simple and got a big pop, lovely stuff. 

Toni Storm won the 2018 Mae Young Classic in a ten minute sprint of a match with Io Shirai. The bout was choc-full of action from the beginning, kicking off with some technicality before launching into a series of big moves and reversals that didn't stop until Storm hit her second Storm Zero for the win. Obviously, with more time the pair could have worked some better storyline elements into things and created a match with more depth, but the brevity also made the match stand out on a card that was packed with big time singles matches in it's second half. The two have competed a number of times together in Stardom in Japan over the last two and half years and that was clear to see from the crispness of their action, the speed at which they moved and the number of risks they took for a couple of memorable spots. The work towards the German suplex on the apron from Storm and Shirai's beautiful moonsault to the outside stand out in particular, whilst Shirai's sunset flip was something else too. It was a shame we didn't get a few more convincing near falls for Shirai, which felt mostly down to the time the two had, but to pack ten minutes with such high quality, exciting pro wrestling is a testament to the talent of both women. Hopefully we see a lot more them both in NXT and NXT UK soon.

Bayley, Sasha Banks and Natalya picked up the win over Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan (collectively known as the Riott Squad) in a six woman tag that was put together well, but fell apart later on for a number of reasons. The first of these reasons was Sasha Banks seemingly being at least a half step of the pace for her hot tag, which did come after some lovely work from the Riott Squad and Bayley as the hugger in peril. There were a number of sequences that Banks had that just weren't up to scratch, that featured good ideas, but didn't pay off. With The Boss working the hot tag this obviously hurt the match, killing the pace and knocking timing off in other areas. The biggest problem came when Banks attempted what I think was supposed to be a tope con hilo and had to be saved by her opponents. The other issue for me was the spot that saw Bayley jumping on top of Banks to save her from a diving senton from Riott, which was just a stupid thing to do. Maybe if the timing had been better it would have looked like a heroic moment of friendship, but at the time it happened simply pushing Riott off the top rope or moving Banks out of the way made much better sense. There were some nice moments like Morgan breaking up a double sharpshooter from Natty on Riott and Logan, the bout was structured nicely for the spot on the card it had, which makes it even more frustrating that the bout didn't live up to it's potential had everything gone to plan. The Riott Squad losing another big match so soon after Super Show-Down probably means it's time to end the group and send Riott out on her own.

In the only title change of the night, Shayna Baszler won back the NXT Women's Championship from Kairi Sane in Evolution's second best match, using the Kirufuda clutch for submission victory. Whilst a notch down from their NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 match, Baszler and Sane continued to show plenty of chemistry, with their two characters seemingly made to get the other over. The back and forth flurry at the start grabbed the crowd well with the brawling being some of the best work in the match as Sane looked to go toe to toe with the harder striker. Sane's diving crossbody to the floor, as well as Baszler getting lobbed over the barricade onto some NXT performers at ringside provided the match with some replayable moments later on and whilst the narrative wasn't as strong as their last encounter Baszler did some solid work targeting the arm that Sane sold well. The finish was perhaps a little overbooked with Baszler's Four Horsewomen pals Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir getting involved for a couple of spots on the road to Baszler being able to lock in the Kirafuda Clutch for a second time. This followed on from a call-back near fall as they repeated the finish from Brooklyn, that perhaps deserved a better reaction from the Nassau Coliseum. I'm looking forward to seeing where this feud goes next on NXT, how Sane goes about looking to regain the title and how the Duke & Shafir play into the story.

The match of the night came in the form of a Last Woman Standing match that saw Becky Lynch retain the SmackDown Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair. This was easily in the Top 5 of it's type in WWE (maybe higher) for me, with Lynch and Flair producing a physical and compelling match-up with plenty of big spots and animosity. The crowd being almost completely behind Lynch throughout with Flair able to flip into a tweener role worked well, for a number of sequences, without diluting the edge that has made Lynch's "heel turn" so fun to begin with, including an early moment with Lynch going nuts with a kendo stick. There was some recycled tropes that from recent Last Man Standing matches, like Lynch burying Flair under a pile of chairs, but more often than not the action was creative with a general feeling of escalation for each highspot and near fall. Particular highlights for me included the nasty looking back suplex onto a chair from Flair, the Figure Eight using the ladder and the mad leg drop off a ladder through the announce table from Lynch. Flair's back suplex onto a chair. There were a couple of moments that didn't seem to go anyway, with the brawl in the crowd being a particular creative cul-de-sac, as well as the terrified look on Lynch's face when Flair escaped the rubble, which I'm sure looked good on paper but came across as particularly lame in execution. Often these types of matches can struggle to find a satisfying finish after packing in so much action, but I felt Flair and Lynch came up with big enough spot to conclude this one with Lynch powerbombing Charlotte off the apron through a table to retain her title. The move looked brutal and both women sold it well, whilst there was also a question about whether Flair could still make it back to her feet to keep the match going. Overall, I feel like this is the match that the PPV will be remember for amongst the majority of fans and both women should be proud of what is probably their best match since leaving NXT.

Whilst it probably would've had been better received in a different spot on the card, Ronda Rousey's victory over Nikki Bella, was a serviceable main event that did a stellar job of placing Rousey in an underdog role. The structure was simplistic but played to the strengths of the three characters involved, perhaps ironically using elements of the finish of Rousey's Four Horsewoman stablemate Shayna Baszler's NXT Championship match earlier in the night, as Brie Bella allowed Nikki to control the mid-section of the match following absolute domination from Rousey. It's easy to dislike the Bella Twins, especially one returning to main event a PPV, meaning there was lots of fun to be had in Rousey lobbing both of them about the place, including sending Brie over the announce table and perhaps into orbit. A couple of big spots gave the match a WWE main event feel, with  the double reverse kata-gurama, the aforementioned announce table spot and a sweet top rope transition into the armbar as the finish standing out, whilst Bella also got a strong near fall off an slightly awkward Rack Attack 2.0. Yes, it could have been longer, but another five minutes almost definitely would have exposed either Rousey or Bella, probably both. There's a strong argument to be made that Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch deserved to be the main event with the pair much more capable of closing the show, and personally I can see that this swap would have benefitted both matches, whilst also understanding WWE's decision to have Rousey (who is one of the biggest stars of any gender in the company right now) close their first ever women's only PPV as they make her focal point of the promotion. The fact that Rousey main evented the show could also provide fuel for the rumoured WrestleMania match between Rousey and Flair. 

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.94/10 

Show in a Sentence - A real triumph, that proved many doubters wrong, showcasing the depth and potential of the current female roster, whilst celebrating the stars of the past. 

Written by James Marston 

WWE Fastlane 2018 Review

Fastlane 2018 was the final WWE PPV before WrestleMania XXXIV, coming four weeks before the Showcase of the Immortals, as the SmackDown brand hosted their final solo PPV before dual events return. The show was main evented by AJ Styles defending his WWE Championship in a six-pack challenge involving John Cena, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, as The Phenomenal One looked to head into WrestleMania as WWE Champion. But how did it all go down in Colombus? Lets take a look! 

Commentary - Tom Phillips, Corey Graves & Byron Saxton
Kick-Off Panel - Renee Young, Booker T, Sam Roberts & David Otunga
Ring Announcer - Greg Hamilton
Interviewer - Charly Caruso

WWE Championship // 

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles (C)

Before the match - Dolph Ziggler answered questions from social media, saying he didn't regret dropping the WWE United States title, put himself over for not getting injured and then Sam Roberts asked him if it would be his last chance at the WWF Championship. Fuck - Sami Zayn tried to convince Kevin Owens that they were still pals, but KO walked out on him - Shinsuke Nakamura wished AJ Styles good luck ahead of the six pack challenge.

AJ Styles retained the WWE Championship, pinning Kevin Owens with a Phenomenal Forearm, in a thrill-ride of a scramble main event. The bout took in a number of different storylines, drifting from one section to the next smoothly, keeping a ridiculous pace with a feeling that there was something going on from the very beginning. John Cena's attempt to find a Road to WrestleMania, tension building between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens and an escalation of their issues with Shane McMahon once more, as well as AJ Styles' doing anything he could to hold onto his title, reprising the sweeper role he played on Tuesday night, whilst Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler made up the numbers (with both men doing great jobs in this role, featuring in some lovely sequences throughout the match) there was a lot of narrative to play with. All the stories could have ended up dragging the match down, but they ended up blending together well, highlighted by a sequence involving Styles, Cena, Owens and Zayn on the outside that saw Styles initially try to put Owens through the announce table, only to eventually end up taking a massive Attitude Adjustment from Cena, after a number of twists and turns thanks to Styles looking to take out as many people as possible. 

The strongest story of the bout was Zayn/Owens/McMahon stuff, with the trio involved in a rich interplay that left a number of questions open for Tuesday's SmackDown with just four episodes before WrestleMania. A sequence where Zayn offered to lay down for Owens as promised two weeks' earlier, with Owens grabbing his friend to attempt a Pop-Up Powerbomb, only to get caught with small package for a near fall was handled beautifully by both men, with Zayn particularly owning the moment as he took his time to lie down, seemingly hoping that someone would recover in time to make the save. McMahon's involvement was teased throughout the match, through a number of funky over-the-shoulder camera angles as he sat ringside, but it wasn't until Zayn got in the Commissioner's face and a stray Owens superkick connected with that face that things got truly interesting. Two very good near falls followed with Owens coming close with Pop-up Powerbomb on Ziggler and Zayn with a Helluva Kick on Owens, but on both occasions McMahon pulled the ref and Zayn respectively out of the ring. He looked a bit of a dick and there's arguments to be made for the character abusing his power, but after a kick to the face he also has clear motive. The near falls also keep Owens & Zayn looking strong heading into WrestleMania, whilst barely denting Styles' reputation as he was down after the Attitude Adjustment through the table. I'm not sure where this goes, but I'm at least interested to see what they do on Tuesday! 

The finish had a real kinetic feel to it (as did the majority of the match, tbh) as Corbin cleaned house with the steel steps, before taking an Attitude Adjustment on the metal for a near fall with Ziggler taking the save, leading into Cena no-selling a superkick, hitting an Attitude Adjustment then rolling through for another, only for Owens to re-enter and nail a Pop-Up Powerbomb, leaving himself open for a Phenomenal Forearm for the finish. Whilst the match didn't fall into the same tropes (tower of power etc.) as usual multi-mans, it was nice to see as many guys as possible crammed into the final sequence, with a feeling that by the end of the match everyone's stock had risen for taking part in it and their paths to WrestleMania had been enriched for their involvement. Even guys like Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin came out better off, because their performances were polished and they featured in a handful of the matches best sequences (Ziggler's Fameasser reversal out of an Attitude Adjustment was gorgeous), whilst Zayn & Owens looked to have the match won and furthered their issues, Cena looked devasted at the loss after the match and AJ Styles looked every inch of the brilliant World Champion that he is ahead of his big clash with Shinsuke Nakamura in four weeks time. All over this match was real good fun to watch and did a lot for everyone involved, thumbs up.

After the match - Shane McMahon turned up on Talking Smack, putting in a good performance, whilst actually not saying a whole lot at all. The character was non-commital over whether he felt bad about his action and also repeated some stuff about how he feels Daniel Bryan is trying to live vicariously through Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn.

WWE United States Championship // 

"The Viper" Randy Orton vs. "The Glorious" Bobby Roode (C)

Before the match - Jinder Mahal joined the Kick-Off panel and stumbled through a promo, whilst getting loud "Jinder sucks" chants. 

Randy Orton won the United States Championship for the first time, catching Bobby Roode with an RKO as Roode dived off the middle rope, at the conclusion of a good, yet flabby, contest. I'd spoken in my preview that I was worried that this match could turn out being a little dull and large swathes of bout confirmed my worries. Both men being babyfaces, but not really wrestling like babyfaces hurt the match, as the crowd was unsure who they wanted to cheer for and the action went through the motions for, at least, half of it's run length. Without an aggressor or the classic pacy face vs. face style, I found myself zoning out of portions of this and it seemed the crowd did too as they began a small chant for Bryon Saxton at one point. Both Orton and Roode are great professional wrestler, but can often can be overly clinical, meaning that whilst their moves are performed near perfectly, the X Factor that makes a great match is missing. Without a different type of performer to bounce off, the match ended up feeling a little cold and detached. 

Now, after reading the previous paragraph, you're probably asking the question "James, why did you call it a "good match"?" Well, constant reader, that's because the match had a nice story that built up well throughout and brilliant finish that I wasn't expecting. The main thrust of the narrative was based around the similarities of the performers, with both attempted their respective finishers three or four times only to have it quickly reversed, whilst we also see Orton have a number of signatures blocked before being able to hit the move a few moments later, hinting that the Viper might've had the upperhand over the Glorious One. It was subtle little hint at what was to come and a nice take on a familiar trope. There was also a handful of nice sequences, usually focused around the Glorious DDT and RKO, where the pace quickened before one of the lads would hit a signature or get a roll-up near fall. The finish with Roode getting caught with an RKO got a strong reaction from Columbus, because it felt like the match had another five or so minutes left due to the previous pacing. I hadn't expected Roode to lose the title so early, but it was a cool moment to see Orton win the only title missing from his collection, which creates a talking point that WWE can push to media outlets.  

After the match - Jinder Mahal attempted to attack Randy Orton, but Bobby Roode made the save, only to nail Orton with a Glorious DDT moments later, seemingly setting up a triple threat at WrestleMania and laying the foundations for a heel turn - Randy Orton appeared on Talking Smack, saying he'd have done the same as Jinder Mahal and Bobby Roode if he'd had the chance and putting himself over as the newest member of the Grand Slam club. Orton was also asked about John Cena's Road to WrestleMania, which was an interesting moment, with Orton putting over Cena, but also commending Renee Young for the interview on RAW Talk last month where Cena cried after losing the Elimination Chamber.

WWE SmackDown Women's Championship // 

Ruby Riott vs. Charlotte Flair (C)

In what was Charlotte Flair's best match since moving to SmackDown, the Queen retained her SmackDown Women's Championship over Ruby Riott, using the Figure Eight to get the submission victory. The match was packed with big spots, dramatic moments and featured a base of good solid wrestling, with the pair putting on one of the most technically sound WWE women's bouts for quite a while. Whilst the pacing was a little off kilter due to a Riott Kick near fall coming a bit too early to be convincing, the rest of the match was well put together as we saw Riott's Riott Squad stablemates Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan appear and get countered by Naomi & Becky Lynch, leading to a clever distraction spot, that would eventually see both pairings ejected from ringside by referee Mike Chioda. Spots wise there was a number of impressive bumps, including the two spilling through the middle rope early on, Flair bumping from the top rope into the barricade and an exploder suplex into the barricade all looked very good, adding an intensity and feeling of importance that the match didn't have in the build up. The highlight for me was Flair pulling out a spot that Drew McIntyre was using a lot on the indies, as Flair blocked a reverse rana attempt and hit an inverted alabama slam into the top turnbuckle, which would eventually lead to her hitting a spear and locking on the Figure Eight for the win. The two (alongside Logan, Morgan, Lynch and Naomi) did a stellar job of making this match feel like something valuable, rising above the lazy booking of the feud and creating a match that remained exciting for the duration and almost certainly raised the stock of Riott, even in defeat. 

After the match - Asuka arrived for a staredown with Flair before pointing at the WrestleMania sign, confirming Asuka vs. Flair for the Show of Shows. #EmpressVsQueen - Charlotte Flair was interviewed on Talking Smack, putting over Ruby Riott for her performance and putting over Asuka for her dominance whilst pushing their WrestleMania match. Flair also had to work hard to make a number of shitty questions from Sam Roberts sound good.

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship // 

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods (with Big E) vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (C)

Before the match - The New Day cut an entertaining promo on The Usos, managing to shift quickly from pancakes to serious chatter about winning tag titles and proving they're the best tag team, as they continued to show a much rougher side than we've seen in the last six months.

A tremendously fun SmackDown Tag Team title match was unfortunately cut short, with the Bludgeon Brothers hitting the ring and leaving the match as no-contest between The New Day and The Usos. Prior to that, the match had been an entertaining affair, that saw both teams essentially swap roles and pull out a number of the opposite teams signature moves (I can only imagine the groups had just watched ATTACK! latest Press Start show). It was a simple idea, based of the two teams familiarity with each other, but one that was extremely effective, with all four lads bringing lots of energy and despite what could've been a fairly lightweight structure, they also brought barrel loads of intensity from the very beginning as Xavier Woods and Jimmy Uso traded strikes. Particular highlights included a Boom Drop from Jimmy Uso, Kofi Kingston and Jimmy both missing Trouble in Paradise before The Usos hits Midnight Hour and The New Day getting a near fall after multiple superkicks from Woods and a splash from Kingston. It's a shame that we didn't get to see the idea reach its conclusion, but what followed was fun in a different way. 

After the match, Harper & Rowan cleaned house with all five wrestlers involved in the match, in a well-orchestrated beatdown. Whether the pairs new gimmick has fully clicked is up for debate, but they both looked great when bodying the Usos and The New Day here, with a number of big spots to emphasise the destruction. Harper nailing a blackhole slam on Kingston on the floor and Rowan catching Big E with a charging crossbody were memorable, but the highlight was a bodyslam spot involving the Usos. Both twins took slams on the floor, before Harper slapped Rowan and demanded he be slammed onto the Usos, with Rowan hitting an aided splash for the exclamation point. I've similar spots on the indies, but it was nonetheless cool to see these two big lads pull it out in a moment that put over their style and relationship well. Woods also took a powerbomb onto the steel steps and sold the move like it was the end of his life, twitching on the steps as he was loaded onto a stretcher. The team seems to be following a similar path to how WWE built up Braun Strowman over on RAW, which could eventually turn them babyface, because watching them smash through blokes is more fun than it should be. This would seem to set-up a triple threat at WrestleMania, but we'll have to wait and see.

After the match - Xavier Woods left on a stretcher, whilst the rest of the teams had to be helped out by WWE staff.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev (with Aiden English)

Before the match - Aiden English performed a special Rusev Day rap/song, ripping on Nakamura and the crowd with a delightful ditty. 

Shinsuke Nakamura picked up momentum ahead of his WWE Championship match at WrestleMania in a very good match with Rusev, with a pair of Kinshasas getting the pinfall for the Artist. There were times where I was worried that the match was a little slow, with plenty of stalling from Rusev as an attempt to seemingly slow down the Bulgarian's roaring popularity, but the final five minutes or so here featured some great action. In arguably Rusev's best match to date, the former WWE United States Champion stepped up to the challenge of putting over a WrestleMania title challenger, looking smooth on the offence, selling well for Nakker's strikes and even more so for a mid-match heel hook. Beyond his novelty "Rusev Day" popularity, this performance should be enough to earn Rusev a more sustained push coming out of the Granddaddy of Them All. The best action came off the back of a good strikes sequence, which leads into some wonderful action as both men got near falls of roll-ups and Rusev attempted to apply the Accolade to a nice pop. Despite the match feeling like a forgone conclusion throughout, the two lads worked a strong false finish into the mix as Nakamura ran straight into a Machka Kick, with the kick-out being left just long enough to allow the audience to suspend disbelief and imagine that Rusev could've pulled off the upset. Hopefully, this match was promising precursor for WrestleMania and we'll Nakamura kill it on the Grandest Stage.

Naomi & Becky Lynch vs. "Ms. Money in the Bank" Carmella & Natalya

Carmella pinned Becky Lynch with a superkick to pick up a big win for her and Natalya in mixed-bag of a tag team match. The bout featured a number of nice ideas, whilst sticking a simplistic tag team formula, but often those ideas would result in sloppy wrestling. The biggest culprit of this was surprisingly Natalya, who made a number of slip ups with Naomi in their pacy sequence early on, before later seemingly forgetting that she was supposed to be sent to the floor by Becky Lynch with the moment taking a unnecessary amount of time as Natalya fumbled around. The Queen of Harts did however hit a nice sitout powerbomb that folded Naomi end over end. Carmella continued to impress me with her fundamental heel work and sound moveset, as she used Naomi's braid to control the match, with a couple of nice spots involving that, whilst also pulling out the handstand frankensteiner and a Candylicious, whilst Becky Lynch also looked solid when coming in for the hot tag. The finish was a little scrappy after Natalya dicked around with the briefcase on the apron, but it was good to see Mella get the win and see WWE actually build some momentum behind the Money in the Bank winner.

Tyler Breeze, Fandango & Tye Dillinger vs. Shelton Benjamin, Chad Gable & Mojo Rawley 

Before the match - In a clip from the Fashion Files, Mojo Rawley, Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable challenged Tyler Breeze, Fandango & Tye Dillinger to a match.

Tye Dillinger picked up the win for his team with bringing back the Perfect 10 to pin Mojo Rawley in a weak six man tag team match. The match actually started alright, with some comedy from Breezango, whilst the crowd was hot for their first match of the evening, getting loudly behind Dillinger, whilst also pulling out a loud "You can't wrestle" chant for Breezango. The pop for the hot tag from Tyler Breeze to Dillinger got a big pop, but unfortunately everything after the tag had been cut off was poorly put together. There was a lot of energy and movement, but most of that movement was sloppy, including a poor looking O'Connor roll from Gable, as all six men looked like they were rushing to get their shit in, resulting in a number of strikes that looked way off the mark. I'm surprised to see Rawley take the pin to Dillinger, as it had seemed like WWE had something planned for Mojo after his break-up with Zack Ryder a few months ago, but that's clearly not the case anymore. 

Also on the show

- For some reason we got a look at the feud between Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey and Triple H & Stephanie McMahon, despite that having absolutely nothing to do with this PPV. 

- The New Day auditioned to be the host of next year's Nickolodean Kids Choice Awards, only to end up getting gunged by this year's host, John Cena.

- We also got a look at the story between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, despite that match having nothing to do with what was on this show. 

ATPW Scale Rating // 6.32 out of 10

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale

WWE Fastlane 2018 Preview

It's the final PPV before WrestleMania XXXIV AND the last SmackDown exclusive PPV of the second brand split...so what have WWE got in store for us with Fastlane 2018 on 11th March? Traditionally, the PPV before WrestleMania has been a bit of a damp squib, often falling victim to a little predictability as the company focuses on getting the building blocks in place for the biggest show of the year. Will this be the case with Fastlane? 

WWE Championship // 

AJ Styles (C) vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin 

Based on last Tuesday's five-way match, featuring everyone but John Cena, this should be a cracking scramble match for the brand's top prize. There's a lot of talent here, with the SmackDown brand spending some time introducing a variety of relationships between the six guys following Royal Rumble in January. Obviously, Styles' feud with Kevin Owens (and then Sami Zayn) has been rumbling for the longest time, but we've seen Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin randomly get inserted into the mix, seemingly flipping between heel and babyface willy nilly. John Cena, of course, has had issues with pretty much everyone in the match at one time or another and after being absent from the match on SmackDown, it will be interesting to see how Cena's participation effects the flow and narrative that's picked for the main event. 

The most interesting element however came to life at the conclusion of SmackDown Live, when Sami Zayn pinned Kevin Owens with a Helluva Kick, after previously promising to lie down for his best friend at the PPV. It's currently unclear how the duo will interact during the match, but there's potential to tell a brilliant story as the two have to contend with four other men in order to get at each other. I'm looking forward to seeing the inverted version of this classic feud and how Kevin Owens does when steadily transitioned into a babyface role, something which he hasn't portrayed since his debut match in NXT. 

For me, it seems pretty clear that we'll have the same WWE Champion when this is all said and done, because AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is the biggest match possible, considering Nakamura has already faced Cena on an episode of SmackDown. The predictability shouldn't be a massive issue if the action is strong and the six men work in a number of number falls along the way, which they are more than capable of. 

WWE SmackDown Women's Championship // 

Charlotte Flair (C) vs. Ruby Riott 

Lets be honest, WWE hasn't done the greatest job of building up Ruby Riott and her Riott Squad since their November and whilst that has improved over the last few weeks, it's difficult to see Riott as a threat to a Charlotte Flair who hasn't lost in singles action since July, especially with WrestleMania just around the corner. The issue between the pair has often felt contrived, whilst we didn't actually find out the reasons behind Riott's dislike for Flair until last Tuesday, so I think it's fair to say that despite it's length, this feud has often felt rushed and poorly thought through. However, both Riott and Flair are quality in the ring and have the potential to show us that on Sunday, if they receive the time and attention. Riott could do with a big performance to keep her in the mix following WrestleMania, whilst Flair still needs that top quality match that has evaded her since moving to SmackDown. 

Flair feels like pretty much a lock to retain, whilst part of me expects Asuka to appear after the match, setting up Asuka vs. Flair at Mania.

WWE United States Championship // 

Bobby Roode (C) vs. Randy Orton 

I'm a little bit worried about this one. As I alluded to in this week's SmackDown Live review, both Bobby Roode and Randy Orton are capable of great wrestling when they're 100% motivated, but also have the potential to put on utterly boring, through the motions wrestling when they're not completely invested in what's going on. If this was simply Roode vs. Orton, then I don't think we'd have a massive problem, especially with a heated issue between the pair, but unfortunately the feud has been built around Jinder Mahal's meddling and the SmackDown Top 10 rankings, with lazy writing and lame ideas. It would seem obvious that Mahal will be involved in this match in one way or another, possibly setting up a three way at WrestleMania (despite the Orton vs. Roode match having much more of a big time feel) and if that's the case I'd expect Orton and Roode to plod through this one and tread water until the interference. I'm hopeful that we get the match that both are capable of in the right environment, but I certainly won't be surprised if that isn't the case. 

This could go either way, but it would seem like Roode is the more likely to win because he's not held the title all that long.

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship // 

The Usos (C) vs. The New Day 

This bout has the potential to steal the show as The Usos and The New Day renew their rivalry that was one of the highlights of last year. These two teams know each other very well and a have a rich history to draw upon to bring extra depth to this tag clash. A slight change to their original programme, as it appears that Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are transitioning back towards a heel role for the first time since the start of 2016, highlighted by both a cheap win over Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable and a fiery promo from Big E two weeks ago on SmackDown. How that change plays into the contest and what it allows the four (or five) to do creatively should be fascinating to watch unfold. Whether the two teams can top their matches at Hell in a Cell and SummerSlam Kick-Off, I'm not sure, but what am sure of is that they're going to give it a go and leave it all out there.

I'm picking the Usos to retain, because I feel like Jimmy & Jey vs. The Bludgeon Brothers is the most intriguing bout that SD tag division has for WrestleMania.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev 

Whilst this is one is a forgone conclusion match, with their being absolutely no chance that WWE would have Nakamura lose before getting a title shot at WrestleMania, there's still potential for an entertaining match here with Rusev. After disappointing matches with John Cena and Randy Orton last year, as well as an even more disappointing squash loss to The Big Show, Rusev needs to show that his in-ring work is up to his entertaining mic and character work, whilst Nakamura also could do with a good match after failing to show what he is truly capable of since switching to SmackDown from NXT last April. Their styles should match well with lots of heavy striking and submission wrestling that has the potential to produce a very good match if both turn up, whilst the crowd should produce a atmosphere conducive to great wrestling considering both men are still extremely popular right now. 

Obviously, Nakkers wins.  

Becky Lynch & Naomi vs. Natalya & Carmella 

Scrambled together on SmackDown this week, we have this absolutely nothing tag team match. I'm all for having a second (or third or fourth or whatever) women's match on the card, but I would've liked to have seen one with anything resembling a build. Becky Lynch and Naomi have mostly been feuding with the Riott Squad and helping out Charlotte Flair lately, but WWE decided to go with a random Becky Lynch vs. Carmella match on SmackDown and then chuck together this match with a backstage segment. There's talent here to do an enjoyable match, but I've been given no reason whatsoever to care about this and there's very little chance that this won't come off as absolute filler. 

I'm not sure it matters who wins, but seeing as I've gone all-babyface so far, lets say Natalya & Carmella win this, for reasons.

Six matches doesn't seem enough for a full PPV and pre-show, so expect potential appearances from any of Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin, The Bludgeon Brothers, Breezango, Tye Dillinger, Zack Ryder, The Ascension or Mojo Rawley to beef up the card.

WWE SmackDown Live Review // 6th March 2018

This week's SmackDown Live was the go-home episode for Fastlane and saw the final piece of build for the Six-Pack Challenge for the WWE Championship act as the main story. WWE Champion AJ Styles was originally scheduled to face Dolph Ziggler in the main event, but the pair would eventually find themselves in a show-closing teaser Fatal Five-way match as Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin joined the fray. But how did it all go down in Green Bay? Lets take a look! 

Commentary - Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves & Bobby Roode
Ring Announcer - Greg Hamilton
Interviewers - Dasha Fuentes

AJ Styles & Dolph Ziggler segment 

Before the segment - - Sami Zayn repeated his pledge to lie down for Kevin Owens in the six-pack challenge at Fastlane, whilst it was more than hinted at that there were underlying issues between the pair - Baron Corbin cut a handheld promo promising to put a stop to John Cena's Road to WrestleMania, referencing their rivalry from last summer as the reason. 

Leading into their match, AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler clashed on the microphone in a solid segment that added depth to their bout, as well as clearing up their relationship ahead of the Six-pack challenge. Styles initial promo was decent, as he addressed John Cena's points from RAW, discussing how much he and the fans wanted to see Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania, letting us know he was "fighting for us". The content was a little cheesy, but Styles managed to just about make it work. Where the segment picked up was once Ziggler made his entrance and cut a passionate promo on Styles and the WWE Universe. It went over some old ground as Ziggler discussed his Money in the Bank cash-in and his love/hate relationship with the audience, but his stuff trying to warn Styles against relying on the crowd was well-reasoned. The Show-Off discussing never having a singles match at WrestleMania almost certainly came from a real place of frustration as there's no chance that Nick Nemeth is happy with his highest profile Mania bout including Snooki. All this lead to the match between the pair that had been scheduled for the main event happening straight away after Styles laid down the challenge. 

AJ Styles vs. Dolph Ziggler

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn would eventually get involved in this one causing the DQ, which is always going to feel like a letdown, but Ziggler and Styles still had about twelve minutes of television time to put on their match. For me, considering the pair had just had a heated exchange on the microphone, the match had a surprising lack of intensity, with portions of the match feeling a little flat. The two bought a sense of urgency with a couple of finisher attempts, but whilst the next sequence of amateur style wrestling was lovely, it went against the initial immediate feel. Elsewhere there was a nice spot with Ziggler knocking Styles off the apron with a hip attack, alongside Styles' gorgeous Phenomenal Blitz strike combination, before the two had a really well-done back and forth sequence, featuring various signature move attempts being smoothly reversed, before Ziggler blocked a superkick by swinging Styles' leg onto the middle rope and hitting a ZigZag for a good near fall. This is where Owens & Zayn joined proceedings, meaning the 4th TV bout between Styles and Ziggler was left without a winner.

After the match - With Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn putting the boots to AJ Styles & Dolph Ziggler, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon made an appearance to book the four in Fatal Five-Way also including Baron Corbin to happen straight-away.

AJ Styles vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin 

A very good main event this week, concluded with a shocking victory for Sami Zayn after he nailed his best friend Kevin Owens with a Helluva Kick for the pinfall and a shit-tonne of momentum heading into the WWE Championship match at Fastlane. The five-way was a good advertisement for the six-pack challenge on Sunday with the five men putting in a great effort in a well-structured multi-man collision. This included Baron Corbin dominating, which made sense with the Lone Wolf being the freshest man in the match, whilst Owens & Zayn also controlled portions of the contest through teamwork. With the WWE Champion spending most of the match as sweeper, breaking up pinfalls, the bout introduced an interesting concept that could provide some dramatic moments come Sunday. The action was fast-paced throughout with a number of sequences involving multiple competitors going back and forth, including a one in, one out section that lead into the advert break, a cute sequence in the turnbuckles with Ziggler, Zayn and Corbin that concluded with a Blue Thunder Bomb near fall for Zayn on Ziggler and Owens flying into a Deep Six from Corbin. The finish was lovely stuff, with a good sense of energy and movement, bringing up Styles' sweep as role, as he set-up for a Phenomenal Forearm, only to have to fight off Corbin and Ziggler, before Owens knocked the champion off the apron and found himself in the perfect position for a surprise boot to the face from Zayn for the pin. With John Cena added to the mix on Sunday, it will be interesting to see how the lads use this match and build upon it to create a higher level bout and how each competitor comes out with just four more SmackDown's before WrestleMania.

After the match - Sami Zayn spoke about why he turned on Kevin Owens, with the former NXT Champion launching into an angry speech about being overlooked and the victory proving that he was the best.

Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal (with Sunil Singh)

In a poor match, Jinder Mahal got another victory over Randy Orton, putting away the 9 time WWE Champion with the Khallas, after Bobby Roode attempted to get involved from his position on commentary. Seriously, this was not good at all, with mostly dull plodding action during the ad-break, being followed up by an Orton comeback sequence that saw Mahal struggle taking almost every single move, with Orton's inverted headlock backbreaker looking particularly weak. The fact that these two have had 23 matches since May 2017 on TV and live events and are still putting on matches this sloppy makes Mahal's WWE title run even more baffling. To his credit, Orton at least tried to bring some intensity to the bout later on, attempting to get the crowd into the match and firing up, but it wasn't enough to save this. The highlight was Sunil Singh reprising his ridiculous release backdrop driver spot on the announce table, before some generic guest commentary spots resulted in Roode distracting Orton by trying to get in the ring for the finish. Orton vs. Roode has potential at Fastlane, but if both are unmotivated and tread water before a Jinder Mahal interference spot then it could end up being an insomniacs dream. 

Becky Lynch vs. "Ms. Money in the Bank" Carmella

Before the match - From last week on WWE.com, Becky Lynch asked Twitter if they wanted to see her face Carmella as the pair sat with Natalya in the lockerroom. 

Carmella continued to have no win since the start of October, as she tapped to Becky Lynch's Disarmer in a short but fun contest. Whilst the booking of Ms. Money in the Bank continues to leave a lot to be desired, this match (Mella's first televised singles match in 2018) was much better than I had expecting it to be, with Carmella showing off a range of impressive offence in a bout that was dominated by the Princess of Staten Island. The turnbuckle handstand frankensteiner looked lovely, whilst Carmella also did a sound job of getting the crowd involved in what felt like a throwaway bout, with some hair pulling on the outside before some smack talk with ringside. A superkick near fall with a foot on the ropes was followed by nice little sequence, that whilst it could have been smoother, had a number of nice ideas and resulted in Lynch rolling through into the Disarmer for the submission victory. The finish was mildly spoiled by referee Mike Chioda loudly calling "One minute", precisely one minute before the tap out! 

After the match - After Natalya mouthed off backstage, Naomi challenged the Queen of Harts and Carmella to tag team match against her and Becky Lynch on Sunday.

Charlotte Flair, Riott Squad & Bobby Roode segment

It was wonderful to actually hear the women speak on this episodes, after weeks and weeks of paper-thin storyline and repetitive matches. We finally got to find out what the Riott Squad was all about as we got some Storytime with Ruby Riott as the former AAW star put in a solid performance on the mic, letting us know that the Riott Squad was originally formed to take down Flair, because of some perceived myth surrounding her. Flair's promo, however well performed, felt misguided as she talked about the struggles of having a famous father and how "I have to be transcendent". As a heel promo (with a few tweaks) it actually would've worked pretty well, as Flair came across as a little entitled and the word "transcendent" isn't particularly one you'd expect from a babyface when talking about themselves. Riott closed with a fairly generic sounding "You're just going to be another bleached blonde failure with a famous last name" line, before United States Champion Bobby Roode's entrance was enough to stop Riott, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan from circling Flair, in a nice nod to their Mixed Match Challenge partnership. Whilst the feud still doesn't have the depth it could've needed heading into the PPV, Flair vs. Riott has potential to produce some top level action on Sunday if given the chance. 

Also this week

- A superb hype package looking at the history of The Usos and The New Day, using last week's fire promos from the two teams. 

- Rusev challenged Shinsuke Nakamura to a match at Fastlane in another entertaining performing from the Bulgarian Brute, as he compared Aiden English to Billy Joel, before Nakkers warmed up his pipes to sing "Nakamura Day". 

- We saw a cameraman fall over in the snow, what a dork. 

ATPW Scale Rating // 4.88 out of 10 

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale