WWE SmackDown Live Review // 23rd January 2018 // AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens then Sami Zayn

This week's SmackDown Live came to us from Washington, D.C., the same city that bought us Battleground 2016 and Backlash 2000! It was also the go-home edition before one of WWE's biggest shows of the year, the Royal Rumble, so it had to be good? Right? 

At a Glimpse 

- WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens then Sami Zayn 
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin 
- Appearances from: Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, The New Day, Shelton Benjamin and Natalya

AJ Styles def. Kevin Owens // Submission 

then...

Sami Zayn def. AJ Styles // Pinfall

Lets with some positivity here, because I'm aware I can be a grumpy fucker at times. The match between AJ Styles and Sami Zayn was a bloody good television contest, featuring some world-class exchanges between two of the smoothest wrestlers around today. Driven by Zayn having to attack Styles to break up a Calf Crusher on Kevin Owens, the bout had energy, especially in the final third. The gear change bought a series of exciting exchanges, with seemingly flowing like water at points, as the two went back and forth at pace in action that wouldn't have looked out of place on a PPV. The two also deserve commendation for their selling throughout the match, whether that be of the effect of the physical action and big moves, the frustration of not being able to put their opponent away and the dislike they shared for each other, it all came across clearly and gave depth to what could have been another throwaway clash.  

So onto some negativity, because there were a couple of things to moan about here. The main thing is that it is very difficult to work out who is supposed to be the villain within this storyline. Styles holding onto the Calf Crusher after squashing Owens made sense, the Phenomenal One looking to gain some kind of advantage for Sunday's Handicap match, whilst also offering up a potential get out of jail card for Owens when his team takes a loss at the PPV. Yet, having Styles repeatedly assault KO when he was being seen to by medical staff, including pushing him off a stretcher, seemed out of character and almost uncomfortable to watch. This being added to Styles initially asking for the handicap match and then asking to face Zayn and Owens back to back, only to try and get out of both matches, creates even more of a grey area. Surely, a top babyface is supposed to be a man of his words and certainly shouldn't be one to backpedal on a challenge? Add Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan's ambiguous storyline into the mix and you've got even more of a mess of a storyline, where I've got no idea who I'm supposed to be getting behind.

The segment that set up the main event was the weakest part of the whole affair. Kicking off the show, this was bloated, sluggish and unnecessarily long for what should have been an easy set-up. There really was no need for this segment to go on for almost fifteen minutes and it only served to put on spotlight on the distinct lack of chemistry between AJ Styles and his two current rivals. If it wasn't clear in the summer of 2017 that Owens and Styles have no connection as rivals, either on the mic or in the ring, then it's become blindingly obvious at the start of 2018. I'm not sure what it is, but things weren't helped by a number of long pauses where it appeared as it someone had forgotten their line. All three men are talented performers but are being under-served by the creative right now. To end on some positivity, I am loving the relationship between Owens and Zayn at the moment and the attention to detail that the pair have been putting into their characters and body language.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Baron Corbin // Disqualification

A good semi-main event match here, that I was close to calling one of Baron Corbin's best until the Disqualification finish. Corbin wanting to walk out so early in the match was a little lame, but once we got past that, Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura put together some strong quality action. There were a couple of lovely sequences here with The Lone Wolf blocking a Kinshasa with Deep Six and Nakker's beautiful counter of End of Days into a rolling cross-armbreaker particularly standing out. The attack from Randy Orton just as the match was heating up could have been a little dissapointing, but seeing Orton fly from one side of the screen to the other and nailing an RKO on Nakamura was a great piece of television that I didn't see coming. The follow up RKO to Corbin was a nice little piece of set-up for the Rumble. The fact that Orton and Nakamura have been teaming up a lot recently got over the every man for himself element of the upcoming bout and it will be interesting to see if we get any further interaction between the two on the road to WrestleMania. 

Kofi Kingston & Bobby Roode & Xavier Woods def. Rusev & Jinder Mahal & Aiden English // Pinfall 

A fun six man tag match here, which felt mostly like it was about mixing the signature characteristics of New Day and Bobby Roode. The promo before the match was a good example of this, with the New Day trio combining with the new United States Champion for a humorous few minutes, including a cute build-up to Roode's "Glorious" catch-phrase. This continued into the match as after a Kingston face-in-peril run, it was straight into a fiery Roode hot tag and breakdown stretch, that concluded with a quad-ripping spinebuster of doooooomahhh and Wood's Home Run to English for the win. It was a shame that Rusev, Jinder Mahal and Aiden English felt a little like afterthoughts here, as they had a lot more to offer than being here to put over Kingston, Roode and Woods and with a little more time or tighter blocking could've offered up a match that would've remained a little longer in the memory.

Chad Gable def. Jey Uso // Pinfall 

I like Chad Gable and I like Jey Uso, but this one way exceeded my expectations. Often these singles matches featuring two members of tag teams that are facing each other at the next PPV are relatively pointless exercises featuring some interference and a mild stare down, but this was actually a really good TV opener. During the break we were treated to some split-screen action that was mostly Gable working over Uso's arm and shoulder with different holds and strikes, which was followed up on after the break with Uso selling the injury for all the it was worth. Whilst it didn't play into the match here, it would make a lot of sense to carry the injury over to the 2/3 Falls match at the Rumble and base the story of that bout around the injury. The rest of the bout included some lovely tease and build to an Uso suicide dive and a sublime closing sequence with both men going back and forth before Gable was able to hit Chaos Theory to pick up only his second TV singles match victory.

Naomi def. Liv Morgan // Pinfall 

Because Women's wrestling is so important to WWE and not at all just a way of making Stephanie McMahon look good anytime she makes a major announcement, the only women's segment on the show received the least amount of time. The match itself featured very little of note, but had a good physicality behind it and featured a cool variation on the double stomp from Morgan. After Naomi picked up her first singles win since dropped the SmackDown Women's title at SummerSlam (yes her first win since AUGUST!) with a Sunset flip, things descended into general Royal Rumble build with the rest of the division (Natalya, Lana, Tamina, Carmella, Sarah Logan and Ruby Riott) taking turns to hit moves and throw each other over the top rope. The only interesting moment came when Becky Lynch attempted to chuck her pal Naomi over the top rope, only for Naomi to land on the apron, before they looked at each other awkwardly. Charlotte Flair headed out to close the segment with a promo about how it didn't matter who won the Rumble, because she'd beat the shit out of them at WrestleMania anyway or something like that. The build to the Women's Royal Rumble has been dire.

Also

A highlight pack of RAW 25, set to Fall Out Boy's My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark, makes the show looks much more exciting that it actually was...Tye Dillinger discussed his entry in the Royal Rumble...

Finally...

Overall, I found a lot to enjoy on this week's SmackDown, especially when it came to the in-ring action. I still can't get my head around the main storyline, but the wrestling portion of Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles was very good, whilst Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin, the six man tag and Jey Uso vs. Chad Gable all featured some stellar wrestling at points and didn't outstay their welcome. The development for the Women's division is something desperately needs to improve as I still couldn't tell you what the Riott Squad are supposed to be or why WWE thought they'd put enough time and effort into the division to warrant holding a Women's Royal Rumble. 

WWE Battleground 2014 DVD Review

WWE Battleground 2014 is out on DVD and Blu-Ray now, available from www.wwedvd.co.uk. Broadcast live on Pay-per-View (and the WWE Network) from the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, USA on 20th July 2014, the show features a Two Out of Three Falls bout between The Usos and The Wyatt Family's Luke Harper and Erick Rowan for the WWE Tag Team Championship, John Cena defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Kane in a Fatal Four-way bout, a returning Chris Jericho taking on Bray Wyatt and three other matches. The special features include two additional matches from Battleground Kick-Off, two interviews from Battleground Fallout and a Home Video Exclusive interview.

Pay-Per-View

The opening contest is the longest and strongest of the evening, as The Usos and The Wyatt Family's Luke Harper and Erick Rowan go at it in a Two out of Three Falls match. It's a well structured and exciting effort from the four, that has the Tampa Bay Times Forum eating out of the palm of their hands throughout. Harper and Jey especially put in a shift, crafting a slick and hectic sequence, laced with dramatic near falls that builds well towards the finish. It's a shame that nothing following this match manages to garner the same reaction from the crowd. 

Whilst predictable, the World Heavyweight Championship Fatal Fourway is entertaining enough, as John Cena, Roman Reigns, Kane and Randy Orton battling it out. It's most notable for how comfortable Reigns looks when in this World Heavyweight Championship situation and the potential that a match with Cena down the line could hold. On the flip side, Bray Wyatt and Chris Jericho's match stands as one of the biggest disappointments of 2014. A damp squib of a feud, leads to a dull and unimaginative encounter here.

A battle royal for the vacant Intercontinental Championship has enough thrills and spills to keep the attention, especially once some of the deadwood is eliminated. Rusev continues to impress in a decent heavyweight encounter with Jack Swagger, his selling is particularly impressive here. Unfortunately, Paige and AJ Lee struggle to live up to hype, letting down the undercard, in a botch laden encounter, with a rather confusing heel/face divide. 

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins don't get around to having their advertised match on this show. Instead there are a series of brawls between the two placed throughout, with Ambrose and Rollins working hard to create a believable feud that had me hooked throughout. These segments make me want to see them get their opportunity to fight each other even more. Other segments, include an awkward backstage skit with Orton and Kane to build to the World Heavyweight Championship match, Renee Young introducing a Kick-Off panel featuring Booker T, Christian and Alex Riley to give their predictions on the same match and a slightly random appearance from Stardust and Goldust.

Special Features

The special features offer, not one but, two matches from the Battleground Kick-Off show. Oh the joys. Fandango tangles with Adam Rose in a match that happened, as well as Cameron and Naomi putting on a piss poor display, as The Funkadactyls explode! Two interviews from Renee Young from the Battleground Fallout show are much more entertaining, as The Usos and John Cena both make light work of the Post match promos. The Miz is also impressive in a post-match interview with Tom Phillips, which is a Home Video Exclusive.

Finally...

This is clearly a bridge PPV, everything that happens here is to set up for SummerSlam the month after, meaning that you probably won't miss this DVD if you chose not to purchase it. The tag match and the Fatal Fourway are both worth watching in their own right, but I think this DVD would have been much better off in as part of a double set with SummerSlam. Maybe that's something for WWE Home Video to look into in the future? 

WWE Raw 2nd June 2014 Review - The Shield No More

It's been quite a while since we've had a Raw review up on Across The Pond, and what a one to return on! Hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more content popping up over the next few months, I've got a few things planned that should keep you all coming back here for more. Keep checking back to site and remember to follow us on Twitter @ATPWrestling and like us on Facebook.

It's the Raw after Payback, where we saw The Shield topple Evolution in a No Holds Barred Elimination clash, John Cena end up the Last Man Standing against Bray Wyatt and Brie Bella quit her job to allow Daniel Bryan to hold onto the World Heavyweight Championship for a bit longer, so it's gonna be a good one, right?

Batista Quits and Rollins goes Rogue

The 1097th episode of WWE Raw kicked off with Big Dave Batista "quitting" Evolution and the WWE. Essentially, Triple H wanted to keep fighting The Shield, but Batista was tired of getting his arse kicked, so felt he deserved a World Heavyweight title bout for reasons unknown, Triple H said no, so Batista pissed right off. It was an intriguing start to proceedings, with Triple H continuing to produce some sound mic work, whilst Randy Orton stood around not wearing any trousers. Obviously, Batista is off to shill Guardians of the Galaxy for a few months, when he'll be back I do not know, and how WWE will bring him back after having him job left right and centre during his last run, I don't think anyone knows. 

Randy Orton's trouserless antics continued as he was interviewed by Renee Young (supposedly still without shoes), in the backstage area. Orton actually spoke, revealing he was on the same page as Triple H and would prove so by battling Roman Reigns later on in the evening. The announcement got a decent pop, which is all you could really want from this segment. 

Before the bout could get underway, The Shield hit the microphone each delivering short promos about the previous night. Titty Master hit all the right notes with his, oozing cool, it's difficult to look at anything else whilst Ambrose is on screen. Seth Rollins delivered a nuanced performance, which when watched in hindsight delivers more than few hints as to what's to come, including a curious little laugh. Roman Reigns worked nicely as the exclamation point on the promo, calling out Orton and getting the crowd hyped for the main event. 

Of course, it was a main event that would never happen, as after Triple H proclaimed there was always a plan B, before Seth Rollins twatted Reigns with a steel chair, as Ambrose looked on doing his best impression of Shocked Undertaker Guy. Rollins and Orton then took out The Shield with Rollins hitting Ambrose with a Curb Stomp on the chair, whilst Orton hit an RKO on Reigns also onto the chair. With the show close with Rollins standing alongside Triple H and Randy Orton it was clear that a major Raw moment, it's a shame the crowd decided not to supply any heat, as there wasn't much more WWE could have done here. Personally, I think it was the right time to break up The Shield as there wasn't much more for the group to do at this time, I will however reserve judgment on the Rollins and Evolution partnership until it get's explained a little more. 

The Usos take on Harper & Rowan in Tag Team Action

The biggest bout that did get to take place this week was a tag team contest between Tag Champions The Usos and The Wyatt Family's Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. This was following on from the two teams involvment in John Cena and Bray Wyatt's Last Man Standing bout at Payback, with all four men putting on sterling performances in that bout. Both side got to speak before the match, with Luke Harper cutting a mysterious and captivating promo in the Wyatt Family's usual setting, this time without Bray Wyatt. It was certainly the right decision to keep Wyatt off the show to sell his injuries from the previous night, just a shame that they advertised him for Smackdown later on in the week. 

The Usos got their chance to talk when interviewed by Byron Saxton in the locker room. Both did a good job of their promos, building the hype to the match, as well as presenting a few story points for them to use later in the match. Both having been getting a lot more mic time recently alongside John Cena and they seem to be coming into their own with that aspect of their game, with the added mic time allowing them to develop their characters as well as make their matches seem more important. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this match, with the teams given enough time to really show us what they can do. The psychology throughout the bout was sound with Harper and Rowan focusing on Jimmy Uso's injured ribs, presented with the obligatory white tape, with Jimmy grabbing the ribs at any relevant opportunity. The Usos early offence was impressive, with their strikes really on-point, it's something I haven't noticed about the team before. The standout moment of the match for me, followed on from a series of dives to the outside, including a Suicide Dive from Harper and sweet cannon ball type thingy from Jimmy (he even sold the ribs after, top man), with Harper lining up Jey for a Discus Clothesline, he walked straight into a Super Kick for a lovely false finish. After a few quick pin attempts, it was Erick Rowan who picked up the victory for his team with a High-Collar Slam. No complaints from me here, The Usos looked competitive enough that they weren't hurt by the loss and it sets up a rematch for the title down the line. All good stuff.

It was fantastic to see tag team wrestling focused on so heavily on Raw, showing how far the division and especially The Usos have come in the last year or so. Both teams looked like stars, with both their promos and the match. I'd imagine we'll see the two teams face off again, hopefully at the Money in the Bank PPV with the titles on the line. 

Stephanie addresses World Heavyweight Title Picture & Cena goes all Hulk Hogan

At the top of the first hour, Stephanie McMahon was out to address the situation regarding the World Heavyweight title, as well as Brie Bella slapping her in the face the previous night. After quickly dismissing Brie, fairly nonchalantly, Steph revealed Daniel Bryan would defend the title against Kane in a Stretcher Match at the Money in the Bank PPV, that's if he's able to compete. If not the title will be vacated and placed on the line in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match instead. It's clear that Bryan's recovery is taking longer than WWE had hoped for, and it would be a real shame if he had to drop the title in such a fashion, especially after having so much momentum heading out of WrestleMania XXX. 

With Stephanie berating the crowd for still chanting "YES!" for Bryan, out came John Cena. Cena looked fresh as a daisy following his Last Man Standing bout the following night, because it would be ridiculous for him to sell it any longer than a few minutes. Cena took to the bat for Bryan, reminiscent of Hulk Hogan's defence of other babyfaces, such as Ultimate Warrior or Bret Hart, during his reign at the top of the WWE. Cena ran down Steph, made jokes about her ample breasts and said Bryan was too scared to vacate the title. I didn't like this at all, firstly it's difficult to not agree with Stephanie about Bryan vacating the title, especially when she mentions the old 30 day defence the rule and secondly it made Bryan look like someone who couldn't fight his own battles. Once again the World Heavyweight Champion was playing second fiddle to Mr. Cena.

For his disobedience, Cena earned himself a match with "The Demon" Kane. Why Cena should've given a shit, considering Kane has never defeated him in their four previous TV bouts. The match was quick over in three minutes, with Kane getting himself disqualified for beating on Cena too long in the corner. Beyond a brief Cena comeback, there really wasn't much to this one. After the bout, Kane attempted to Tombstone Piledrive Cena on the steel steps, only to get pushed into the ringpost and then get twatted with the steps himself. It was another baffling decision to leave the supposed Number One contender lying on the floor, and once again hurt Daniel Bryan after he was unable to fight off a similar attack three weeks ago. Kane smashing up the ringside area didn't rescue the segment either, making the supposed "Demon" look more like a spoilt child. 

I've had some time to think about this whole thing and it certainly feels like WWE are edging their bets when it comes to the WWE title. With Daniel Bryan's recovery time unknown, if they have to vacate the World title, John Cena would have be a front runner to win the belt in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, being a safe pair of hands, whilst they re-evaluate the situation, and with the second biggest PPV of the year not too far away, they'll want a big name to be holding onto the title, rather than risking an unknown entity holding the belt. However, they need to be careful with the way they are presenting Kane, because if Bryan can defend, Kane needs to look like a viable contender, which at the moment he certainly doesn't.

Intercontinental and United States Champions clash in Tag Action

In a rough and tumble tag team bout Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett clashed with United States Champion Sheamus, with their partners being Cesaro and Rob Van Dam respectively. The highlight of this match for me was Cesaro's manager Paul Heyman joining the commentary, it's always a pleasure to listen to Heyman and he actually managed to get the commentary team talking about the match. The bout was decent, with basic tag team psychology and the brawling style of Sheamus once again working well when paired opposite Barrett and Cesaro. The bout was let down whenever Van Dam was in the ring, however, as both his offence and defence looked sloppy throughout. I enjoyed the finish, as the live crowd seemed very into the action, with it setting up two potential championship rematches, whilst also teasing tension between Cesaro and Barrett for a potential bout in the future.

Rob Van Dam got a shot at Barrett's Intercontinental Championship the next night on Main Event (I haven't seen it yet!), which is clearly why he picked up the pin on the champ in this one. I can only imagine Barrett retains, and whilst I'm happy this feud looks to be coming to a close, it has helped Barrett get off to a good start with his title reign. Cesaro and Sheamus seem like their feud has a little more legs, I'd be up for a rematch between the two at Money in the Bank, perhaps with a stipulation, allowing Cesaro to take the title and continue his charge up the WWE ranks. Certainly both the Intercontinental and United States titles have looked more valuable in recent months, hopefully this focus continues.

Cody presents Goldust with Sin Cara-Shaped Albatross

In a strange twist, Cody Rhodes hand-picked a new tag team partner for his brother, for some bizarre reason picking Sin Cara to take on RybAxel. Why Rhodes picked Cara, last seen losing to Bo Dallas on Raw and Smackdown, is anyone's guess. The match did the job it needed to do, keeping it short and developing the story between Goldust and Cody, as of course Sin Cara did the honours for Curtis Axel. RybAxel continue to improve as a tag team, and becoming enjoyable to watch in the ring, it's certainly been my favourite run that either man has had in WWE to date. 

Hopefully, the storyline with Cody and Goldust gains some traction soon, as whilst the slow burn build has been enjoyable, it really is time to kick this one into the next gear. A bout between the two at SummerSlam could be on the cards, with hopefully Rhodes getting a major push heading out of the event, after last year's bout with former tag partner Damien Sandow failed to help either man reach the next level. If this doesn't work for Cody, then it may be his last chance, he has all the talent to become a strong upper midcard guy, being capable as both heel and face, but seems to hit a wall anytime he get's close.

The Exotic Express Rolls On

Adam Rose and his Exotic Express rolled into Raw to face Jack Swagger. Before the bout Zeb Colter got on the mic, and cut a promo essentially calling for the unemployed to be deported or put in prison. This character has literally gone bat shit cray. This match saw a Rookie beat a former World Heavyweight Champion and none of the commentators could be bothered to mention that! For what it's worth this was fun bout and everything inside the ring looked pretty crisp, Adam Rose still isn't quite as over as many had hoped but it's still early days in his WWE run, so I'm still holding on to my metaphorical horses.

Nikki Bella feels the Wrath of McMahon

As punishment for sharing the same DNA as Brie, Stephanie McMahon punished Nikki Bella by placing her in a Handicap Match against FoxSana. This would have been good storyline development, however I couldn't give a flying Fox about Nikki Bella, therefore her taking a beating for a few minutes simply made me want to do anything else. Alicia Fox's character continues to develop nicely and Aksana is still shite. Where was Paige? Shouldn't the Diva's Champion feature in some fashion on the show? Especially after they shot an angle with Cameron following Payback.

Ziggler and Del Rio Have Another Match

In their 16th televised singles match, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio battled for a chance to compete in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Essentially, this was a condensed version of some of their longer matches, Del Rio worked the arm, Ziggler got a comeback with some high spots including a Super X-Factor, before Del Rio locked in the Cross Armbreaker for the win. Both men seemed to be going through the motions and there wasn't really anything new here, so whilst there wasn't anything particularly wrong with it, it failed to hold my attention. Ziggler must've done something pretty bad to piss off WWE managment, as he's clearly over with the audience and could have been an asset in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

Shenanigans (and Midgets)

Los Matadores and 3MB continued their feud, with another bizarre encounter as Diego and Fernando partnered against Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre. Hornswoggle wore a wig, El Torito stole the wig, Hornswoggle fell over as he attempted run away to hide his hideous barnet, El Torito did a funky dance with the wig on. At some point, Los Matadores picked up the win. Ole! 

Big Show punches a chap

An awkward piece of filler, Damien Sandow donned a Basketball jersey and pretended to be Lance Stephenson. Who Lance Stephenson is I have no idea. After getting a pretty decent amount of cheap heat for saying some bad stuff about Indiana, Sandow got knocked out by Big Show, because why not? It's really not been a great time for Show lately, has it? I guess Creative has run out of ideas for the Giant. 

Rusev Earns Gold Star

The push of Rusev continued as this week he earned a gold star from Putin. I have to be honest, this segment did absolutely nothing for me, as absolutely nothing happened! It doesn't make me angry that Rusev is Russian or is Bulgarian or whatever he is, I'm not too fussed that Lana doesn't like America, I'm more fussed about her appalling Russian accent. It did garner a fair amount of heat though, but maybe that says more about America than it does about Rusev

Bo Doubt About It

With a little set up for this one from the following the night, Dallas got some mic time for cheap heat. Essentially an enhancement bout for Dallas, allowing lots of time for the audience to get to know the character and see what he can do in the ring, Kingston also pulled out some nice looking, high flying action during the match. It was a shame that the commentators didn't make a bigger deal of Dallas beating a 4 time Intercontinental Champion in just over four minutes, as that would have made the victory feel more important than Michael Cole's "And Bo Dallas wins again" line. I'm looking forward to seeing the continued development of Dallas over the next year or so, and at the age of only 24 he could be around for some time.

Finally...

In closing, this wasn't the greatest Raw we've seen heading out of a PPV. Whilst Batista leaving and Rollins turning on The Shield book ended the show nicely, and The Usos, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan put on a solid tag team outing, a lot of the show felt like filler. It's clear that WWE has a strong focus on new talent at the moment, as they continue to build the likes of Adam Rose, Rusev and Bo Dallas, so it's a case of having a bit of patience in some cases. Meanwhile, the World Heavyweight title picture needs sorting out as soon as possible, as edging their bets with two possible matches harmed the presentation of the Kane and John Cena segment. I'd like to see a decision made on whether Daniel Bryan will be able to compete sooner rather than later.

WWE Main Event 25th September 2013 Review

This week's Main Event was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Whilst the action in the ring was solid throughout the show, there wasn't really anything that made me sit up and take notice, and on paper there wasn't anything that anyone would particularly go out of their way to see.

Justin Gabriel 

vs. 

Intercontinental Champion 

Curtis Axel 

with Paul Heyman

This bout went on last and was by far the most interesting of any of the matches on the show. Justin Gabriel has been getting some what of a push recently, as part of the group of wrestlers standing up for Daniel Bryan. Even if that push has been mainly so he can used as fodder for The Shield he has been featured in main event slots on both Raw and Smackdown and has become prominent on both shows, a lot more than what he was getting a few months ago. Therefore, I was intrigued to see how competitive he was in this bout with Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel and how long the match got, as the show, has generally been used to test out talent before giving them a stronger role on the two main television show.

The match started slowly, with Axel dominating, I found it really hard to get into at this point. Whilst Axel's technical skills are sound, and it did make storyline sense for him to work over Gabriel, there was no interaction with the audience. Whilst Paul Heyman generates heat from just being at ringside, Axel himself really needs to start stepping things up with his crowd interaction, if he really wants to get taken seriously. The strongest part of the earlier part of the match was a nice series of roll ups and pin variations from Gabriel, which were well executed with Gabriel even managing to correct an earlier botch at one point, but it still wasn't enough to make me think Gabriel was going to pick up the win.

There was, however a really nice near fall for Gabriel heading towards the conclusion of the match. Axel attempted the Running One-Armed Swinging Neckbreaker, which Gabriel slipped out of delivering a swift Roundhouse Kick to the head, before hitting a springboard Moonsault off the top rope for a two count, the swiftness of the delivery felt like it could easily have finished off the match and was the first moment that really got me interested in what I was watching, with Paul Heyman's reaction on the outside really selling the moment for me. The finish saw Gabriel closing in on victory, attempting to get Axel to re-enter the ring, only for Axel to pull Gabriel into the ring ropes allowing the Intercontinental Champion to slide into the ring and hit the Hangman's Facebuster to pick up the pinfall victory. It was a decent enough finish, it wasn't anything special but it did it's job here, in allowing Axel to look credible in the ring.

So, how did Justin Gabriel do in this one? Given as this match was of a decent length, in fact if it's longest he's had on WWE television, with only a couple of NXT battles with Tyson Kidd coming close, so it's the best look we and WWE have had at Gabriel when the lights are on bright. I really like Gabriel in the ring, I think he's capable of putting on some really watchable and exciting matches, and at times we saw flashes off it in this one, with the false finish being really well worked by the Cape Town Werewolf. He could potentially be moved into a spot higher up on the card, possibly even have runs with the United States Championship (we've seen him get a couple of shots at that title on PPV), but I just can't see him moving further up than that, or past the “good little hand” stereotype. Maybe it's because he hasn't been in real feud since his day's in Nexus, but he just doesn't seem to have enough about him, the It Factor if you will, that would capapult him into a more important role for the company.

Best of the Rest (In The World)

Elsewhere on the show, the number one contenders to the Tag Team Championships The Usos were put up against the bizarre pairing of Fandango and Big E Langston, who were accompanied by Summer Rae. On paper, the team of Fandango and Big E Langston sounds atrocious, but for this one match they were fairly entertaining. The story running throughout the match, was the way the two teams operated, with The Usos sticking to the team work that they have become known for, whilst Fandango & Langston would use blind tags with Langston doing the majority of the work on one of The Usos, before Fandango would tag back in. There was some nice spots, such as Langston catching an Usos in mid air on the outside, only to be taken out by another flying for inside the ring. At times, Fandango didn't look particularly interested in this one, and never really got going in the way we've come to expect of him, with a dodgy looking suplex that could have easily injured Uso.

The finish saw The Usos begin to get rolling, with Fandango feigning a leg injury on the outside of the ring, The Usos managed to get a tag before, Langston could gain any momentum from the distraction and the Superkick/Superfly Splash combination got them the win. I'm not too sure about this ending, whilst The Usos worked it well, seeing Langston go down in such a situation doesn't exactly help his monster character that has barely even got going, whilst Fandango's continued cowardly nature, isn't exactly making him look like a threat to anyone, so what is the reason we are supposed to care about him? It was the right decision to give The Usos the win and they are looking really good at the moment, after a strong showing on Raw in the Eleven-on-Three main event, I wouldn't be surprised to see The Usos snatching that tag team gold from around the waist of The Shield's Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns some time soon.

The other match on the show saw an angry Big Show take on World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Winner Damien Sandow. This was essentially a squash match, with Show pulling apart Sandow within a few minutes. Sandow did get some offence in, in terms of a David vs. Goliath style fight back, but seeing as Sandow was playing the heel it didn't really work. Big Show went on to win the match with a Knockout Punch for a pinfall victory. After the bout, Show removed Sandow's briefcase that was handcuffed to the ringpost and placed on Sandow's chest. I thought this was a nice touch to show how Big Show is being effected by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, but apart from that this match didn't really impress. 

Finally...

My final thoughts on this week's Main Event.

1. Curtis Axel needs to up his game and start bringing the crowd into his matches.

2. Fandango & Big E Langston worked as a one off tag team, but I wouldn't want to see them team up on a regular basis.

3. When Big Show finally flips on Triple H it should be an epic standout moment.

WWE Main Event 21st August 2013 Review

This week's Main Event was a bit hit and miss, with some matches working extremly whilst others were simply thrown together and didn't really do much for anyone. The Shield reminded everyone that they're still the most consistent team in WWE, whilst Funkacactyl Naomi got a chance to show what she can do in singles action against Diva's Champion AJ Lee.

Six Man Tag Team Match: 

Kofi Kingston & The Usos

 vs. 

The Shield

This weeks main event saw new McMahon assoiciates The Shield taking on Kofi Kingston and The Usos. There is a fair amount of history between the two teams, after Dean Ambrose defeated Kofi Kingston for the United States Championship at Extreme Rules, whilst The Usos challenged for Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns' Tag Team Championships at Money in the Bank. If I remember rightly, they've also had this exact same match a few months ago on Main Event, but Kingston and The Usos certainly weren't in the same positions they are in now, therefore this bout felt like it had a little more importance.

The bout was strong from the outset, with some good team work from the Usos and Kingston. The opening section was superb, flowing well and with some exciting spots, concluding with the three faces sending Rollins over the top rope into the arms of Ambrose and Reigns, before all three performed a spectacular dive over the top rope, even if Kingston over shot a little. It was a refreshing change to usual dynamic of The Shield's matches and really got the crowd involved in the contest. Of course, it didn't take long for The Shield to get back in control, with all three member doing a good job of working over an Uso, their psychology is always sound in these kind of matches, and coupled with good selling for Uso and Kingston and the other Uso working the crowd in the corner well, the match was coming together nicely.

The ending was so pacy and frenetic that there really was too much for me to cover here, Kofi Kingston's hot tag was great, Kofi's energy within a WWE ring over the last six years has been outstanding and this was much of the same, as he put on a good sequence with Ambrose, even making SOS look good! The ending saw Rollins throw an Uso into the ring, distracting the referee, allowing Rollins to push Kingston off the top rope and Ambrose to pick up the pinfall victory following a Headlock Driver. Whilst I'm not sure what the referee would have done if he hadn't been distracted, surely Rollins action wouldn't have resulted in disqualification, it was at least a creative finish and allowed The Shield to pick up a victory following their loss on Smackdown.

The Shield's association with the McMahon, Triple H and Randy Orton, could go one of two ways. Either The Shield will get pushed back into their previous role taking on some of WWE's top names before transitioning into singles competition seperatly, or they could end up being viewed simply as the McMahon's lackeys and struggling to recover, it all depends on if the WWE has any long term plans for the group. Kofi Kingston and The Usos on the other hand are once again in limbo, with WWE not having much for them at the moment. WWE has really dropped the ball with Kingston's return from injury, a feud with Ryback, the man who injured him a few months back, could have given both something to do over the last month.

Best of the Rest (In The World)

Elsewhere Diva's Champion AJ Lee, accompanied by Layla, took on Naomi, who was joined by Cameron in an average contest. Whilst the majority of the action was good and showed off the atleticism of Naomi well, the bout lack any coherent story or flow which was a shame. AJ Lee was also over reliant on the sleeper hold which she locked in twice and for a long time considering this bout was only a few minutes long. The ending saw Naomi look to have picked up the victory with Rear View (seriously? Her arse is big, but as finishing move?) but Layla caused the distraction, allowing Lee to lock in Black Widow to get the submission victory. I liked this ending mainly because of how beautifully Lee transitions into the submission hold, and the reason that a women finally has a recognisable finisher hold in WWE. This bout was simply there to allow Lee to pick up her victory after the loss in the tag team match on Raw.

So who will be AJ Lee's opponent at Night of Champions? It appeared that we might see one of The Funkadactyls get a shot after their victory on Raw, but this bout quickly dispelled any thoughts of that. Kaitlyn's time as Lee's opponent also seemed to come to a close at SummerSlam, and another match would certainly feel like overkill. That leaves the only other face woman on the roster, Natalya. Natalya holds victories over AJ in both singles and tag team action, as well as going over Brie Bella at SummerSlam, therefore she would seem like the perfect opponent for the Diva's Champion. Natalya's in ring skills, matched up against AJ Lee's could produce one of the most memorable women's matches in WWE, if the two are given enough time.

Bray Wyatt was also in action on Main Event, taking on Justin Gabriel. Similiar to Wyatt's match against R-Truth on Raw, this was simply a squash match to show off Wyatt's signature moves and make him look strong. Wyatt destroyed Gabriel in mere minutes, picking up the victory with Sister Abigail. I'd imagine that this will continue for sometime, with Wyatt running through WWE's undercard roster, expect matches against the likes of Zack Ryder and Yoshi Tatsu to come soon. They certainly need to build up Wyatt as singles performer, after pretty much having him destoryed by Kane in the Ring of Fire Match at SummerSlam.

The Great Khali also featured this week, taking on Jack Swagger of The Real Americans. The bout really was awful. With a minute or so of Swagger targeting Khali's knee (despite his finisher being an Ankle Lock), there was some cofuffle on the outside with Swagger throwing Hornswoggle in the wall, after Natalya had slapped Cesaro. With Khali waiting in the ring, hitting Swagger with a Brain Chop to pick up the victory. I've got absolutely no idea why Khali went over here, as his appearances are few and far between, whilst Swagger has been appearing on Raw regularly in tag team action. All this match really showed was how far Swagger's star has fallen since WrestleMania.

Finally...

What did I learn from this week's Main Event?

1. WWE has nothing for Kofi Kingston and The Usos at the moment.

2. AJ Lee should be facing Natalya at Night of Champions.

3. Both The Miz and Josh Matthews are seriously annoying on commentary.

WWE Main Event 14th August 2013 Review

It’s been a good few weeks since I’ve enjoyed an episode of Main Event, after a series of unimaginative or uninspiring main event contests, this week’s show returned to the pattern that had made me a fan of the show to start with. With established main eventer World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio, taking on future main eventer Cody Rhodes, there was a lot of get excited about this week.

Cody Rhodes 

vs. 

World Heavyweight Champion

 Alberto Del Rio

Going into this match there were a few things that needed to happen. Firstly, Alberto Del Rio needed to pick up the victory. After weeks of the World Heavyweight Champion coming up short against the likes of Randy Orton, Rob Van Dam and Christian, his victory over Kofi Kingston on Raw felt like a step in the right direction for the Mexican Aristocrat. Cody Rhodes also needed to have a strong, competitive outing to continue his new face run and keep him looking strong heading into his bout with Damien Sandow at this weekend’s SummerSlam.

As has been a trend during Del Rio’s matches as of late, the face got in a hell of a lot of offense in on the World Heavyweight Champion. Cody Rhodes’ move set alone is capable of getting him over as a face, as he pulled off a string of exciting and crowd pleasing moves, really putting his body on the line, the highlight for me would have to be the top rope moonsault, with Cody performs beautifully. It’s clear Cody is still getting use to his face role though, and he needs to remember to work the crowd more often to get them on his side, especially during this transition period. What little offense Del Rio was getting in however was focused on Cody’s arm as he attempted to soften it up for the Cross Arm Breaker. It was an interesting dynamic between the two and a refreshing change from your average WWE bout.

The bout built up well towards the end, with a number of reversals from both men before Cody managed to hit Cross Rhodes and it looked like he might pull of an upset victory. However, with Cody taking too long to make the cover, Del Rio ended up sending him into the second turnbuckle, before, after some struggle, locking in the Cross Armbreaker for the submission victory. In terms of an ending for the bout, I couldn’t have really asked for much more here, as it kept Cody looking super strong as he fought the Cross Armbreaker and really should have got the victory, whilst Del Rio’s underhanded tactics gave him the victory.

Personally, I think the match could have been given an extra five minutes that was given over to highlight packages of what happened on Raw. It felt like the ending with Cody too exhausted to get the cover, would have benefitted from having seen a longer match, as it was only just over ten minutes of television time. Either way, each goes into SummerSlam with a solid performance under their belts, which can only be a good thing come Sunday. With Cody currently feuding with World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank winner Damien Sandow, could we be seeing these two face off against each other with World Heavyweight Championship on the line within the next couple of months? If given enough time it’s certainly a bout I’d like to see. 

Best of the Rest (In The World)

Big E Langston was also in action on Main Event as he took on Justin Gabriel. Now this bout went a lot longer than I had expected with Gabriel getting in a surprising amount of offence in on the bigger Langston. Whilst this did make the match an enjoyable bout, with Gabriel’s quick kicks and exciting offence, I’m not sure if a quicker victory for Big E would have given him more momentum heading into his SummerSlam mixed tag team bout against Dolph Ziggler & Kaitlyn. Langston’s moveset seemed limited as he twice attempted his Big Splash (a move that is already overused in WWE), hitting it first time and missing it the second, which is strange because during his run as NXT Champion Langston was capable of having much longer matches than this one without the need to repeat moves. With Big E’s power had eventually overcame Gabriel’s speed, hitting the Big Ending for the pinfall victory, Big E was at least back on track after a disappointing saw that saw him dominated by The Great Khali.

WWE has been fairly hit and miss with Langston since bringing him up to the main roster. His matches have been few and far between, which has made it difficult for the WWE fans to really understand what he brings to the table. Personally, I don’t think he suits the heel role, and seemed much more comfortable as the top face in NXT. WWE has teased that he may turn face in the future, as it’s clear at times he is frustrated with friend Divas Champion AJ Lee. I could see Big E possibly turning face at SummerSlam, after AJ loses her cool once more. Big E could make a good opponent for Dean Ambrose over the United States Championship, if turned face, and I could see the two doing some good work together.

Elsewhere, The Usos built on their victory over The Real Americans on Raw, as they took on 3MB’s Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre, who were accompanied by Jinder Mahal. It was a solid tag team bout, with Slater and McIntyre doing a good job of working over Jimmy Uso, working quick tags, it seemed to be over pretty quickly with the hot tag being made. However, that wasn’t to be the case, as in a nice use of the numbers game, Mahal’s distraction allowed McIntyre to hit a big boot sending Jey off the apron. The action for the most part was quick and exciting, and when Jey finally made that second hot tag and took out Mahal and McIntyre on the outside with suicide dive, allowing Jimmy to hit the Superfly Splash on Slater, it felt like we’d seen some quality tag team action. We’ve seen what the Usos can do in recent weeks and months, but it was nice to see 3MB get a bit of the spotlight here, with Slater and McIntyre looking good as a pairing, personally I prefer these two to Mahal, but Mahal could work in a managerial role if they choose to push Slater & McIntyre as a duo. 

Finally...

What did I learn from this week's Main Event?

1. Cody Rhodes still has some work to do on his face character, but his in ring talent is undeniable.

2. WWE doesn't seem to know what they're doing with Big E Langston.

3. Josh Matthews is my least favourite commentator in professional wrestling today. 

WWE Main Event 7th August Review

Main Event this week felt like a battle of the rematches. The Shield took on The Usos and Mark Henry two weeks after defeating them on Raw, Curtis Axel and Sin Cara had thei fifth or sixth match since Axel’s name change, and Natalya and Aksana faced off in Divas action. There wasn’t really a lot to care about on the show this week.

Mark Henry & The Usos 

vs. 

The Shield

When these six competed two weeks ago on Raw, they put in a strong effort that continued to build on what had gone on before in the story. Unfortunately, since then a few things have changed. The Usos no longer seem to be in favour with WWE management and their push seemed to come to an end on Raw when they lost clean to The Real Americans. Also on last weeks Raw, the Shield, consisting of United States Champion Dean Ambrose and Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, seemed to return to their place higher up the card in six man tag team action against WWE Champion John Cena alongside Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton, whilst the work they had done with Henry was put on hold. Henry’s momentum of strong performances also took a hit in a poor showing against Ryback that seemingly went nowhere. Therefore heading into this match I was a lot less interested about seeing it, than I was the first time it happened.

The bout itself was decent six man tag action, which took a regular tag team match dynamic, with The Shield containing Jey Uso in their corner for the majority of the match, with some solid, if not particularly interesting work. The crowd were really into the match, in Main Event terms anyway, will Uso to make the tag to Mark Henry, which helped me to get into the match a little bit. Once the tag was made to Henry, after some nice work from Jey, the match really began to pick up, with Henry steamrolling through The Shield looking extremely impressive. For a man his size, Henry is extremely quick in the ring when he wants to be, and this quick burst in a six man tag is good role for him to play, for sure.

The ending saw Henry make the tag to Jimmy Uso, who went to the top rope for Superfly Splash. Reigns pulled Henry out of the ring and the brawled outside. After Uso had hit the Splash on Ambrose, Rollins made the save for his team ambushing Uso with a Blackout, allowing Ambrose to get the victory for The Shield. I really enjoyed the ending to this one, with a lot of action to keep an eye, and the crowd genuinely thought The Usos had got the victory, only for it to snatched away from them in seconds. It would seem The Usos are certainly done with The Shield for now, it would have been nice to see them get one more title shot, and their Money in the Bank Kick Off encounter certainly deserved to have a rematch. Hopefully, we’ll see more of The Usos at the top of the tag team division soon.

Later on, backstage, The Shield went on to cut another hand held promo. The majority of the work was done by Dean Ambrose as he put over himself and his stablemates, as well as their achievements over the last nine months in WWE, including their match with Cena, Bryan and Orton on Raw. It was another strong effort from the group, that was almost ruined by some poor camera work at the end, hopefully this means that The Shield are moving higher up the card again following SummerSlam. Hopefully, there will be some kind of definitive ending to the work they’ve been doing with Mark Henry which has been fairly good, but I’m quite sure what match they could go for. Although with Ambrose professing his United States Championship is more important than the WWE Championship, WWE could be setting up for a match between the two for the title at SummerSlam.

Best of the Rest (In The World)

Elsewhere, Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel was in action against Sin Cara. The match wasn’t too dissimilar from the couple they’ve had on Smackdown and Raw in the last couple of months, with Axel dominating most of the contest, with Sin Cara getting in short bursts of highflying action. The match however was overshadowed for the most part, by the commentary team. Paul Heyman joined Josh Matthews and The Miz on commentary, and whilst what was being said was interesting it did not add to the match in the slightest, as Matthews asked Heyman question after question about CM Punk and Brock Lesnar, whilst The Miz went on a tangent about what it is like to be a Paul Heyman guy. Heyman summed it up best when he asked if they should really be talking about the match, at times sounding surprised that Matthews insisted on asking so many questions.

The ending saw Sin Cara attempt a Moonsault, only for Axel to reply with a pair of boots to the face. Axel finished Cara off with a Saito Suplex, followed up with his Hangman’s Facebuster finishing move to get the pinfall victory. It was clear that Axel would be picking up the victory for the outset, and seeing him go over clean again over the out of favour Sin Cara was no real surprise. What is surprising is that Axel hasn’t got a match of his own for SummerSlam. For me the Intercontinental Championship has always been a big part of SummerSlam, and a good match on the show for the title has helped to propel many a career in the past. I do expect to see Axel on the show however, as I’d be surprised if he doesn’t turn up during the CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar bout.

There was also women’s action on the show as Natalya faced off against Aksana. I’ve made it known in the past that I am not a massive fan of Aksana, and there wasn’t a lot here to change my mind. For the most part she was sloppy, whilst in control of Natalya and didn’t really seem to have an idea how to take most of Natalya’s offence. The fact that the match lacked any real story or flow didn’t really help this contest at all. Natalya went on to pick up the submission victory with a Sharpshooter, and it was good to see Natalya get back to winning wrestling matches rather than jumping around with The Great Khali and farting. Hopefully, she’ll get someone better than Aksana to work with soon.

Finally...

What did I learn from Main Event this week?

1. The Usos push is pretty much over.

2. Having Paul Heyman on commentary isn't always a good thing.

3. I'm not sure whether The Miz is a good commentator, or if Josh Matthews makes him look good.