Dead Man No More

Mark Calaway is going to be just fine but The Undertaker is no more. Rather than mourn a death, let’s celebrate a legacy like no other.

WrestleMania is best regarded as a collection of moments, snapshots of superstars that will last an eternity. Whilst the Cena proposal and the return of the Hardys were worthy entries into the canon of WWE history, no moment will linger in the mind longer than that which closed the night. After The Undertaker slowly laid his iconic hat and gloves on the mat, he kissed his wife at ringside before fading to black, bringing the curtain down on a legendary career. Rumours of one more match were quick to circulate but this really felt like Mark Calaway’s exit from the game, an old school ending for an old school performer. The match was unspectacular, at times sloppy, but sometimes star ratings and work-rate don’t really matter. This was history in the making, the Undertaker’s last stand, a passing of the torch, and it was the right way to call time on one of the greatest runs this business has ever known.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Undertaker has been a near constant presence in my life, a supernatural extra that I could depend on to be a welcome distraction from the realities of school and later, career. Even before my parents signed up to Sky TV, enabling me to throw myself head-first into the world of the WWF, I already knew who Taker was. I saw his image in sticker books and magazines that my friends brought into primary school; I heard all about his haunting entrance and the whispered possibilities that he was really dead (#kayfabe); so enamoured was my brother with this fantastic character that he poured his pocket money into the purchase of the Hasbro figure, a big commitment for a kid who had never even watched a wrestling match at this point of his life. So when I finally got to watch the WWF in 1994 and saw the Undertaker wrestle for the first time, it was a big deal for me. And to be able to watch him for the entire 23 years of my wrestling fandom has been a real privilege.

In terms of his legacy, he will be forever woven into the history of both the company and the sport: an icon that could not be defined by conventional metrics like box office and merchandise sales. In pure business terms, the Mount Rushmore of the WWF/E is Sammartino, Hogan, Austin, Rock and Cena. The Undertaker, like Andre the Giant, occupies a special sphere distinct from this group; if Bruno and company represent the Presidents and Popes of history, mighty men that hold positions of power and respect, Taker and Andre are more than mere men- they are Gods that command pure reverence. Their exploits are not road stories to be dished on a podcast; they are myths to be passed on to future generations.

The high points of Taker’s legacy are obvious: his WrestleMania streak will forever be one of the greatest ongoing stories in company history; his match with Shawn Michaels in 2009 was, for my money, the best match ever witnessed in the WWF/E ; he will be forever synonymous with the Hell in a Cell (bouts with Michaels, Foley and Triple H were classics for wildly contrasting reasons); his entrance, from the ominous theme song to the slow, measured walk will never be surpassed in terms of atmosphere and spectacle. But there are other moments that deserve recognition, matches, feuds and angles that have been afforded less attention yet demand repeat viewing as we accept his retirement and celebrate what was, without cliche, a once in a lifetime career. Thank you Taker.

The Matches

Modern fans looking for Taker matches of old should scour the WWE Network for these forgotten beauties… a WWF title match with Bret Hart at SummerSlam 97 is firmly in the top 10 of both men’s careers and has a finish to die for. The heat seeps through the screen… In 2002, after a couple of rough years, Taker got his mojo back: his match with Lesnar at No Mercy 2002 is great, gimmicky fun, with blood aplenty. Even Heyman gets colour… In 2003, Taker had his only PPV match with John Cena at Vengeance: the bout is far from a classic but as it’s the only time we’ll ever see that combination, it has historic value… His World title match with Kurt Angle from No Way Out 2006 has to be seen to be believed… A last man standing match with The Big Show from Cyber Sunday 2008 generates an incredible amount of drama and is far more engaging than anyone would have thought possible.

The Definitive Feud

When debating Taker’s most iconic feuds, the names of Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, Kane and Brock Lesnar are often raised. Surprisingly few fans instantly refer to the Deadman’s prolonged 1998/99 programme with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin: a conflict that is one of my own personal favourites. With Vince McMahon limiting his in-ring appearances, Taker was chosen to be the foil to Austin for large portions of the Attitude Era and their chemistry was fantastic as they told a tale based on whether the Rattlesnake could trust the possibly corrupt Phenom (spoiler: he couldn’t). This was one of the better drawing programmes of Taker’s career, with the SummerSlam 98 card that they headlined securing 700,000 PPV buys, making it the highest performing  SummerSlam of all time. The story lost momentum and became convoluted with the formation of the Corporate Ministry (although that theme song was one hell of a mash up) but the culmination of a first blood match at Fully Loaded July 1999 was brutal, gory entertainment.

The Bits Best Forgotten

Even legends have some moments that they would like to forget… It’s fair to say that the early years of the Undertaker didn’t throw up too many classics. Nothing was as bad as his 1993 brace of matches with Giant Gonzalez… well, at least until his 2006 feud with The Great Khali. Now admittedly, Khali’s selfie game is strong but he was such a limited performer that it’s astonishing that he wasn’t only booked to beat the Undertaker at Judgement Day- he was booked to absolutely squash him… His 1994 match with the imposter Undertaker at SummerSlam was an interesting idea but wasn’t executed brilliantly. Even Leslie Neilson couldn’t save it…On an episode of RAW in the summer of 1999, Taker told a story about having dumped The Big Show in the desert a few days prior. Fortunately, Show still made TV, walking to the arena with brand new snake skin boots. This was weird…A feud with DDP could have been something but Taker gave the Hall of Famer absolutely nothing in their brief series… The Undertaker once forced Jim Ross’ face into Vince McMahon’s bare naked arse.

 No wonder he felt like he owed JR a gig at this year’s Mania!

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Supercard Review: WWE SummerSlam 2016 - AJ Styles v John Cena 2

WWE's second biggest evening of the year was here, with a six hour spectacular featuring twelve matches, including John Cena v AJ Styles 2 and the first ever meeting between Finn Bálor and Seth Rollins to become the first ever Universal Champion. With a quarter of a day to fill could WWE deliver a quality event? 

In what was arguably the main event and should have closed the show, John Cena and AJ Styles managed to up their game and improved on their 19th June contest. Without the involvement of Styles' The Club stablemates, the match was able to reach a much more satisfying conclusion and with the duo not having to worry about building something for another contest. This meant they could go all in and hold nothing back, throwing in their best ideas and pushing themselves to keep up the pace. The Money in the Bank original was a tasty little taster that left me wanting more, like a decent soup with a crusty roll, Number 2 was a fine main course with plenty of steak for the sizzle. 

The Phenomenal One and The Leader of the Cenation produced a captivating tit for tat "Anything you can do" style match with the two being presented as extremely evenly matched and almost always having a reply for their opponents offense. From the back and forth respectful opening that turned with Styles' suplex onto the apron, the real moment when the match became something special was after Styles' had kicked out of an Attitude Adjustment and Cena had returned the favour with the Styles Clash unable to put him away. The moves were done early enough that they weren't believable false finishes, but late enough to where I knew that the duo had something bigger and better coming up. Inside the structure of the bout the two were almost exclusively smooth and crisp, catching each transition, including plenty of risky switches and a collection of marvelous submission sequences. 

Styles picking up the win genuinely shocked me, as it almost seemed inevitable that Cena would over come, especially after losing the 19th June clash. Cena nailing an avalanche Attitude Adjustment and Styles kicking out of what seemed like it would certainly be the finish, but was only the beginning of the end. Cena's face directly after this as he watched Styles crawl to the ropes was a picture as he sold the bewilderment that anyone had kicked out of his fail safe last resort move. Styles slipping out of another AA attempt and hitting a Styles Clash felt like it could have ended the match also, but the Phenomenal Forearm with the pad removed added that exclamation point that and it was those extra details and thought that made this contest the match of the night and Styles' best match since coming to WWE in January. The win for The Phenomenal One surely slots him into a World Championship match at 11th September's Backlash, but Cena leaving his "Never Give Up" arm band in the ring as he walked out leaves his future up in the air.

The RAW brands strongest showing was the battle to become the first Universal Champion, between Finn Bálor and Seth Rollins. In their first encounter The Demon King and The Aerialist put on a great title match, that was put together astutely with a natural feeling ebb and flow, rising and falling like the tide without ever losing my interest always finding away to hold my attention. It was crying shame that the Brooklyn crowd, which was a piss-poor audience throughout the whole show, was more focused on making their disdain for the new Universal title belt known, booing the announcement of the match and chanting about the the design. Yes the belt is ugly as sin and lazily designed, but you've got two of top ten best wrestler in the company working their fucking arses off to entertain you, barely putting a foot wrong in this process, respect that instead of constantly trying "rebel" against any minor element of the product. As Rollins said on Twitter "More important than a title's appearance is what it represents to the men fighting over it". 

The match came straight out of the traps with a series from Bálor, that included him going straight for Coup de Grâce, which become the main theme of the match. I think that's what made the contest so enthralling, the urgency behind everything, even when Rollins was taking time to trash talk Bálor there was a purpose behind his actions. Whether it was mind games or attempting a big move, every movement from both men was to get them closer to becoming the top dog on RAW and grabbing the Universal belt. The match progress well with the both men showing pulling out new and old moves, with Rollins in particularly digging deep into his deep arsenal of moves like a near fall for off of God's Last Gift, as well as a Phoenix Splash attempt and attempting to turn a superplex into a Pedigree as opposed to his regular Falcon Arrow. Balor went for the Coup de Grace on a number of occasions with Rollins always having a counter, up until the very last moment. 

The finish kept to the motif, as it Rollins attempt to do something different that would ultimately be his downfall as his Pedigree attempt would be reversed, leading to two corner dropkicks from the Demon King before the victory was claimed with Coup de Grace.
Balor winning the Universal Championship on the second biggest show of the year on his WWE PPV debut in only his third broadcast (non-NXT) match is an incredible achievement, that instantly legitmises him and lifts his credibility to WWE's fanbase who might not watch anything outside the company and even more so to those who only watch these big shows. This was simple story, embellished with skillful in-ring performances and some great commentary by all three RAW announcers. 

The task of opening the show was handed to RAW's tag team division as Big Cass & Enzo Amore tangled with Jeri-KO (Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens). Enzo & Cass have become a reliable act to kick off a show with, they were famed for it during their run in NXT and have opened a number of episode's of Monday Night RAW recently and they didn't disappoint in Brooklyn. Despite having more than a passing similarity to The New Day's work on last August's Brooklyn shows, The Realest Guys in the Room's New York cliche-laden promo remained a fun watch, thanks to their undeniable energy and charisma. It was also a pleasant surprise that Cass has pretty decent singing voice! Not having Jericho & Owens get a chance to reply before the match was a missed opportunity though. 

This was a decent match, that was unfortunately let down by a handful of slips on risky moves. This included the finish which saw Owens launch Amore into the air, as if going for his Pop-up Powerbomb, and sending him straight into a Codebreaker from a waiting Jericho. Regrettably, Amore and Owens didn't get enough air on the Pop-up, meaning that Y2J double knee facebreaker had much less of an impact than it usually did. When the match was sticking to a relatively straight forward tag formula, everything was fine and dandy, with everyone playing their roles well, creating an entertaining mid-section to the contest. It was however when the four tried to produce something a bit different and more precarious that the fight ended up not delivering on the promising build. 

In the Smackdown Live's World title match, Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler wrestled an oddly paced contest, that got a reaction of almost complete indifference from the Barclay's Center. The pair put on some decent wrestling, they went through a number of different styles and began with an interesting story, but it never changed gears. Fifteen minutes of plodding wrestling with more than a little lying around, isn't going to get a crowd excited in 2016. It might keep their interest, but it's not going to make them get behind anyone. The pair did some lovely detail work in the match, like Ambrose being out-wrestled in the early going and certain applications of simple moves like the Single Leg Boston Crab, but the broad strokes, like fleshing out the character work and changing the pace were missing.

The match lacked a definitive heel or babyface and neither did it give a reason to get behind one guy over the other. It was this guy doesn't like this guy, because he doesn't like him and so he's going to half heatedly do his taunts, but with little conviction. If this was a babyface v babyface match, they should have both bought their A games, got the crowd whipped up in a frenzy. This was the biggest match Ziggler has been given for years and he decided to do it on autopilot. It's also notable than on one of biggest stages possible, Ambrose bottled it once again. They had an opportunity to steal the show with little storyline to pander to and they left it sitting on the table. 

In the strongest match on the undercard, Charlotte won back the Women's Championship in a great match with Sasha Banks. After the duo had a handful of slip-ups in the first couple of minutes and Banks seemed to be knocked silly by a nasty bump of a backbreaker onto the top turnbuckle, it was impressive that The Genetically Superior Athlete and The Boss were able to compose themselves, not just regain the crowd's attention and support but enliven them with some top class wrestling. The sequence that had the crowd sit up, take notice, then rise to their feet saw Charlotte hip toss a charging Banks into a tree of woe position, before after a battle on the top rope Banks would smoothly reverse an avalanche crucifix powerbomb into a hurricanrana in a Halloween Havoc '96 throwback.

The final five mintues or so was dramatic stuff, with both women getting strong near falls and Banks always looking to find a way of getting the Banks Statement locked in. A long sequence in the hold that saw Banks push off the ropes to bring Charlotte back into the ring at one point with Charlotte hitting a chop block to set up Natural Selection for two, leading to both women selling the pain and frustration of the match in their faces and throughout their entire bodies. It was a cool pause, that allowed the women and the audience to breath before the final stretch, allowing time to consider the previous action with the knowledge that there was more to come. The selling across the bout was very good. Charlotte getting the pin was somewhat of a surprise after only losing the belt three weeks earlier, but it does also present a more interesting story to go forward with. However, I would have like to have seen The Nature Girl grab the tights on the pin, instead of getting the clean, albeit flash, pin.

Heading into the show, I certainly wasn't expecting to be writing about Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton's match six matches into the review. But here we are, after a bizarre final match. The finish is what most people will remember here and it was odd to say the very least. About ten minutes into the show closer, Lesnar delivered a number of blows to Orton with the Viper on the mat. A few seconds into the series of strikes and Orton was PISSING blood from his forehead. The stream of claret coming from his dome was reminiscent of the Guerrero v JBL bout from Judgment Day in 2005 and perhaps looked even worse because of the ever-growing pool on the mat. I stay away from dirt sheets so have no idea what the plan was hear, but it appeared like something had gone wrong somewhere whether Lesnar caught Orton too strong or it was a blade job gone awry, but it felt to me like WWE had to call an audible by sending Smackdown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon in to take an F5 just to give the show an actual ending. If this was what was the plan all along, whoever had the idea shouldn't be booking wrestling. 

The thing is, I was enjoying the interaction between Lesnar and Orton and felt like the two characters has slotted together exceptionally well. Orton having the RKO blocked in the first few exchanges and then taking an absolute beating from The Beast was a clever start that played off the story that had been presented across the two months of build. Lesnar battering people is rarely boring and this was no exception. He dominated his opponent with the regular German suplexes hitting seven without reply, before also just lobbing The Apex Predator through an announce table. We'd been told throughout the build that Orton could pull out an RKO at any time and that's what happened with one coming onto the other announce table and putting and end to The Conqueror's momentum. The spot were Lesnar crawled back towards the ring, only for Orton to hit his rope assisted DDT  may have been ever better. After both had kicked out of each other's finishes in the ring, it looked like the match would head towards a finish similar to that of Cena v Styles, but that wasn't to be! 

I'm not sure that anyone had picked out the Smackdown Live six woman tag bout as one they were particularly looking forward to, but it was perfectly acceptable contest, that included on of the biggest pops of the night. That pop was the return of the 2 time Diva's Champion Nikki Bella. This was Bella's first match since November and Brooklyn initially seemed pretty happy to see Bella. The return was built up well, with Eva Marie's entrance music playing, despite her being suspended, with her personal voiceover explaining that she was unable to compete due to stress. The angle is great way to turn a negative into a positive and the heat upon Marie's return will be nuclear. The returning Bella bolsters Smackdown Live's women's ranks and after the strong run she had before her injury matches with Becky Lynch, Natalya and Alexa Bliss should create some good action. 

The wrestling was decent, nothing spectacular, but it kept a good pace, showcased six talents effectively and featured some nice exchanges between Bliss and Lynch and later Natalya with both Carmella and Naomi. For me, Bella seemed to have more than bit of ring-rust and has perhaps came back a little to early, with her timing being off at a couple of point during the match, but the other five performed well, with Bliss and Carmella both rising to the occasion in their biggest match of both of their careers. Lynch did a solid job of trying to get the shit Brooklyn crowd going (although one fan at ringside looked at her in utter disgust when she was getting the audience to clap with her) whilst the heel trio were working over Carmella, whilst David Otunga did some of his best work on commentary here also. The finish built up well with Lynch and Naomi both getting flurries of action in, before the breakdown allowed Bella to pick up the win with a Forearm strike and TKO on Carmella.

The most disappointing match of the evening came in the form of the Tag Team title match as The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) put their belts on the line against The Club (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson). The most infuriating part was that the match flopping was nothing to do with Kingston, Woods, Gallows and Anderson, but everything to do with some horrible booking decisions. The first of those booking decision was having comedian and former Daily Show host Jon Stewart anywhere near the ring. It wasn't just his involvement in the finish getting physically involved and not allowing Gallows & Anderson to get the win after Magic Killer, but also the fact that the one thing you'd expect him to be good at, the introduction of Kingston and Woods, was fucking shambles. Maybe it's the whole American sense of humour being non-existent thing that leads to Stewart being a professional comedian and hosting a major chat show for sixteen years and still being painfully unfunny and seemingly unable to perform in front of a crowd, or maybe he's just shit. It was made even worse by it being a replacement for the usually magical New Day pre-match promo. Fuck you, Jon Stewart, you are to energy what a Dyson is to dust. 

So, Stewart getting in the ring and flapping about like a fish in a bush wasn't actually the finish, Big E running down to the ring to stop Stewart getting pulled dick first into the ring post was, because of the disqualification. Now, Big E hitting multiple suplexes on the outside and cleaning house is always going to be a joy to watch, but it made no sense for him to come out and especially not in full gear and clearly able to compete. He wasn't in the match because he was (kayfabe) injured when his testes got squashed into the ringpost a few weeks ago, okay cool, I can buy that. What I can't buy however is that an injured Big E was backstage watching the match and when he saw Stewart's nuggets were in danger, stripped nude, rushed to get his singlet and boots on, repaired his knackered knackers and legged it to make the save. It was a mind bending piece of booking, that felt very much like a first draft that no one had bothered to look at a second time.  

Headlining the Kick-Off event was a twelve man tag team rematch from this week's Smackdown Live as The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso), The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder) and American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan) took on The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch), The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) and Breezango (Fandango & Tyler Breeze) in a fun match, that also opened that portion of the show. With twelve men the action should always be exciting and giving the match over double the time it had on TV meant that all twelve men could get a time to showcase themselves as individuals and as teams. It also gave room for a nice face in peril sequence from Ryder, which came either side of flurries of action involving all competitors, as well as hot tag turmoil from both Jimmy and Jordan. 

The build towards a clash between The Usos and American Alpha got a whole lot more ammunition as the two teams were clearly the stars of the match, working together at points, trying to outdo each other at others and ending up like they might come to blows come the finish. It was an intelligent piece of build, with America Alpha hitting Grand Amplitude on Gotch, only for Jey to come flying off the top with a splash before Gable could get the pin, taking the victory for himself. Both Jey and Gable played the moment perfectly, staring at each other, as Gable tried to work out just what was going on. Jey had seemingly turned heel at the end of the match, putting his thing to his lips in "Shush" to the crowd, whilst also appearing to try to get in the face of American Alpha. There's some real potential for this feud, especially if given a slow burn and it could very well light up the blue brand before the end of the year.

The lone singles match on the Kick-Off was the 1st of a Best of 7 series between perennial rivals Cesaro and Sheamus. This was a match of two halves, as the first half was flat and the second half was an exciting stretch of action that had the crowd marking out and featured some creative spots and good quality wrestling. This was the tenth televised match between the two in just over two years and therefore the first part of the match felt like more of the same, lacked a bit of purpose, whilst also lacking the hard hits that have made their earlier bouts watchable on multiple occasion. You could easily have cut five or six minutes from this one and made it a better contest. 

Luckily for Cesaro and Sheamus they managed to end the contest on a high with strong final stretch. It would have been hard to continue a Best of 7 series otherwise! The crowd finally rememberedd that they like Cesaro when he started doing cool moves like using the new bulkier ringpost as a launching pad for a massive crossbody and the Cesaro Swing, whilst the two used their signature offence to create impressive reversal sequence and get good near falls. The finish was definitely the right way to go, after Cesaro had won two non-series matches previous, as Sheamus countered the Sharpshooter with a thumb to the eye, threw The Swiss Superman into the post and hit a Brogue Kick for the pin. It was a good combination of a dominant victory for The Celtic Warrior, whilst also have him cheat to win, leaving more room to create interesting and compelling narratives for the next three to six matches between the two.

Rounding of the Kick Off action was another tag match (making that five on the entire event) where Sami Zayn teamed with Neville for the first time since March to earn a victory over The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley). This was an enjoyable clash, that made the most out of all four of the competitors, using their strengths to communicate a simple story that was easy to watch. It was paint by numbers kind of stuff, but was done well with Dudley Boyz being superlative veteran heels, whilst Zayn and Neville are two exciting babyfaces that may have found a spot for themselves in the tag division. Some of the stuff that Neville & Zayn (The Underdogs that Gravity Forgot or The Men from The Underground?) were doing in their face shine was super pretty and added to the promise that they have as a team, they would only get better and more creative with their offense if working together consistently. The finish involved Neville escaping a 3D thanks to his agility, before Zayn would hit D-Von with a Helluva Kick and The Man That Gravity Forgot nailed a Red Arrow was a exhilarating finish that capped off a solid tag clash. 

Rusev defending the United States Championship against Roman Reigns would never happen as the two began to brawl before the bell, leading to Reigns picking apart his Bulgarian counterpart on the outside of the ring and having to be pulled away from the scrap. In my opinion, this should have been how their match the previous episode of Monday Night RAW should have gone down, because it was a really good angle with a great brawling and got over the problems that the two have with each well. The problem was that this was on PPV and the second biggest show of the year, using this show to have an angle in the place of advertised contest is a bit silly. On it's own merits this was a strong piece of action that did what it had to do to show how the problems between two men had gotten out of hand, but it also has to be taken in the context of the PPV and the fact it came before the Lesnar v Reigns match meant that the show concluded on a bum note.

Bringing up the rear at SummerSlam 2016 was an Intercontinental Championship match where Apollo Crews challenged for The Miz's belt. This was an okay match, but the crowd would have cared more about a someone standing in the ring with a sparkler. Only going five minutes meant that Crews got no face shine and no chance to get an audience that is yet to invest in him to care about what was going, so we Maryse causing the distraction from the bell ringing. Both worked pretty well with each other, with the two characters and performers both seeming to have a little chemistry in the ring, whilst Crews comeback and spot that saw him catch a clothesline from Miz and hit a Belly to Belly suplex were also nice moments. Miz would end retaining his title with Skull Crushing Finale after pushing Crews into the ringpost to make sure the match did nothing for the career of the 29 year old former Uhaa Nation.

Best of the Rest 

• Tom Phillips spoke to Jeri-KO in a funny but menacing interview ahead of their bout with Big Cass & Enzo Amore during the Kick-Off show.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 

Kick-Off - 6.1

Main Show - 6.43

Combined - 6.36

There matches stand out from SummerSlam for me, Cena v Styles, Balor v Rollins and Charlotte v Banks. Each one was worked was different from the other, but all three featured a big dollop of urgency and some great wrestling. Cena and Styles may have had the match of the night, but Balor and Rollins weren't far off and Banks and Charlotte produced another match that will help towards one day positioning women's wrestling in the main event slot. Even though Ambrose v Ziggler wasn't the match it could and should have been, I still think the stuff they did do was done well and it wouldn't have taken a whole lot more to boost it into the category of those first three matches. The Kick-Off event also managed to produce some strong action with the Twelve Man Tag and Sheamus v Cesaro worth a mention. 

It was, of course, the show was not without it's problems. Lesnar v Orton concluded the PPV in bizarre fashion, whether it was planned to unfold that way or not, which wasn't helped by the previous Reigns v Rusev having not actually started. Then there was New Day v The Club, which at no fault of the competitors turned into a shambles thanks to Jon Stewart and some first draft, no thought booking.

Nontheless, when you've got six hours of a mainstream product like WWE, especially on a show like SummerSlam, you aren't going to like all of it. That's just how it is, if something isn't directly at you, six hours of it isn't going to be all for you. However, I thought SummerSlam was a good PPV event, that had a mixture of styles across the show and featured some excellent wrestling at points. 

All content - James Marston

TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1211 - Enzo Amore v Chris Jericho

With guest appearances from Puff Daddy and Smackdown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan, a United States Championship bout and two matches confirmed for SummerSlam, this week's episode had to be an improvement on last week's below average show..right? 

Like last week's show, the main event came at the top of the show, as Chris Jericho picked up a disqualification victory over Enzo Amore. Before we'd get to the match, there was an interesting promo segment, where Enzo and Big Cass would be interrupted by Jericho and his new tag partner, Kevin Owens. There were parts of this that worked brilliantly for me, but there was also part of it that felt a little dated. Amore spent a bit too much time talking about Sasha Banks at the beginning, whilst Cass comparing Owens and Jericho to Bert & Ernie felt way too cheap and not something that should be happening on TV in 2016. However, the main bulk of this was extremely entertaining with plenty of comedy brought to it by all involved, but with just enough animosity to make the audience want to see the fight. Jericho managed to steal the segment in my eyes, with some smashing deadpan delivery as he continues to develop his current persona. 

The match wasn't the smoothest of contests, with Amore and Jericho still trying find a groove inside the ring, but the crowd was into the action, helped by Cass at ringside. I don't mean to say that the bout was sloppy, but it definitely could've been a bit tighter. There were a couple of sweet moments like Amore skinning the cat after Jericho tried to chuck him out of the ring and a strong "near fall" when "Y2J" had the Walls of Jericho locked in a for an extended period of time. The finish was a good build towards announcing a tag match at SummerSlam, but as far as ending the match, it wasn't particularly satisfying and probably could've been booked a bit better. After Amore was distracted by Owens and Cass arguing on the outside, Jericho had the win with the Codebreaker, only for Cass to interfere and nail a big boot for the DQ. Byron Saxton kept yelling that Cass had "no choice" which didn't make a whole lot of sense. As a piece of the puzzle this was match worked well, on it's own it was a fairly average TV bout.

At first, I was a little confused as to why Mick Foley inviting Daniel Bryan to RAW was the segment that was chosen to main event the show and in a way I still am. Yes, it would lead to a United States Championship clash, but it wasn't a particularly comfortable segue and featured two competitors who had already been showcased earlier in the show in Rusev and Cesaro. There was a little talk about the incidents with Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar on last week's RAW and Smackdown Live, as well as some chat about Bryan's comments regarding the Universal Championship on Talking Smack, which was all pretty entertaining, with the relationship between the two being established, but at times lacked direction. It felt like the segment was announced before creative had an idea of what they wanted to do with it and tried their best to colour between the lines. 

Somehow the Foley and Bryan segment would segue into an unannounced US title bout, where Rusev would retain over Cesaro. Despite it being oddly put together, Rusev and Cesaro ended up having the best match on the show. Both of these guys has seemingly began to found their niche since the brand split and their European styles suit each other so well, that I'm surprised that they haven't been given a full programme opposite each other yet. In what was a simplistically put together contest, the duo told a cool story and told it well, with Rusev sending Cesaro's injured shoulder into the ringpost after The Swiss Superman's thrilling face shine that kicked off the match. The finish continued two programmes for SummerSlam, as Sheamus interfered, eventually aiding Rusev in victory after hitting a Brogue Kick from the outside, before Rusev's victory was dampened by a spear from Roman Reigns at ringside. A good television contest, that had a number of strong near falls, a lively crowd and advanced to storylines for the next PPV.  

Rusev was without Lana for the main event match as his wife had been covered in cake. A lengthy talking segment, but one that made good use of that time, in my opinion. The majority of the duration was taking up by a promo from Rusev, that acted as a celebration of their wedding. It was a little weird that they didn't do this last week, but hey ho. The Bulgarian Brute's speech did seem to go on for an age, he just kept talking and talking and talking and then showed some pictures of the wedding and talked a bit more. I'm not even quite what he said, but it was glorious. The crowd reacted to everything Rusev had to say and poured a load of heat on the segment, whilst Rusev added a load of little touches that kept me entertained. He also wore just a waistcoat on his torso, which amused me no end. 

The segment built up to the point where the audience was desperate for Rusev to shut up and then outcame Roman Reigns. Some will malign this as another way of "trying to get Reigns over" and see that as a negative, but Reigns got seemingly positive reaction and held himself well throughout. The Guy's attitude during the promo was relaxed and just the right side of jokey, as he looked to raise a toast to the happy couple. As things continued to escalate, Reigns threw a number of insults at his rival, including accusing him of being shit in bed, which Rusev played well before erupting. The segment was only going to end one way and it was Lana who'd end up going face first into the cake, which could have felt like a throwaway moment, but The Ravishing Russian's reaction actually managed to bring an extra edge to the fledgling feud. The visual of Lana screaming covered in pink cake in a bright white wedding dress, whilst Rusev tried to through pieces of cake at Reigns will be stuck in the memory of many for some time. 

Before his impromptu US title match, Cesaro picked up a victory over Sheamus in a good rematch from #1210. They upped their game from last week, in their 13th TV bout, approaching things from a different angle and having a back and forth brawl that was lively from opening bell. A section where both would come up with reversals for each other's signature moves was potentially the strongest sequence of the entire show, with a real pace and purpose to it, that also showcased the pairs familiarity with each other after having so many matches of the last few years. Similarly to a lot of contests on the show, I felt the finish didn't live up to the rest of the match, as the ref bump felt contrived and after the commentary team pushing the idea that Mick Foley wanted a dominating performance, Cesaro winning with a roll up didn't quite seem to fit the bill. However, if it's leading to the duo getting an opportunity to have a match on a bigger scale at SummerSlam, as the end of the show would indicate, then I'm all for it.

In an okay, why's this happening kind of moment, Sin Cara would come out as Neville's mystery partner to face The Dudley Boyz, after a segment from the Pre-Show had set-up the match. I'm not sure what creative were trying to do here, by having Neville have an unannounced partner and then for it to be Sin Cara. When Sami Zayn wasn't on the show at all, it was only going to feel like a let down. The match was perfectly fine, being your regular run of the mill tag match, done well, with Cara and especially Neville bringing an extra bit of flair. Having The Dudley Boyz lose clean to a make shift tag team, seems like a complete waste of their history and talent in the business, especially if WWE aren't planning on making Neville and Cara a regular tag team going forward. 

Shuffled down the card, we had a long solo promo from Seth Rollins about SummerSlam opponent Finn Balor, which at times saw The Architect delivering his lines with a real belief behind them and at other times saw him get a tad lost. He's a strong promo guy, but tends to rely on the crowd reacting the way he wants them to, so when they completely no sold him saying that being called Finn Balor was like Rollins being called Rambo Apocalypse, he appeared to take a minute or two to recover and find his pace. When he began to pick up momentum talking about feeling disrespected by Balor accusing him of not working for a title shot and building himself up as a myth or legend, it was engrossing television as it wasn't played like hyperbole, it was played like that was what the character genuinely believed to be true. WWE has slowly began to create tension between Rollins and Balor and managed to add to that here and in later pre-recorded vignette with Balor. 

Women's Champion Sasha Banks managed to get Dana Brooke banned from ringside for her SummerSlam match with Charlotte, by defeating her challenger's protege in a simple match in the Women's division. At under three minutes long it was difficult for the ladies to do much at all in the ring, so the bout boiled down to Charlotte accidentally slapping Brooke and Banks picking up a swift win with the diving double knee drop in the corner. A solid addition to the storyline, but the match never felt as important as it should have, being oddly pushed aside for other segments. The match being incorrectly announced as a submission match by Jo Jo was not a great start, either.

Best of the Rest

• Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman featured in a special promo for SummerSlam, talking about the history between Lesnar and Orton.
• Luke Gallows picked up a squash victory of Kofi Kingston, before Xavier Woods was able to stop The Club from squashing Kingston's balls into the ringpost. 
• Braun Strowman continued his undefeated streak with sub minute victory over some guy called Jorel Clark. 
• Darren Young got a roll up victory over Titus O'Neil with a hand-full of trunks in a reverse of a match the pair had on #1210.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.61/10 

An improvement on last week's show with Jericho v Amore, Rusev v Cesaro, Reigns interrupting Reigns' celebration and Sheamus v Cesaro all being good slice of television wrestling, even though each had their own individual faults. I think that's the main theme of the show this week, that whilst nothing was perfect or even close, I found something to enjoy in pretty much all of the main sections of the show and feel like further matches and segment will be more enjoyable because of this show taking place. Whilst the structure of the show was weird and WWE still seem to be trying to find out the best way to present the 3 hour show after the format change, it drove multiple storylines towards SummerSlam and tried out a number of different ideas. 

All content by James Marston

TV Review: WWE Smackdown Live #885 - AJ Styles calls out John Cena

After last week's episode set the stage for Smackdown Live going forward, the 885th edition of the show looked to build on that. With Dolph Ziggler putting his Number One Contender-ship to Dean Ambrose's World Championship on the line against Bray Wyatt in the main event, an Intercontinental title #1 Contender's Three Way, the WWE debut of American Alpha and appearances from John Cena, AJ Styles, Randy Orton and RAW superstar Brock Lesnar, this was going to be a jamboree of sports entertainment, right? 

For me, the headline segment on the show was AJ Styles calling out John Cena, which would eventually lead to a rematch between the two being made for the upcoming SummerSlam special. Both lads were on top form here, presenting themselves as the antithesis of each other and running with that idea. Styles in particular impressed in what is arguably his strongest WWE promo to date, ripping into Cena's fanbase, insulting children and their parents at ringside. However, it was when AJ revealed that he was purposefully attempting to get Cena wound up, so that he could lay down the challenge for SummerSlam that "The Phenomenal One" came into his own. He oozed arrogance and upped his cockiness level to eleven, and basically he came across like a bit of dick. Cena's performance was equally strong, although it took a while for him to find his groove after initially seeming to be using that jokey cadence and slipping into his weird thug life accent. He'd recover well and produce a passionate promo about his connection with his fans and the company. I feel like there's still plenty to explore in this rivalry, which is kind of why I'm glad that this didn't descend into a bit of a scrap.

The show's main event was Dolph Ziggler retaining his SummerSlam title shot with a victory over Bray Wyatt in a sound TV bout. The match was all about cementing Ziggler as a challenger for Dean Ambrose's belt after The Show-Off had won a six-pack challenge last week. With that in mind, Wyatt deserves a lot of credit for how hard he worked to make Ziggler look like a world beater at points, feeding and bumping beautifully throughout for the former World Heavyweight Champion's comeback. A cool sequence of near falls was included towards the tail end of the bout, included a great false finish when Ziggler took advantage of The Eater of Worlds attempting to remove a turnbuckle pad and nailing a Zig Zag for two. That turnbuckle pad would return later in the fight, with Ziggler removing it himself, later sending Wyatt head first into the metal buckle and closing the match with a superkick. Whether this signals a heel turn for Ziggler, we'll have to wait to find out as he found himself being attacked by Erick Rowan, with the show ending with the remaining members of the Wyatt Family beating down the two parts of SummerSlam's World title match. This would supposedly set up a tag bout on next week's episode. 

The main event was, in fact, set up in the show's opening segment, although Wyatt's attack on Ziggler and subsequent challenge wasn't really the focal point. That was a smashing back and forth promo situation between Ambrose and Ziggler, that had more than a few similarities to a segment from this week's RAW involving Finn Balor and Seth Rollins. It was essentially both guys comparing their past achievements and struggles, taking on a much more complex direction than the Monday night segment. Ziggler's promo seemed to be fueled from a very real place as he bought a tonne of passion, talking about debuting in the Spirit Squad (he neglected to mention his time as Kerwin White's caddy) and various other hardships he's faced during his WWE tenure. Ambrose on the other hand was dealing out more shades of grey than E.L. James, running down Zig Zag for moaning and worrying too much about what other people think, including the fans. He definitely wasn't the upbeat and excitable, slightly irreverent chap we've been seeing over the last six months or so. With both men looking like they might turn at any moment, the run up to SummerSlam should be must-watch TV on Smackdown Live. 

Apollo Crews earned a shot at the Intercontinental Championship with a victory over Kalisto and Baron Corbin, in an odd three way contest. There was some sweet sequences, especially the one that sent the show into the break, where Corbin would pull the top rope down to send Crews crashing to the outside, before Kalisto hit a tasty suicide dive onto the Lone Wolf. However, the ending seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't really do much for anyone involved, as Crews rolled up Kalisto after Corbin was sent to the outside with a dropkick (whilst attempting to powerbomb Kalisto). It's another case of a challenger for The Miz's title not quite looking like a legitimate challenge, after Darren Young won a battle royal by accident last month. The aftermath was even more of a mess, with Corbin attacking Kalisto, Crews making the save, Miz (who was on commentary with Maryse) hitting the Skull Crushing Finale on Crews and then Corbin hitting End of Days on Miz. A big old clusterfuck with little sense of direction. 

After Randy Orton's attack on Brock Lesnar the previous night, we'd get more brand hoping on Smackdown as despite security surrounding the ring, Lesnar was able to hit an F5 on his SummerSlam opponent, giving The Viper a DQ victory over Fandango. I swear that the Nashville crowd was more into the Orton v Fandango match than anything else on the show, buzzing off Fandango looking them and hailing him with boos. Having the pair jump across the two shows has bought a different kind of feel to the episodes (although obviously not as exciting as if the brands had been separate for more than a week), although I'd have preferred to see Lesnar have to actualyl fight off some of the security guards to get at Orton. If the guards weren't going to stop Lesnar, they might have well as not actually been there, as their presence added a few extra signposts to The Beast turning up and returning the favour  

Jason Jordan & Chad Gable, American Alpha, made their Smackdown Live debuts with a swift victory over The Vaudevillains, in what was surprisingly their first win on TV since May. This is a difficult one to review, because it was a brilliant first night for Jordan & Gable, showcasing their style, their pace and power and a number of their regular NXT spots, but it also saw a talented team lose to newcomers in just over three minutes. As much as I commend the strong booking of American Alpha and the way the match was put together to allow them to be introduced to a whole new audience, I think it's a shame that The Vaudevillains had to put them over so swiftly, especially considering just how over they were as heels during the first two or three months of their WWE call-up. This could have been a much bigger and better match later this year if both teams were handled correctly! 

The women's division took a bit of a backseat this week, with a couple of segments being used to introduce or develop characters and stories, which I'd much prefer to a couple of meaningless matches for the ladies. Eva Marie's ridiculously over the top entrance for her match with Becky Lynch was proceeded by Marie holding her calf and being announced as unable to complete. Natalya attacked Carmella before The Hottest Chick in the Ring could even get into the ring, locking on the Sharpshooter on the ramp. In other news, Heath Slater would convince Daniel Bryan to give him a shot at a Smackdown Live contract next week show, before being swiftly gored by his opponent in that upcoming match, Rhyno.

Results 

Triple Threat Match for Intercontinental Title #1 Contender-ship: Apollo Crews def. Baron Corbin and Kalisto in 6 minutes, 47 seconds.

Tag Team Match: American Alpha - Chad Gable & Jason Jordan def. The Vaudevillains - Aiden English & Simon Gotch in 3 minutes, 27 seconds.

Singles Match: Randy Orton def. Fandango by DQ in 3 minutes, 4 seconds.

Singles Match for World Title #1 Contender-ship: Dolph Ziggler def. Bray Wyatt in 11 minutes, 34 seconds.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.83/10

A much improved edition of Smackdown this week, as the show seemed to be settling into it's grove. The top of the card was particularly strong with John Cena, AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler and Bray Wyatt all putting in strong and rather different performances on the microphone as stories progressed, with Ziggler and Wyatt putting on a good main event with a reason for the viewer to stick around. Brock Lesnar's attack on Randy Orton wasn't as spectacular as the previous evening, but anything with those guys is still going to be entertaining TV. Not a single segment went over 15 minutes and this gave the show a brilliant pace, with nothing staying long enough to outstay it's welcome or begin to drag the show. 

There's certainly room for improvement and if the even-steven booking continues, (most notable example of this being the nutty Intercontinental title bit) the show will become frustrating to watch quickly, but as everyone begins to find their place on the card and storylines begin to become clearer and more heated Smackdown Live looks like it should move from strength to strength. 

All content by James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)
Results from cagematch.net

Opinion: Who Will Conquer the Conqueror?

Well, what a difference a week makes. When I originally planned this article, Brock Lesnar had just defeated Mark Hunt at UFC 200 and was at the centre of a genuine feel good sporting story. Returning to the octagon following a 5 year hiatus, Lesnar crossed over from staged combat to the real deal and in doing so proved to the world, and to himself, that free of diverticulitis, he could not only compete with but defeat a dangerous opponent. It seemed as though we would enter a new world in which WWE and UFC might share their major stars with one another, cross promoting their brands enthusiastically. Exciting times indeed. Now however, there have been allegations of doping: the USADA have notified Lesnar that two drugs tests have revealed a banned substance. Until the investigation is complete, Lesnar must be considered innocent; however, there is enough uncertainty around the man’s MMA future that any discussion around upcoming fights and the possibilities of Vince McMahon and Dana White working together seem redundant at this time. Fortunately, there is still much to discuss regarding Brock’s role in the world of professional wrestling. For while his recent MMA foray might well be a one and done deal, WWE still has some big decisions to make regarding their business relationship with The Beast.

When Brock Lesnar returned to the WWE on the post-Wrestlemania Raw in 2012, he was quickly rushed into a dream match with John Cena at Extreme Rules. From there, he was reunited with Paul Heyman and worked a trilogy with Triple H and then fought CM Punk in a Summerslam classic. Throughout this time, his matches and angles were undeniably exciting- he combined the best of work and shoot styles and, when allowed to speak, had some memorable promo lines. However, whilst he was making a slight difference to PPV draws and ratings, business certainly wasn’t being transformed by Lesnar. WWE paid serious money to lure Brock back in the fold and they were understandably keen to secure a long term gain for this investment. If he wasn’t going to move the needle substantially, then he could give a welcome leg up to the next big thing. So in 2014, WWE devised a plan.

At Elimination Chamber 2014, The Wyatt Family battled The Shield. With a seemingly heel Ambrose missing in action and Rollins incapacitated, Roman Reigns stood alone against all three Wyatts. The air was thick with searing babyface heat as Reigns battled bravely before taking the loss to Bray. Looks, size and skill: Reigns had it all. He was surely the big babyface that would replace John Cena. Now all he needed was the perfect foil. At the next PPV, Wrestlemania 30, the unthinkable happened; Brock ended the streak. At Raw, the next night, Lesnar and Heyman were jeered as they gloated and rubbed salt into the open wound. A major heel was born and the main event of Wrestlemania 31 was in motion.

The plan for the year was set. New Champion Daniel Bryan would face Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Lesnar would relieve him of the title, thus ending the streak and the Yes movement in the same year. He would take the WWE title hostage, removing himself and the championship from television, denying fans the WWE’s centrepiece attraction. The universe would be pissed and desperate to see him face his comeuppance. In the meantime, Reigns would break from the Shield, overcome obstacles like Randy Orton and the treacherous Seth Rollins before winning the Royal Rumble. At Wrestlemania 31, he would defeat “The One in twenty-one and one”, inheriting the glory of the streak’s end and
liberating the title, sending Brock packing on his last contracted night in the company. All sound, logical booking that made the investment of resources in Brock seem worthwhile.

But it didn’t quite pan out like that…

It all fell apart with two injuries and two debatable booking calls. The first injury was to Daniel Bryan. When he vacated the WWE title the Summerslam match was off and Lesnar lost the chance to send his heel heat into overdrive. The replacement feud was with John Cena, a man who was such a turn off to large swathes of the crowd, that the programme actually turned Lesnar, the hated streak conqueror, into a face. The nature of the match- a glorified squash- would have led to outcry had it been the beloved Bryan on the losing end but with Cena taking the beating, there was outright celebration; fans had waited years to see this happen and their hatred of Lesnar dissipated with each German suplex. So with Brock now a face, Roman’s only chance for Mania 31 was to be even more popular than the new champion. After a so-so start to post Shield life, Reigns was injured and missed three months. Stunting his growth as a performer and connection with the crowd, his return to face Big Show did nothing for nobody. Booed at the Rumble, Reigns was put out of his misery at Wrestlemania by the famed Seth Rollins cash in. The plan to pass the torch was put on hold.

Since ending the streak, Lesnar has failed to win only 5 of his matches: he has lost by DQ to Cena; been the odd man out in the aforementioned Mania main event and in a triple threat to Reigns and Ambrose; been eliminated in a Royal Rumble match and suffered a controversial loss to The Undertaker. He has yet to do a clean and convincing job: to do so now would represent a significant moment in the industry. He is still the man that ended the streak, the man that stood tall in the UFC (despite recent controversy, he legit reputation stands true) and a multi time Champion. Arguably, only Brock Lesnar and The Rock still have the aura and mainstream appeal that could truly elevate a talent to another level. So now the question is when should he lose and to whom?

Lesnar is under contract until Wrestlemania 34 in 2018. He could win consistently until this point, amassing considerable momentum, before doing the job in his final match. At this point, he could leave the company and return sporadically in the future for special attraction appearances, always winning to preserve the importance of his conqueror’s victory (in the same way the Undertaker has been booked strong to maintain Lesnar’s status as “The One”). Alternatively the WWE could pull the trigger earlier: have Brock lose before his contract is up- possibly at next year’s Mania- to allow for his subsequent appearance to be a rematch against his vanquisher or a fresh fight that enables him to go out on a win. Either way, for the remainder of his WWE run, it makes sense for him to lose on just one stage - Wrestlemania- and to only one man. But who?

Clearly, Reigns was plan A and he could still be considered as an option. A rematch makes sense (neither man has ever pinned the other) but this should feel like the modern equivalent of Hogan slamming Andre: the crowd have to buy into this fully. If Roman is deemed too risky a beneficiary of such a moment, then attention turns to one of three men.

Big Cass and Big E are super over as entertaining, catch phrase kings of the tag division but they will be notable singles stars sooner than later. Their size is impressive; their work is good (and in the case of Big Cass, ever improving). If their journeys to the top are handled better than Reign’s, WWE could capitalise on some great visuals here: Big Cass staring 
down Brock Lesnar (a Heyman-Enzo verbal joust in the build would be greatly appreciated) or Big E hitting his big ending on the massive beast. But for me the best option now is Bray Wyatt. Bray is the natural successor to the Undertaker on the roster but has been denied the opportunity to defeat the Dead Man on the biggest stages. The best way to get round this is to beat Lesnar; in doing so, Wyatt usurps the mythology of both of WWE’s hardest hitting legends and cements his status as the new monster character. The heel-face dynamic could work either way with Brock and Bray for WWE to reach their ultimate destination: a main event scene infused with a confident, dominant younger. The conqueror would be conquered and that historic moment would mean more to the business than anything else Brock Lesnar’s impressive career has yielded to date.

Words by Sean Taylor-Richardson. Images by James Marston.