Review: WWE Elimination Chamber 2017

On 12th February, WWE's Smackdown brand took it's final major pit-stop before WrestleMania 33 as the Elimination Chamber returned for the first time in almost two years. The titular match saw AJ Styles, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt and Baron Corbin challenging for John Cena's WWE Championship in the evenings main event, whilst Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, Natalya, Mickie James and Nikki Bella were also featured on the three hour show. The direction for the biggest show of the year would become a lot clearer heading out of the Phoenix, Arizona show, but would Elimination Chamber be worth the watch?

Kick Off

Mojo Rawley def. Curt Hawkins (6:58) 

A couple of minutes into this one, I was watching GIF's of JBL falling over on Twitter. Therefore it would be difficult for me to really comment on the quality of anything after those first few exchanges. However, I had absolutely no reason to care about either of these two guys and their reasons for having this match were confusing at best and then there was very little that grabbed me or made me want to keep my attention on Rawley and Hawkins at gone midnight. This match was perhaps a symptom of booking six wrestlers in the main event and every tag team on the brand in the same match, as it meant that Rawley and Hawkins were pretty much the only two wrestlers that were left available for the Kick-Off show spot. In it's defense, the crowd sounded like they were pretty into it, but that may have been down to the excitement of a city hosting it's first WWE PPV in over four years.

Main Show

Becky Lynch def. Mickie James (11:45) 

The opening match found it's groove early doors and developed into a solid, enjoyable contest. The pair wrestled a nice technical contest, that had plenty of animosity behind it and played out in front of a healthily invested audience. The bulk of the contest revolved around James focusing on Lynch's arm, following catching The Lass Kicker on the way into the ring, with Becky doing a cracking job of selling the arm and helping keep that part of the narrative in the audiences mind throughout. The bout however felt a little cockeyed in it's layout, feeling like it was beginning to elongate it's second act out, before cutting itself short just when it appeared like it was about to get going. For me, the work on the arm could have been used to develop stronger near falls for James and developed to create more issues for Lynch, to the point where I was questioning just how Lynch was going to pull out a victory over the 3 time TNA Knockout's Champion. 

Apollo Crews [Uhaa Nation], Kalisto def. Dolph Ziggler (7:20)

I'm still trying to think about what the aim of this match was. I'm sure that those aims weren't to get wild cheers for Dolph Ziggler battering babyfaces Apollo Crews and Kalisto with a steel chair, but then again Ziggler was the one in the two on one handicap match, so who the fuck knows. The bulk of the match boiled down to a Ziggler v Crews singles match, after The Show Off had chucked Kalisto into part of the set, before the babyfaces picked up the win when Kalisto "bravely" made his way back down to the ring for a two on one assault. The more I think about this match, the more it actually caused me mental (and perhaps physical) pain. The time would have been much better used on a decent singles match between Ziggler and either babyface, with their previous TV matches being used to develop something resembling a character for either. 

American Alpha (Chad Gable, Jason Jordan) def. Rhyno [Rhino] & Heath Slater, The Usos (Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso), The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch), The Ascension (Konnor, Viktor), Breezango (Fandango, Tyler Breeze) in Tag Team Turmoil to retain WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship (21:05)

The first championship contest of the evening, all Smackdown's tag teams got a run-out in a match that seemed to designed to take up as much screen time, with as little build as possible. The bulk of the match was taken up by the on again, off again, feud between the title-holders American Alpha and The Usos with the two having a decent (albeit with a sloppy finish) six minutes collision, that demonstrated the potential the two teams have together. It's a shame that this feud has been rolling along since the brand split and has yet to be fully captilised upon and could very well find itself lost in the shuffle when the card for WrestleMania 33 is put together. The post-match attack by Jimmy & Jey, that continued to showcase the fire shown in the match, set-up a dramatic conclusion where The Ascension attempted to capitilise on the fallen champions. This was helped by some smart booking where Viktor and Konnor had picked up a pinfall in a multi-team bout on the go-home Smackdown Live. A trick was perhaps missed in not having The Ascension take the belts, as it would have provided extra material to burn through on the next seven episodes between now and WrestleMania, whilst also making American Alpha's issues with The Usos bigger and lifting The Ascension from tag team fodder for at least a couple of weeks. 

The earlier portion of the bout was watchable, carried by how over Heath Slater & Rhyno remain with the audience. The duo's involvement in the first three sections of Tag Team Turmoil worked it's job of putting some heat on The Usos, but the trio of matches were nothing to get excited about. The opener with Breezango never seemed to click, floating through some awkward comedy, but The Man Beast's match winning Gore made things worthwhile. The Vaudevillains struggle on the main roster was showcased as they fell to Slater & Rhyno in just over two minutes. The idea was obviously to build momentum behind the babyfaces, that could be transferred over as heat for The Usos followed the elimination and to an extent it was successful in it's aims. As a whole, the bout suffered from the problems that the majority of types of matches do, in that in trying to tell an arch across five matches, each individual clash was underdeveloped and even the more exciting streaks of action struggled to stand out across the a mostly beige backing. 

Nikki Bella v Natalya ended in a Double Countout (13:15) 

Let's get the finish out of the way early...a Double Countout is pretty lame no matter how many PPV/Special Events/Network Specials/Extra Value Sports Entertainment Deals, you host a month. The two women did the best they could with it, having a fierce brawl up the entrance way, that will perhaps make a rematch stronger, but having wrestled for almost fifteen minutes, it wasn't what this programme needed. I was relatively high on this match before it broke down, as Natalya and Bella put together some decent technical exchanges, as an unusual narrative of The Fearless One looking to prove her wrestling chops to her more critically acclaimed opponent, whilst still having an underlying edge bitterness between the duo. The sequence of submissions just before the finish was a clear highlight. Even without a definitive finish, this was a match that more than held it's own with the other two Women's bouts on the card. 

Randy Orton def. Luke Harper (17:13)

In the only male one on one contest on the card, Luke Harper produced his strongest singles match outing in WWE and arguably Orton's best since he stole the show at WrestleMania 31 with Seth Rollins. It wasn't a particularly complicated contest, sticking to a familiar structure, but the pair did the fundamentals well, drawing in the live crowd and taking them on a journey in the process. The two showed real ring intelligence, starting with a wild brawl around ringside, which initially grabbed the interest, before The Viper took the sting out of the contest with a series of wear down holds. This lead to the people, who had been mostly behind Orton from the outset, beginning to root more and more for Harper, with a near perfect build into The Backwoods Brawler's fiery and flashy rebound.

The contest's second part was built around Harper's momentum continuing to build, as he picked up a number of near falls on the 8 time WWE Champion, including a sweet sequence into a sitout powerbomb. The flash finish with The Apex Predator hitting an RKO out of the proverbial nowhere, gives room for a potential rematch and with the issues involving the Wyatt Family yet to be settle the chances that these two will tangle again over the next few weeks, months and years are high. A rematch under relaxed rules could tear the house down. With the two mixing technical and brawling style throughout the contest and doing the basic to a high standard, this became a real sleeper contest, easily the strongest bout on the undercard.  It wasn't anything new but, just like a good Ploughman's sandwich, each ingredient was done well, creating a tasty combination.

Naomi def. Alexa Bliss to win WWE Smackdown Women's Championship (8:18) 

Curiously placed between the semi-main and main event, Naomi capturing her first championship in WWE, was the shortest and weakest of Women's trio. The match wasn't given enough time to really find it's feet, but the moments that the two had to potentially shine were often awkward or mistimed. The finish in particular was more than a little confusing to follow, with Naomi's split legged moonsault and Bliss' Twisted Bliss seemingly happening about four times in various combinations before Naomi got the pin. The confusion surrounding the finish took away the feel good moment of the former Funkadactyl grabbing gold, at least for me anyway. The main positive I took away from the bout was the strength of Bliss' character, which drove the story and kept me from drifting to social media at a couple of points. Both of the women have bags of potential and getting to work with Becky Lynch, Natalya and Mickie James on a regular basis will almost certainly push them to deliver on that potential.

Bray Wyatt def. John Cena, AJ Styles, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Baron Corbin in an Elimination Chamber Match to win the WWE Championship (34:26)

The main event of the show was one of the best booked Elimination Chamber matches that I can remember with almost every step along the way getting the very best out of the talent involved, managing to create a compelling, exciting contest, that managed to create potential friction for future events, whilst providing a satisfyingly clean finish that propelled the winner Bray Wyatt into the upper echelon. Perhaps the best piece of business done was having John Cena and AJ Styles start the match and act as the spine or glue, continuing their epic in-ring feud. I could watch these two wrestle for days and it got the crowd pumped from the very beginning. Whenever the pair came back together (also extended to having Dean Ambrose come out third, calling back to their No Mercy three way was nice touch) there was an extra jolt of energy and with the two spending over half an hour in the Chamber, meaning that if there was ever a risk of thing beginning to drag, Cena and Styles would run through a sequence and you straight back into wizardry and wonder. Cena and Styles forever. 

Outside of the Cena and Styles love-in the Chamber did two other things particularly well, that being it's abundance of big highspots or moments and the timing, and also placement, of it's eliminations. The bulk of the craziness took place before the first elimination, taking advantage of the bodies filling up the structure and the new design to create chaos that perhaps hasn't been seen in this type of match before. Ambrose's whirlwind of offence after entering five minutes in, somehow managed to build into The Lunatic Fringe, Cena and Styles battling on a ledge installed half way up the chamber, in a stunning visual, before the madness peaked with an impressive take on the tower of doom from Ambrose, Styles and Wyatt. The bout settled soon after with the elimination beginning about 20 minutes in, with a nice domino effect that saw Corbin, Ambrose and Miz gone with a space of five minutes. Corbin's attack on Ambrose following the elimination, should begin an interesting Intercontinental title feud and made The Big Breakfast look like a real monstrous bastard. 

Wyatt winning the WWE Championship was an emotional moment for anyone who has followed The Eater of World's tumultuous career, since he debuted as "The Tank with the Ferrari Engine" Husky Harris on the second series of NXT in 2010. After his ups and downs, call ups and set backs, it was immensely satisfying to see someone, who has clearly worked his arse off, reach a career highlight. Having Bray pin both Cena and Styles with Sister Abigail, put a real exclamation point on the win, instantly lifting Wyatt up to the next level and legitimising his title reign before it even properly began. Whilst The New Face of Fear isn't quite as hot as 2014-15 when he was ripping it up with Cena, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns, but a length of time with Wyatt at the helm of the blue brand has heaps of potential, especially with the initial storytelling possibilities with Randy Orton and Luke Harper over the WrestleMania period and beyond. 

Talking Smack

The main feature of the Renee Young and Daniel Bryan post-show was a chat with Alexa Bliss and Mickie James. Both gave pretty separate interviews, continuing to be an unconvincing partnership, with no particular chemistry and even contradicting outlooks. Bliss however gave another good accounting of herself as an individual character, listing a number of reasons for why she lost her Smackdown Women's Championship to Naomi, that seemed to be anything but giving praise to her opponent. For me, James' promo didn't really work, as she rambled for a long time and looked uncomfortable with the more relaxed style of the show.

• American Alpha were interviewed about retaining their Smackdown Tag Team Championships and The Usos attack.
• An interview with Naomi closed the show with a big focus on WrestleMania taking place in her hometown.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.71/10

Show in a Sentence : A superb main event, but only Orton v Harper managed to stand out on the undercard, although only the Handicap match was distinctly poor, mainly because of the head spinning booking.

Review - James Marston

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling 

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

Blu-Ray Review: WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2016

The last Smackdown PPV of 2016 has finally arrived on DVD and Blu-Ray and we've got the lowdown. TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs is available now from Amazon, Ebay, Base and more, ranging between £13.99-£17.29 at time of writing. The event tends to be one of the most violent and exciting nights in the WWE calendar, as the WWE Superstars get to play with some dangerous toys. This year's event is no different, as AJ Styles defends the WWE Championship against Dean Ambrose in a TLC match, The Miz puts the Intercontinental Championship on the line in a Ladder match with Dolph Ziggler and Alexa Bliss challenges for Becky Lynch's Smackdown Women's Championship in a Tables match. Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Natalya, Zack Ryder, Nikki Bella and others also feature across the single disc release.

The Show

The event begins with short and energetic Smackdown Live Tag Team Championship match, with The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton) challenging for Heath Slater & Rhyno's belts, it's a basic tag affair, that's help by a clear sense of direction. Carmella and Nikki Bella have a gritty scrap in a No Disqualification match, that is unfortunately held back by silly conclusion. 

The first use of the show's gimmick comes in a Ladder Match over the Intercontinental Championship, between Dolph Ziggler and The Miz, that grows into a wonderful battle at the top of the ladder. It's not on the same level of their No Mercy collision, but is still a compelling and dramatic watch. Personally, I think the two went a little bit longer than was necessary as the first ten minutes provide very little of note. 

Baron Corbin v Kalisto in a Chairs match is the sleeper contest, with the pair producing physical and intense spot-based contest that doesn't pull it's punches. A tables match for the Smackdown Women's Championship with Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch sees the pair struggling to get to grips with the gimmick, often grappling with the weapons, rather than each other. The bout never really connects with the Dallas crowd, leaving a lot of the action feeling flat, which is a shame because both women have talent and worked hard throughout. 

The main event see's a World class performance from AJ Styles opposite Dean Ambrose in the Tables, Ladders and Chairs match for the WWE Championship, as the Face That Runs The Place kills it in the stunt show environment. Living up to the demolition derby moniker, Styles and Ambrose work their socks off in over half an hour of thrilling highspots, that keep the viewer on the edge of their seat throughout. Even the involvement of James Ellsworth doesn't stop this from being one of the best WWE main events of 2016 and well worth the price tag on it's own. 

Special Features & Blu-Ray Exclusives

A ten man tag team test with Apollo Crews [Uhaa Nation], American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan), & The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder) against The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor), Curt Hawkins & The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch) from the Kick-Off show is a cute contest, that entertains for it's time on the screen. An Intercontinental Championship match between Kalisto and The Miz and Becky Lynch v Natalya (both from Smackdown Live #901) are also included, but the strongest Blu-Ray exclusive is a tag match between American Alpha and Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton of the Wyatt Family (Smackdown Live #902), which is a real sleeper match that is arguably stronger than the Smackdown Tag Team title match on the main show.

Finally... 

The Smackdown brand put on another PPV event that is well worth checking out, with two great matches included. The Intercontinental and WWE Championship match are two very different, but wonderful matches, featuring strong performances from AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler, four men who have owned the blue brand since the split. It's a shame that the Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch are unable to make the most of their high position on the card, but the Chairs match with Baron Corbin and Kalisto manages to make up for it. The added content on the disc provide some watchable action, but nothing worth going out of your way to check out. 

Review - James Marston 

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling 

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

Supercard Review: WWE Royal Rumble 2017 - Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn...

On 29th January, WWE returned to the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas for the first time in over twenty years, presenting the 2017 edition of the Royal Rumble in front of an alleged 52,020 fans (around 8000 less than the reported figure for the 1997 event at the same arena). The eponymous 30 man over-the-top event was, of course, the main event, with an eclectic line-up seeing the likes of The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, The Miz and Cesaro battling for either a WWE Championship or WWE Universal Championship shot at WrestleMania 33 on 2nd April. Also on the event, AJ Styles put the WWE Championship on the line against long-time rival, John Cena, whilst Roman Reigns challenged for Kevin Owens' WWE Universal Championship in a No Disqualification match, with Chris Jericho suspended above the ring in a "shark cage". The undercard included the likes of RAW Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus, Mickie James, Sasha Banks and Natalya in action. 

Could WWE kick off the Road to WrestleMania in style? Let's take a look.

Kick Off 

• An updated version of "Rumble by Numbers" was the first notable moment of the Kick-Off event, although WWE would air this a couple more times later on.

• The Kick-Off panel of Renee Young, Booker T, Jerry "The King" Lawler and Shawn Michaels discussed the RAW Women's Championship match coming up later.

Match One

Nikki Bella, Becky Lynch & Naomi 

def. 

Natalya, Mickie James & Alexa Bliss 

(7:21 [TV])

A fairly basic six man tag to open the event, with Naomi getting the pin on Smackdown Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, which will surely lead to a title match on 12th February at Elimination Chamber. Naomi's hot tag sequence was the highlight, partly because the crowd went nuts for it and partly because the former Funkadactyl was a ball of energy as soon as Becky Lynch had made the tag. The rest of the match was standard stuff, nothing wrong with it, but nothing to get excited about. It would've been nice to have had a match that felt like it hadn't just been thrown onto the card when someone realised they hadn't booked a Smackdown Women's match for the show, especially considering there's a shit tonne of talent in that division. 

• The panel had a chat about the Kevin Owens v Roman Reigns match, with plenty of discussion about Chris Jericho being in the shark cage, because we all love fucking shark cages...

Match Two 

The Club 

Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

def. 

Cesaro & Sheamus 

to win the WWE RAW Tag Team Championship

(9:20 [TV])

This match had a two referee gimmick, which did more to harm the two pairs than anything else. The finish ended up feeling so contrived with various people bumping into other people and Anderson eventually pinned Cesaro with a school boy roll up, after all sorts of things happened, seemingly all at the same time. Outside of the gimmicky silliness, the teams worked a physical match, that felt like it could've broke out into a sleeper hit, even if the crowd didn't seem particularly interested. Unfortunately that wasn't to be, as the booking and structure let the lads down, as Sheamus was bizarrely given the hot(ish) tag and the gimmick then took control. The four worked hard for each other, but they ended up fighting a losing battle. 

• Austin Aries joined the panel to talk about Neville getting his shot at Rich Swann's WWE Cruiserweight Championship, in what was perhaps the strongest analysis the panel did all evening.

• Charly Caruso interviewed Dean Ambrose in the Social Media Lounge, with the Intercontinental Champion talking about hiding underneath giants and dinosaurs, to some benign fan questions.

• Match Three - Nia Jax def. Sasha Banks (3:13 [TV]) - Jax ran through Banks like a local competitor. 

Main Show 

Match Four

Charlotte Flair

def. 

Bayley 

to retain RAW Women's Championship

(13:03)

With a big slot as the opening match, a sound framework to work with, plenty of time and a red hot crowd that couldn't have been anymore invested if they tried...I came away feeling a little disappointed with the RAW Women's Championship match. The story of the likeable underdog Bayley battling the arrogant and dominant Flair fueled the action, and whilst the two couldn't be better suited for their current roles, the action itself was all too often awkward or rushed. Perhaps this stemmed from an early slip with Bayley attempting to throw Flair to the outside, but there were a number of time when the two seemed to have some real trouble communicating inside the ring. Bayley having to jump back down from the top rope to re-position Flair for an elbow drop stands out in particular. The match also suffered from a lack of believable nearfall for it's babyface and with the level of crowd support it seemed a little wasteful to have Flair be so dominant. The Natural Selection on the apron was a sweet finish, though. 

• Big lengthy promo package from the Universal Championship match...shark cage.

Match Five

Kevin Owens [Kevin Steen]

def.

Roman Reigns 

to retain the WWE Universal Championship 

[No Disqualification Match, with Chris Jericho suspended above the ring in a "shark cage"]

(23:22)

If you take away the shark cage gimmick, a silly brass knuckles super punch near fall for Owens and Braun Strowman's involvement in the finish, The Prizefighter v The Big Dog was a bloody good heavyweight scrap, that utilised the No Disqualification gimmick to a tee. Let's focus on the positives, before looking at the finish, with the main plus point being the wild brawling style that suited the two down to the ground. They kicked things off with a heated brawl through the crowd, that raised the energy inside the Alamodome and kept the fire coming throughout. While I wouldn't say it felt like the two hated each other, there was definitely the feeling that this was two men who would anything for the Universal Championship. This was emphasised by a number of well placed spots, including Owens nailing a brutal looking Frog Splash through a table on the outside, before later toppling through an inventive pyramid of chairs. One of the best matches for either man over the last twelve months. 

Braun Strowman's involvement in the finish, ambushing Reigns on the outside, allowing Owens to get the pin was a curious ending to the bout. I didn't particularly dislike it, it's clear that Reigns was never going to lose to Owens clean and with Jericho stuck above the ring, it was obvious that WWE had booked themselves into a corner and plumped for the Strowman route. I always feel that the longer a match goes, the more important it is to have a satisfying and complete finish (something that's already been alluded to during the match) and after over twenty minutes of scrapping and battling, it was difficult not feel disappointing with how things ended in San Antonio. I would've liked to have seen Owens nail a Pop-Up Powerbomb to put the exclamation point on it and give a little heat back to the Prizefigher. I'm not particularly interested in Reigns v Strowman feud either, so that probably had a bit of an impact on my enjoyment of the whole thing. 

• The first part of a Royal Rumble vignette aired, with Cole describing it as the top 30 Rumble moments, but it was more of a rehashed Rumble by the number situation. 

• A promo for Neville and Rich Swann's Cruiserweight title clash, as the division continues to try and rediscover the formula that made the Cruiserweight Classic must-watch.

Match Six

Neville [PAC]

def.

Rich Swann

to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

(13:29)

The Cruiserweight Division is yet to find an real identity, but despite the crowd's nonchalance, Rich Swann dropping the belt to Neville was a cracking jaunt. This was arguably the best bout the division has had since it's return, as the two characters slotted together nicely, whilst the pairs history in Dragon Gate (both in the USA and Japan) meant the action was well paced and crisply delivered throughout. Neville's new heel character is taking a while to get over, thanks partly to the fact that he's the best known face to your regular WWE audience, but Swann's comeback, after a lengthy period of the Geordie controlling play, was exactly what The Man That Gravity Forgot and the division as a whole needed. Swann's offence was exciting, came at a ridiculous speed and had blue eye fire in bucket loads. This clash was a solid building block to start constructing the division around and deserves extra credit for having to slot in between the Owens v Reigns and Styles v Cena matches. The King of Cruiserweights now has his crown and potential title defenses against the likes of Akira Tozawa, Gran Metalik and Jack Gallagher should create some great moments inside the purple ropes in 2017. 

• The hype package for the WWE Championship match detailed the rivalry between challenger John Cena and champion AJ Styles, including their previous bouts last year at  Money in the Bank, SummerSlam and with Dean Ambrose at No Mercy. 

Match Seven

John Cena

def.

AJ Styles

to win WWE Championship

(24:01)

Money in the Bank was great, SummerSlam was superb and Royal Rumble was the perfect conclusion to one of the best in-ring feud that WWE has ever produced. For me, the evidence for just how good this match was was that John Cena finally managed to equal Ric Flair's sixteen World Championship reigns and got a positive reaction, which would have been almost unthinkable in the not so distant past. In fact, the crowd were fantastic throughout the entire match, creating, what sounded like, an amazing atmosphere inside the Alamodome and made each near fall even more gripping for me sitting on my sofa. The pair built their 24 minutes epic from the very beginning towards a near-fall laden third act, that began with Styles catching his opponent's diving leg drop bulldog and powerbombing Cena into the canvas. I'd happily put the final stretch up against any World Championship collision, as the momentum shifts, kick-outs and both men pulling out rarely used moves, produced some magnificent television. Styles' inaugural WWE Championship reign has opened eyes and anchored Smackdown Live excellently, hopefully he is rewarded with a money match at WrestleMania on 2nd April.

I've seen this match dismissed in certain circles for being finisher heavy and while there was three Styles Clashes and four Attitude Adjustments, there was a whole lot more to match. This was rich and vibrant encounter, that saw two of the best in the business, take the audience through a variety of tones, with each form flowing into the next, with a near perfect ebb and flow. The story of Cena's desperation to win back the prize, alongside his dislike for Styles, gave us a strike based opening and some wonderful visuals of a Cenation Leader reaching his boiling point when unable to seal the victory. The first portion played on some of the work done in the previous two collisions, with Styles having an answer to a number of signature offence, hitting a number of big moves including the Styles Suplex Special and a Rack Bomb. The two also chucked in a technically solid exchange of submissions, that began with a spectacular series of reversals with both managing to lock in their signature holds, before moments later branching out as Cena went for a timely Figure Four Leg Lock and The Phenomenal One caught his opponent in a crossarmbreaker.  WWE may manage to equal this clash later in the year, but I'd be very surprise if Vince McMahon's promotions manages to better it.

• The second part of the Royal Rumble vignette aired, as a final bit of hype for the eponymous battle royal.

• Before the main event, Big Cass and Enzo Amore got a little mic time, as they chattered about being in Texas, a coupe of the Royal Rumble entrants, as well as running through their catchphrases.

Match Eight

Randy Orton

def.

Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn [El Generico], Sheamus, The Miz, The Undertaker, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Rusev, Cesaro [Claudio Castagnoli], Luke Harper, Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston, Goldberg, Big Cass [Colin Cassady], Big E, Kalisto, Mojo Rawley, Mark Henry, Apollo Crews [Uhaa Nation], Tye Dillinger [Shawn Spears], Xavier Woods, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Gallagher, The Big Show, James Ellsworth [Jimmy Dream] and Enzo Amore.

to earn a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 33

(1:02:06) 

[Royal Rumble Match]

So, as was expected, Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble for the second time and earned himself a fifth major championship match at WrestleMania. The brand split means that this victory is perhaps less important to the Show of Shows than it had been over the last three years and therefore having an established main eventer, who already has twelve World title wins to his name was a little less annoying than had it just propelled him into the only big championship match on the show. Similar to Orton winning the Money in the Bank Ladder match in 2013, this victory follows a period where we've seen The Viper slip into the background, teaming with Bray Wyatt, having lost his last three one on one PPV matches, without a singles title match since April 2015 and with no singles gold since dropping the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX. Therefore, there's an argument to be made that this Rumble win does indeed elevate it's winner and whilst Orton could probably still walk into main events (see: SummerSlam last year). winning the most popular match of the year certainly won't hurt him. 

The closing stages of the contest appeared to play of the disdain that a big chunk of WWE's audience has for Roman Reigns as the Big Dog wreaked havoc after entering at #30. Some of the videos showing various reactions to Reigns are hilarious, showing just how over the Pensacolan is and how invested those fans who claim to be "smart" are with his exploits. Having Roman entering last got the audience on his back immediately, taking any potential heat away from an Orton victory   Reigns use during his five minute run was some of the most intriguing booking WWE has used in a while as the 2015 winner eliminated The Undertaker, screaming at The Deadman that "This is my yard now", before also taking out a man who had spent over an hour in the match, Chris Jericho. Those two eliminations obviously gave Reigns momentum, with the match pointing towards a triumphant win after he took Orton's tag partner Bray Wyatt out also and if there was one thing the audience didn't want to see it was another Roman rumble victory. This allowed Orton's win to feel clean, with an audience who was onside with the promotion, instead of fighting against the story direction as we've seen in the last few years.

It wasn't just Randy Orton, but the entire The Wyatt Family who took up a big chunk of the matches last twenty fives minutes, with Orton, Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper entering between #21-#25. Whilst the threesome didn't pick up many eliminations (just two with Orton throwing out Reigns and Harper taking out Apollo Crews), there was some major storyline developments, where they became the main focus of proceedings. The biggest moment was, of course, Harper turning on his teammates, after it had initially been teased that Orton would finally leave the uneasy alliance. It was a cool swerve, that all three played nicely and the pop that Harper got when he went for a Sister Abigail on Wyatt showed that it was the right time and place for the swap. Perhaps an elimination for either side here would have added a little bit extra, as it seemed weird to leave Harper in the match to just be fodder for Goldberg later on. There's potential however in a babyface push for The Backwood Brawler, he's got a whole lot of talent that perhaps he hasn't quite been able to show and a feud with Wyatt could produce a unique narrative of the oppressed Harper battling against the Cult Leader. 

With no-shows from Samoa Joe and Finn Balor, almost all of the bookies favourites entered the match towards the end of the contest, with Braun Strowman and Chris Jericho the only exceptions. Orton, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg and The Undertaker all headed to the ring in the last twenty minutes or so, leading to an eventful final third. The continuation of the Lesnar and Goldberg feud, with The Beast getting chucked over the top within minutes of his foe entering the ring. I can take or leave Lesnar v Goldberg again and I'm not too sure that their interactions have made their rematch a bigger contest than their November clash. Goldberg would eventually get sent packing by Undertaker. Personally, whilst the interplay between the various legends was entertaining, I felt it was a shame to have guys like The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn and other regulars look like complete chumps in comparison to the guys who only wrestle a handful of matches a year. 

The rest of the Rumble was pretty run of the mill, featuring a handful moments that managed to hold the attention, but had a bit of a treading water feeling. The ring filled up with fodder for Strowman (Big Show, Mark Henry, Kalisto etc.), Cesaro & Sheamus were the cliche tag team at loggerheads, big lads looked at each other, people did a couple of signature moves when they came in, Kofi Kingston had a spot. It was a decent way to pass an hour, but there was very little that grabbed. The two exceptions were Baron Corbin eliminating Strowman, after a Helluva Kick from Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger entering a Number 10. The booking of The Monster Among Men was a masterstroke, as not only did it finally give Zayn a bit of redemption against his tormenter, but it gave a big rub to The Lone Wolf. The elimination was a clever use of the brand split, as it elevates Corbin on the Smackdown brand, without the need for a full programme between the two (yet!). Whilst Dillinger's appearance was as predictable as rain in England, it did get a great pop and provided a hard working talent with a well deserved moment. Jack Gallagher was also a breath of fresh air during his three minute stint.

Coming out of the Rumble, I think my main feeling was that it was mostly an enjoyable watch, but not a substantial one. It was junk food, as opposed to a Royal feast. It never felt boring, but neither did it feel like I was glued to the screen either. Maybe this was partly my fault for checking the odds before the show and being almost certain that Orton was going to win, but I also feel a big part was down to how the match was put together. The feeling that everyone was passing time until the big names made their entrance held the match back, as well as a lack of any genuine surprises. It certainly wasn't a bad match, but I doubt it will stand long in anyone's memory.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.77/10

The first PPV of 2017 was a pretty good outing, with every match on the main card offering something worth watching. The clear Match of the Night was John Cena and AJ Styles' thrilling WWE Championship match, whilst it was well supported by the more physical Roman Reigns v Kevin Owens WWE Universal title clash. I didn't feel like Charlotte Flair v Bayley live up to it's potential, but the crowd's investment, at least, meant it's worth having a look at and it's perhaps it's a match that I'll reevaluate in the future. The audience were a big help to the overall presentation, being energetic and involved for almost the entire evening, with their sheer numbers giving the event an extra special feel.

Review: James Marston

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PPV Review: WWE Battleground 2016 - Dean Ambrose v Roman Reigns v Seth Rollins

It's all been going on in WWE recently, hasn't it? Title matches on TV, the big ol' draft with the brands and what have you, NXT call ups and Zack Ryder ending up with a US title shot for reason that I'm even sure he understands. But were Vince and the boys going to stop there? Hell na, where they! Bring on a PPV, because...PPV. How would the WWE landscape look after Battleground and more importantly, would it be any good? 

Let's get down to business straight away, Dean Ambrose only went and retained his WWE Championship in a triple threat match with Seth Rollins and the returning Roman Reigns. What a moment for Ambrose here, that really solidified his title reign, just five weeks after a Money in the Bank cash-in, as he went over two of the top names in the company, clean. No shenanigans, Ambrose hit Reigns with Dirty Deeds and that was that. Whether it was a huge statement of belief from WWE on "The Lunatic Fringe" as a prolonged headliner or whether it came down to circumstance with the renewed brand-split a few days earlier and wanted to stack Ambrose's Smackdown with legitimacy (think the same reasons John Cena and Randy Orton ended up on the show), I think we'll have to wait a bit longer to find out. However, it does mean that Ambrose should get an opportunity to headline next month's SummerSlam special, which would be a massive moment for Dean, right now. 

The triple threat was an extremely satisfying main event, that worked towards the crowd reaction and played to what the majority of fans wanted to see. I mentioned earlier how the match went with what the audience wanted to see and this was obviously in reference to Ambrose and Rollins teaming up together to take out Reigns. The crowd was so hot for Reigns, that had it gone any other way, then the reaction would have been nowhere near as strong. There was so much to like from the match taking this route, like the sequence with a suicide dive from Ambrose and tope conhilo from Rollins, the old Shield style powerbomb and into Rollins nailing Ambrose with a steel chair invoking images of the groups original break up. Another great sequence of action from Rollins and Ambrose was the icing on the cake. The structure of the match, seemed to be Reigns being put in his place by WWE's chunky cheeses, as even though he clearly wasn't "buried", he definitely wasn't allowed as many moments to shine or "look strong" as he would have been a six months ago.

The contest took a while to find it's rhythm with a few minutes of "one in, one out" stuff, but once the three guys got going and the story of the match began ticking over, with the twists and turns started coming, it built into a hell of a three way. As soon Reigns had hit his Drive-By kick on Rollins, it was time to buckle in, because the match really took off at that point. It built and built and built with extra layers being added, whether that be through sequences of action, something extra for the story or a immense near fall, it had the people hyped until the final moments, especially with Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan out at ringside to lift them when needed. The finish felt like it came a little too soon, maybe because of the way it was put together, with "The Lunatic Fringe" nicking in on Reigns with Dirty Deeds after he'd hit a Superman Punch and Spear on Rollins. It was such a sudden conclusion and I feel like there was a bit more to see here with these guys, so maybe there's a plan for another three way somewhere along the line. 

Before I get into John Cena, Enzo & Cass going over The Club, it'd be almost rude not to talk about Enzo Amore (and to a lesser extent Big Cass) bringing his A-grade promo skills to PPV and whipping the Verizon Center into a complete frenzy. Amore had managed to run down all three members of The Club on this past Monday's RAW and he went topped it here. With a special ability to be funny, but completely serious at the same time, be able to get the audience to laugh with a line about the Scream trilogy one moment and then make them want to see a fight the next moment, Amore makes every second he's one the screen count. Just like their in-ring partnership,  Cass is always there to provide one hefty exclamation point on the whole situation and that's why I'm so happy that the duo weren't broken up last Tuesday! 

Amore would play a major role in the set-up of the match, being part of the hot face shine, that included Cass lobbing both Amore and AJ Styles over the top on the other Club members, before becoming the Certified G in peril. "Jersey's Finest" has really carved out a niche for himself in this position during his time in NXT and now on the main roster, not many can take a beating quite like Enzo. The bruising style of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson played well into this, with there being a strong dynamic between the three, that got the crowd super invested into every hope spot for "Muscles Marinara". I love to see what Enzo & Cass and Gallows & Anderson could do together as a foursome if given the chance on Monday Night RAW. The moment when Amore was able to take out the entire Club on the outside of the ring, only to get nailed by a huge flying knee by Anderson, was worked to perfection by everyone involved and possibly my favourite sequence of the entire night. It did mean however that the actual hot tag, that saw Amore dodge a splash from Gallows, was a little flat by comparison. 

Although I'd have liked to have seen more Cena v Styles one on one, the final third of the match was equally as entertaining as what had came before it, with the tempo being upped and all six guys getting involved, in-side and out-side of the ring. After we'd got passed the shoe-horned stuff involving members of each team accidentally hitting each other, the match erupted with Cena taking a spinebuster from Anderson onto the announce table and Amore nailing "The Machine Gun" with a planted DDT off the step. The booking off the final straight worked for me, with Anderson & Gallows looking dominant against Enzo & Cass, hitting the Magic Killer on "The Big Bambino" before Gallows bested "Smacktalker Skywalker" with a big ol' superkick, there window was left open for a future feud between these teams on Monday nights. The culmination with Cena and Styles battling on the top rope wasn't quite as smooth as it shoulder have been, with "The Phenomenal One" struggling to avoid a Super Attitude Adjustment never seeming to be going in any other direction, but it was definitely a cool way to bring the feud to end, although I can't help feeling that the pair deserve to have one more singles match together.

Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens and it was exactly how grudge matches are supposed to be presented in 2016. These lads made you think they hate each other and went at it from the opening bell, with every move being delivered with that extra bit of malice and intent, making for a compelling contest. By the end of the match, you could see what it meant for Zayn to have defeated Owens, like a proper no doubt about it, clean as a whistle win over his friend turned arch nemesis. He showed it in every movement he made during the match, but especially in the closing sequence as he nailed an exploder suplex into the bottom turnbuckle, a half and half suplex and two Helluva Kicks before draping himself over his opponent. After the match he looked liked he'd won a title belt, which considering the pair have cost each other World title shots, the Intercontinental Championship a few times and the Money in the Bank briefcase, felt particularly fitting. A real lesson in making a non-title contest feel as important as any prize in the company (without actually doing any damage to any other trophies, obviously) 

Christ, there was so much I liked about this match, that I'm struggling to formulate a coherent review of it. There were a collection of things that all contributed to the fight being a brilliant experience from beginning to end. Owens being an absolute boss when in control, managing to be annoyingly entertaining, as he trod on Zayn's hand and locked on head locks to spite the live audience. "The Prizefighter" targeting the arm after Zayn appeared to injure it on a botched Arabian Press attempt (that was probably the only foot put wrong in the entire match) in a case of the performers taking a negative and turning it into a positive, with it leading to a nasty looking Crossface "near fall". Then there was stuff like the brainbuster onto the apron by Zayn, Owens hitting a cannonball on Zayn with the later draped upside down in the turnbuckle, a superb sequence with Zayn nailing two half and half suplexes after Owens blocked the Helluva Kick and emotionally fueled slap battle. Then there was the near falls and falsies for Owens, first off a well-timed Frog Splash and a Pop-Up Powerbomb where Zayn got his foot on the ropes, simultaneously popping the people, whilst protecting Owens finish. Yeah, I liked this match, it was entertaining, emotional and clever wrestling. One more match at SummerSlam please? Surely these boys can't be on the same brand and not wanted to rip each others heads off and piss in the hole? I'll leave this here...ladder match, loser leaves RAW...gew on. 

You know how much I lurve a talking segment on a PPV! They are just the best, aren't they? I much prefer talking to wrestling. All those words that people use to convey meaning about things they have done or plan to do in the future. Okay, so Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel with a returning Randy Orton was actually an entertaining talking segment, that managed to tell a cool story and promoted Orton's upcoming match on 21st August with Brock Lesnar. But on PPV? Or Network special? Or whatever we're calling these situations in 2016. Nah, thanks. "The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels has left the building" "I know 1004 holds and wrote them all down" "Say Goodbye to CM Punk" "Rick Rude or Robert Roode or whatever that jabronis name is" all brilliant talking segments (okay, maybe not that last one) for various reasons, but you know one things about them? They didn't happen on PPV. No. Stop it, WWE. This would have been a huge headline segment on tomorrow's RAW, but kind of got lost in the mix on this show. 

That's the rant bit over (for now), let's bring a bit of power of positivity to this hizzouse! Jericho and Orton owned this segment, like the two veteran performers that they are. The whole section was based on the idea that everyone knew how it was going to end, a bit like Romeo and Juliet, I suppose. Randy Orton was never going to leave that ring with nailing "Y2J" with one of those jumping cutters that he's so bloody fond of. This lead to a lot of build up with Jericho antipating the move and constantly calling "The Viper"'s bluff, which meant the spot got much more meaningful pop. Jericho worked his role as host well, finely walking the line between annoying and entertaining, just to the point where you'd quite like to see some lad try to yank his head off a bit. Orton on the other hand was dropping bombshells on Brock Lesnar about taking naughty substances and getting UFC all huffy and kind of also making WWE look a bit shitty for not doing anything about it. It was pretty cheap, but it got the crowd to pop, and will get some coverage, I suppose. Orton's clearly forgetting his two previous wellness policy violations under WWE, but let's brush that under the carpet, eh?

For the second PPV in a row the Women's Champion featured in a tag team match, as Sasha Banks and a debuting Bayley defeated Charlotte and Dana Brooke. It was a feel good moment to see Bayley turn up on a WWE PPV and her entrance got a tremendous reaction at the start of the show, a reaction which probably drove the match, in all honesty. Removed from the hype of Bayley's debut, this was an alright match in-ring. The action was pretty back and forth in the early going, with no one getting too much time in control. The audience was still hot for everything that was going on, as Bayley briefly slotted into a face in peril role, before Banks had a face shine/hot tag situation and Charlotte would take back control. It took a while to find it's grove, but once Brooke had taken advantage of Charlotte distracting Bayley, pulling her off the middle rope and sending her head crashing into the top turnbuckle, everyone found their place in the match and played it up well. 

The closing stages of the match struggled to keep up with the ideas that were involved, with a everything feeling a little rushed and more than a few timing issues. The biggest example of this was Bayley charging in way too early on a Natural Selection false finish, breaking up the pinfall before the referee's hand had even slapped the mat. Obviously, if you break up a cover this early, it stops being a falsie and takes away part of the drama that should have been building in those closing stages. The ending with Brooke interrupting a Banks Statement on Charlotte, only for Banks being able to lock it in again was another piece of action that didn't quite come across as I feel it should have. Brooke pulling Charlotte out of the ring looked rough and lacked the finesse that a major spot should have and I feel it took a little away from the finish. This was a solid tag match, but had the potential to be much better than that.

The Wyatt Family conquered The New Day in a surprisingly compact match, that was put together pleasingly but didn't quite break out into the top speed that I think I was expecting. Whether that's that Braun Strowman isn't as strong a worker as previous Wyatt Family member Luke Harper, or that the match was dampened slightly to allow the other six man tag to take the spotlight, I'm not quite sure. However, what was on display here was a gratifying watch with a handful of distinct elements that kept me interested from start to finish. Stuff like Kofi Kingston taking a beating and Big E going nuts on a hot tag, nailing an overhead Belly to Belly suplex on Erick Rowan, were all well and good, but the thing this match did best was the showdown between Xavier Woods and Bray Wyatt. Every hung on Woods firing up and finally going for Wyatt after being supposedly "under his spell", it could have came off as a bit corny, but the crowd popped big for it and Woods' going for it hammer and tongues produced a cool moment. The finish did feel anti-climactic as Wyatt simply used the spider walk to confuse Woods, a similar ending to their singles match on Smackdown last Tuesday.

Many years from now, wrestling fans will mingle with one another at a show and one will say to the other..."Do you remember when Darren Young got an Intercontinental Championship match on PPV?" the reply will be "No". Literally the only thing that happened before the finish was a fan heckling the phrase "Straight to DVD" at The Miz. I have no notes on anything else, so I have to accept that as gospel. I'm not even sure what happen during the finish, if I'm brutally honest with you. Miz's wife Maryse slapped Young's coach Bob Backlund, so Backlund took a back bump and then struggled to take his shirt off. Something else would probably happen and then Young locked in a Cross-faced Chicken Wing on Miz on the outside and the ref just called for the bell. I don't know. I don't know. Why were Young and Backlund so bloody happy to have not won anything at all? Why any of this? 

In another weird title feud, Rusev defeated Zack Ryder to retain the United States Championship. This match actually came off much better than it's IC counterpart, telling a simple underdog USA story for "The Long Island Iced Z" and keeping things lively with plenty of hope spots for Ryder as Rusev attempted to machka his American arse. The dropkick from Ryder off the barricade was the highlight of the match, being a well thought out spot that gave the pair plenty of time on the outside to re-group before heading for the finish. I was genuinely excited when Ryder hit a Rough Ryder and seemingly had the win, but then he weirdly went for an Elbow Drop instead of going for a pin, which would ultimately be his downfall. A long-ish spell in the Accolade, including a strong moment where it appeared "The Ultimate Broski" may have escaped, would spell the end for ol' Zachary. Oh yeah, Mojo Rawley turned up as well. I tried Mojo, but I couldn't even get hype for you, let alone stay hype, bud. 

Natalya defeating Becky Lynch with the Sharpshooter, probably came out being my sleeper match of the night. It wasn't anything spectacular, but the pair wrestled a solid match, that featured some lovely technical chain wrestling. The section when the pair both went for their respective finishers was super smooth and a real pleasure to watch. The finish was also novel idea, that involved the former Diva's Champion getting behind the referee in the corner, before kicking between his legs towards "The Lass Kickers" knee when the latter approached, in a decent end to the story the pair had told. I'd have liked that story to have kicked in just a little earlier as Natalya took quite a while to formulate a simple game plan of attacking Lynch's leg and with the contest not having a lot of time I'd have preferred to see it get straight into the narrative. Top marks to Lynch for her selling which was consistent throughout, although I think if we'd see Natalya do a bit more damage then it would have warranted the level that Lynch went for. Weirdly, Natalya sold her own leg at the end of match, maybe she just got confused? 

Results 

Tag Team Match: Bayley & Sasha Banks def. Women's Champion Charlotte & Dana Brooke in 7 minutes, 25 seconds.

Six Man Tag Team Match: The Wyatt Family - Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt & Erick Rowan def. Tag Team Champions The New Day - Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods in 8 minutes, 47 seconds 

Singles Match for United States Championship: "The Bulgarian Brute" Rusev (C) (with "The Ravishing Russian" Lana) def. Zack Ryder in 7 minutes, 1 second. 

Singles Match: Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens in 18 minutes, 22 seconds 

Singles Match: Natalya def. Becky Lynch in 9 minutes, 3 seconds 

Singles Match for Intercontinental Championship: The Miz (C) (with Maryse) v Darren Young (with Bob Backlund) ended in a No Contest after 8 minutes, 41 seconds 

Six Man Tag Team Match: Big Cass, Enzo Amore & John Cena def. The Club - AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson in 14 minutes, 30 seconds 

Triple Threat Match for WWE Championship: Dean Ambrose (C) def. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in 18 minutes, 3 seconds 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.39/10

After a busy week in the WWE, the company produced another good PPV with a strong variety of matches across the card with Battleground. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens stole the show with their passion and hatred fueled epic, but the three way main event also provided enough thrills and spills to end the show on a high and the semi-main with Enzo & Cass teaming with John Cena against The Club was also a high quality outing with some savvy booking. The mid-card held itself up nicely for the most, with a debut for Bayley, another fun six man between The New Day and The Wyatt Family, a forgivable talking segment between Randy Orton and Chris Jericho and a sleeper bout from Becky Lynch and Natalya. 

Had the Darren Young and Bob Backlund fiasco not been on the show, I'm sure we'd be seeing the years highest PPV rating. 

Content by James Marston.