TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1213 - Chris Jericho v Roman Reigns

As the dust from SummerSlam began to settle and it was revealed that the newly crowned Universal Champion Finn Balor would be on the shelf for six months, WWE was once again in position of having to change their plans and put together an evening of action that one would have to imagine was vastly different from what had been scheduled. Would WWE be able to think fast and pull out a quality episode of RAW? 

The main event of the show saw Roman Reigns and Chris Jericho battling for the final spot in a Fatal Four-way match on RAW #1214, where the Universal Championship will be on the line. Despite being unresponsive for most of the show, Brooklyn were determined to display how much they dislike Reigns, who let's be honest has been playing a tweener role since WrestleMania 32 anyway. There was still a fair reply of "Yes he can" to every "You can't wrestle" chant and despite the crowd's dislike for Reigns, Brooklyn was invested in the headline contest from start to finish, popping for every near fall and essentially playing into the story WWE wanted to tell of Reigns overcoming various obstacles to pull out the win. Personally, I feel WWE are leaving money on the table by not turning The Big Dog heel, which in the long run would probably also lead to Reigns being accepted by the fans, in similar way to what's been seen in NJPW with Tetsuya Naito. 

Reigns and Jericho put on a strong main event match, with the pair both working a clever bout that was booked perfectly and had some great near falls. Reigns sold the Walls of Jericho well but I'm sure most of the crowd knew that WWE wouldn't have Jericho beat Reigns clean, so having Y2J's Jeri-KO partner, Kevin Owens, come down to ringside in the second half of the contest allowed for some much more convincing near falls. Jericho also made sure to protect himself and his codebreaker finisher by crawling into the pin, rather than instantly grabbing the cover. The story of Reigns being the powerful one, whilst Jericho bought a crafty veteran persona, sticking his thumb in his opponents eye and having his pal help him at ringside was told well, with Reigns selling the injured eye well. They could have made a bit more of The Guy being unable to see if they had a bit more time. I don't imagine Reigns will win the Universal belt on 29th August, but his involvement will make the win more important and guarantee that the crowd will be invested in the action.

As mentioned above, Finn Balor had to vacate the Universal Championship after less than a day holding onto the red belt. After RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and RAW General Manager Mick Foley had introduced him at the top of the show, Balor would forfeit the belt in an emotional address to the Brooklyn crowd. It was difficult not to feel for Fergal Devitt. I'm not trying to be smart by using his birth name, I used it because as much this was a bad time for the character on screen, you have to think that it's much worse the man behind it. Someone who's worked since 2000 to get this point, someone who toiled in Japan for eight years to make a name for himself and become one of the best wrestlers in the world, spent three years in NXT becoming a rounded sports-entertainer and went on to win the top championship on WWE's RAW brand after just three matches on the show. Everything that Devitt had done previously, winning the NWA British Commonwealth title in 2004, winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles six times between 2008 and 2012, winning the Best of the Super Juniors in 2010 & 2013, winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship three times between 2011 and 2014, winning the NXT Championship and the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2015, having great matches with Koji Kanemoto, The Motor City Machine Guns, Naomichi Marifuji, Golden Lovers, Gedo, Kazuchika Okada, Zack Sabre Jr., Adrian Neville, Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura, wrestling in Japan, the USA, the UK, Mexico, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Canada, France, New Zealand, Palau, Poland, Singapore and Hungary, was leading up SummerSlam 2016 and within hours it was taken away.

The segment swiftly moved away from Balor's concession with Seth Rollins coming out to claim the belt, only to be interrupted by Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Enzo & Cass and Roman Reigns. It made for some entertaining televison as I tried to work out who would be out next and the solution that McMahon & Foley would come up with. Rollins did a brilliant job with his smarmy heel promo getting some great heat for talking about how beautifully the Universal belt was, whilst Jericho also made the most of his time putting his hand in praying position and begging McMahon to give him the title. However, this parade of RAW's top talent probably wasn't needed as The Billion Dollar Princess and The Hardcore Legend could have easily announced plans on their own and given the matches or other segments more time. Personally, I'd have liked to have seen the winners of the matches from the previous night Supercard be the ones involved, but that's probably asking to much with a number of them involved in other stories and the card having to shuffled anyway! The segment concluded with Rollins attacking Zayn from behind prior to their opening match.

Big E picked up a win in first singles match since March and extend his undefeated streak to six matches with a quick victory over Karl Anderson, gaining revenge for the attack on his nads. This was a decent match, that could have done with an extra five minutes to allow the pair to get into the next gear, but did it's job well bringing New Day's feud with The Club to a close with Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Luke Gallows all involved in the match's conclusion. The segment that would lead into the contest was a lot of fun with New Day celebrating a year as Tag Team Champions and an appreciative Brooklyn crowd hanging off the groups every word. The interaction between the two groups was more good stuff with Big E making me choke on my tea with his request that The Club stop "talking that flim flam, that booty chatter". 

In the most interesting thing The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley) have done for months, BRD & D-Von were out to do a retirement speech after a full year back in the company. As they were cutting their speech, I began to think how much of a shame it was that the pair hadn't been in the ring with The Club's Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, as the two teams would seem to match up with each other pretty well. The segment was well put together and worked the crowd perfectly, as initially The Shining Stars (Epico & Primo) interrupted Dudley Boyz and when it seems like BRD & D-Von were about to put Epico & Primo through a table and end their career on a high note, The Club would attack. After D-Von took Magic Killer on the floor and BRD took it through a table, we could have the most engaging feud of Dudley Boyz's second run with WWE. The heat for Gallows & Anderson was arguably the best crowd reaction for them as a tag tram since their debut in April.

Talking of reactions, how about that pop for Bayley, eh? Making her first appearance since Battleground and her RAW debut, Mick Foley would introduce the former NXT Women's Champion as his new free agent signing after interrupting NEW Women's Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke. This segment was my favourite part of the show, partly because Bayley finally getting the chance on the big stage, but mainly because Charlotte cut two excellent promos either side of it. Her initial speech about defeating Sasha Banks at SummerSlam was wonderfully slick as she claimed to have shown up Banks as a one match wonder. Her reply to Bayley asking for a title match was a equally well done, taking on a condescening tone and shuffling herself aside as she offered the debutant a match with Brooke instead. A great piece of business that sets up an interesting feud with two polar opposite characters with history dating back to 2013 in NXT, whilst Banks return from her back injury will only add more fuel to the fire.

The Universal Championship tournament would offer up another first time WWE clash as Rusev and Big Cass met in the ring for the first time since 2013. After some comedy from Cass & Enzo Amore as they tried to work out where the "Bulg Area" was, the match was a serious affair that used Rusev's rib injury caused by Roman Reigns the previous night as it's catalyst. As much as the victory was a huge lift for The Big Bambino, it was The Bulgarian Brute's performance that stood out, helped by some wonderful heel commentary from Corey Graves. Rusev constantly made sure the rib injury was in the audience's mind, not just grabbing the ribs, but showing the pain all over his face. The finish used this well as Rusev would walk out of the match because of the pain, in a good piece of juxtaposition between he and Sami Zayn...

The show's opening match saw Seth Rollins earn his spot in the Universal Championship match next week with a victory over Sami Zayn in a good match. Similar to the Rusev v Cass bout, it was the losing competitor who put on the strongest performance, as The Underdog from the Underground put on a masterclass, kayfabe hurting his ankle when jumping over Rollins and selling it for it all it was worth. This produced some compelling action and got the crowd behind the former NXT Champion, garnering great reactions off flash false finishes including a sunset flip bomb. The finish continued on an on-going theme from the match with Zayn's ankle not allowing him to hit a Michonoku Driver, allowing The Aerialist to hit a Pedigree for the win. Two of the best wrestlers in the company doing what they do best, a feud between Rollins and Zayn has the potential to be money.

Rounding out the Universal Championship semi-finals was another clash between two former NXT Champions as Kevin Owens and Neville had another good match with each other. The pair made the most of their short time on screen, crafting a pacy contest that was beneficial to both men. Neville looked the best he's done since his return from injury with a brilliant face shine that included a 450 splash off the apron and a 450 plancha, whilst the relationship between Owens and Jeri-KO team mate, Chris Jericho was strengthened. The had a smooth series of action, where the both avoided each others finishes, before Y2J would stop Neville from hitting Red Arrow, allowing Owens to hit an Argentine Neckbreaker to pick up the win.

Titus O'Neil cut a promo on this week's episode. I say cut, what I mean is butchered. The Real Deal somehow managed to fuck up every line he had to say, stumbling over his words and looking like a kid on their first day of drama school. He didn't looked like he believe a single word he was saying about former Prime Time Players partner Darren Young and appeared more like he was just struggling to remember what he had to say next. For someone who has been employed by WWE since 2009, it was unforgivably bad. Things didn't get better when Bob Backlund ran to the ring and Young waited until his life coach had been squashed by O'Neil before bothering to get his arse down to the ring where he'd then take a Clash of the Titus himself. A truly dreadful piece of TV. 

After an electric entrance, Bayley's match opposite Dana Brooke wasn't the best introduction for the former NXT Women's Champion. Whilst she got the win with a Belly to Bayley in an impressive fashion, I have to think those who were seeing Bayley for the first time would be wondering what all the fuss was about. Beginning the match by riding Brooke like a horse and a Slip N' Slide wasn't a great way to insert her into RAW's women's division. Despite a couple of awkward bumps the crowd remained behind Bayley throughout the short contest, which is definitely a good sign, let's hope we get to see better performance from Bayley over the next few weeks to get those more casual fans invested in her as well. Matches with Banks, Charlotte and Paige, and even Summer Rae and Alicia Fox offer plenty of options for Bayley going forward on RAW.

Best of the Rest 

• Braun Strowman picked up his six singles victory in a row, beating Johnny Knockout in just over a minute.

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.67/10

This a decent episode of Monday Night RAW and the best edition since the show following Battleground 2016. The unfortunate injury to Finn Balor meant that WWE put on four different matches, that had consequences and all had their own things to enjoy about them. Out of those matches, my personal favourite was the main event between Reigns and Jericho, but I also wouldn't argue if someone enjoyed Rollins v Zayn or Owens v Neville more. However, the segment featuring the debut of Bayley and some killer heel work from Charlotte was the pinnacle of the episode for me, even if Bayley's win over Brooke wasn't the best first match for the former NXT Women's Champion. 

Outside of the tournament was a mixed bag, with some good comedy from the New Day, a decent bout between Big E and Anderson, a strong angle involving Dudley Boyz, Shining Stars and The Club and an awful few minutes with O'Neil, Backlund and Young. Had the terrible promo from O'Neil not been on the show, RAW #1213 would have gotten over a 6 on the ATPW Scale.

With next week's show featuring the Four-Way between Rollins, Owens, Cass and Reigns to crown the second and longest reigning Universal Champion, which is undoubtedly a PPV quality bout, I would expect the show to be pushing back into the 6 range.

All content - James Marston
Banner credit - Kai Stellar

Opinion: Joey Ryan- Sports Entertainment's Unsung Hero or An American Tale- The DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Title Goes West‏

Sports Entertainment, sorry to keep bringing that term up pure 'Wrestling' fans, is a better descriptive term for the artform we enjoy than many give it credit for. We aren't watching actual greco-roman conflict (though if you do want to watch that, how about those Olympics?), what we're watching is something that as the name suggests, has all the look of a sport but is still entertaining. Now we all know that there are wonderful examples of great comedy wrestlers who can also be serious like Colt Cabana or Grado and even serious wrestlers who can be damn funny like Kevin Owens but what ever happened to the spirit of pure entertainment that wrestling brought people in its 80's heyday (one of many heydays apparently)? Sorry to play Devil's Advocate for 135 words there as actually I don't agree with what I said. The simple answer is that it didn't go away, it just fell into the hands of a more self-aware audience and in the hands of Joey Ryan, became modern art.

So who is Joey Ryan? I hear you asking, hypothetical reader who would start reading an article with a preposterously long title about someone they don't know. Joey Ryan is an independent wrestler, he has worked for TNA, ROH, NWA, WWE and was one of the founders of PWG. He can currently be found on Lucha Underground and has held multiple titles including the NWA Heavyweight... He's the guy that suplexes people with his dick. That's where you know him, don't pretend you know him for his (utterly bloody incredible) guerilla warfare match teaming with Candace Lerae against the Young Bucks, you know him for being the guy who performs tests of strength but with his dick and when he beats the opponents, he YouPorn Plex-es them onto their back. He is the King of Dong Style and that is a glorious thing but I want to talk today about what may possibly be his (and mankind's) greatest achievement: he's a twenty-two time DDT Pro Iron Man HeavyMetalWeight 24/7 Champion.

How to describe the above sentence, well DDT (Dramatic Dream Team) Pro is in many ways, a parody of American wrestling with matches either being ludicrously hardcore brawls, ridiculous comedy matches or both. One of their titles is the Ironman Heavymet...let's just call it the Ironman Title (Editor's Note - Definitely should gone for DDT P.I.M. HMT 24/7, Jozef) for the rest of the article. Imagine if the Hardcore title had been taken even less seriously but not in a 'this title is so pointless that it has devalued itself' more in a 'let's do all the really stupid but really goddamn funny shit they wouldn't let us do elsewhere' way. Over its sixteen year lineage, it has been held approaching two-thousand different times by male wrestlers, female wrestlers, non-wrestlers, children, a ghost, a monkey, dogs, multiple sex dolls, posters, guitars and even the belt itself. On May 21st, Joey Ryan won the belt from Saki Akai at a DDT Pro event in Japan and since then he's taken it to America and luckily for us, the camera's have been filming for every title change.

Now, this is basically a litmus test for how much you're going to enjoy what comes next, here's an incredibly brutal submissions match between Scott Hall and Colt Cabana...

Did you laugh? Yes, read on. No, you can go have a mug of Horlicks and quit while you're ahead. What the Ironman title provides, is essentially wrestling themed sketch comedy. It's what the JBL and Cole show was trying to do but infinitely more enjoyable because it doesn't have JBL or Michael Cole. What's lovely about Joey Ryan's time as controller of the title is that it has been quite clearly an entire careers worth of amassed in-jokes and 'wouldn't this be funny?' ways to finish matches, well, it's odd to call them matches as ninety percent of it takes place outside of the ring, and most importantly, it seems to be just an excuse for Joey Ryan to hang out with his buddies and make fun viral content.

Now I know that nothing that Ryan has done with the belt so far has matched the insanity of the Japan years, there's been no 70 something title changes in a night, no inanimate object wins but that's the thing, Ryan's not trying to match anything that's been done before, he's taken the belt and forged his own lineage. There's a lot of amateur Jim Rosses that are probably queuing up to tell me about business exposal but can you really argue with watching a man freeze time a la Saved by the Bell and then re-maneuver his opponents to attack each other to get the pin and that's not even the only title change of the night as Ryan will then forfeit the title to the audience only for them to 'tap out' to him again. To even attempt to rationalise it is to miss the point. Ryan is a guy who's been to all the major companies and been used as enhancement a lot and he is way more talented than that but what he's showing is that he doesn't need to be. Sometimes it can be fun to just watch him goof around and it really works. I mean this is a title that even managed to make me happy when Santino Marella won it and that takes some doing. 

And now, here's a controversial paragraph, in which I explain why the YouPornPlex might be the most important move in Sports Entertainment. Now bear in mind, I'm saying Sports Entertainment not Wrestling here but honestly, it just might be. You see, the YPP (a wonderful example of time saving efficiency in acronyms here) is something that makes no sense as soon as you think about it, in fact, it doesn't make sense even before you think about it - penises just don't work like that. First off, clenching your genitals won't hurt the hand around them unless you're able to generate superhuman strength focused into them (with Ryan, I can almost believe this) and then why does swinging it make the person do a flip? You know why? Because it's the only natural ending to the situation. I mean if a man grabs another man's privates, the most interesting escalation is for the privates to fight back and from there on for the privates to win. It is utterly stupid and ridiculous but then so is the entire medium. Honestly, I'm not even going to get started on Chikara and the Ants, I just want to talk about The Undertaker. He's  wrestling mortician who became a necromancer who became the ultimate evil who became an angry biker. He can control lightning and despite being so old he takes as many bumps from his own hat as other wrestlers, we still apparently believe he could beat anyone. This is apparently less ridiculous to you than a suplex delivered via phallus? The YPP is a move that is representative of the more colourful elements of wrestling and is a love letter to other ridiculous elements. A finisher or a signature move isn't always the biggest move of the match but it should always be one that means something: when Scotty 2 Hotty did the Worm, when Santino did the cobra, when The Rock did any of his finishers, it's not so much that they were actually good or effective moves, it's that the crowd recognise them and is excited, it's why we refer to The Rock as The Most Electrifying; he might not be the most technical but he sure is (sorry) fun to watch (Editors Note: Maggle?). The YPP achieves this because it is something that in a straight fight would never happen but in the world of Sports Entertainment, it makes perfect sense but even more than that, it shows a willingness to play with new ideas, no playing with himself jokes intended here we're all grown-ups.

The YPP is the finishing move for an advanced, knowledgable audience. By removing the attempts to feign reality, Ryan is able to create something more immersive as he makes the audience implicit in the developing of their own insular reality, even to the point of allowing the audience to win the title from him. The YPP is the audience's move, it's for wrestling fans because we know how matches are meant to work and the YPP isn't meant to and to the outside world, probably doesn't. It is post-modern wrestling, aware of the rules that govern it and willing to not so much break as re-form them for a new purpose. It's in the same spirit that Ryan can lose a belt to his tag partner Larae in a dream or his fiancè Laura James can be pinned by their cat only for Dolph Ziggler's brother to trade the belt from said cat for a treat. These are not things that would happen in a non-scripted reality but in a pre-determined one, why shouldn't they? I know this phrase is old hat by now but rules are made to be broken but also you can't break the rules until you've learnt them and learnt to respect them. Ryan is now 36, he's been around for enough time to see how the rules work and how to respect them so frankly, I think he's earned the chance to break a few of them.

All in all, this opinion piece could have been seven words: "Go to Joey Ryan's YouTube page. Enjoy." All the Iron Man Title in the USA 'matches' are there and where else are you going to find seventy five title defenses that last you about an hour in total? Wrestling can be art and art has to evolve. When I wrote in my second article here about comedy in wrestling, I wanted to try and make it clear that wrestling can be funny as long as it's humour evolves with time, even if you're pitching your programme to the youngest viewer, your sense of what makes good comedy doesn't have to be Stephanie McMahon throws up all over Vickie Guerrero. Good comedy in Sports Entertainment should be the same as good wrestling in Sports Entertainment, it works because the audience believe it and it tells a story. There are few people more entertaining on the modern scene than Joey Ryan, he puts his all into everything he does and as a result, he's made a comedy belt matter, if anything, it now matters far more than the Hardcore title it was parodying in the first place. As of writing this, Ryan is on his twenty-second reign as Ironman champion, here's hoping he can keep going as break the record for most reigns. He has about two hundred to go but I have no doubt he can do it.

Written & Video Content - Jozef Raczka 
Pictorial & Editorial Content - James Marston
Video Credit - youtube.com
Picture Credit - cagesideseats.com 

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

Supercard Review: WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II - Shinsuke Nakamura v Samoa Joe

As NXT Takeover returned to Brooklyn, the line-up appeared to be just as strong as the previous year's triumphant event. However, with the likes of Kevin Owens, Jushin Thunder Liger and Sasha Banks being replaced with names like Shinsuke Nakamura, Austin Aries and Asuka the faces were a little different. With Samoa Joe rising to the groups figure head as champion after an undercard bout a year ago, could Takeover: Brooklyn II live up to it's predecessor? 

Two of the greatest wrestlers in the world tangled in the main event, as Samoa Joe put his 121 day NXT title reign on the line against 3 time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. Before I start about how good the clash was, I have to mention all the marvelous stuff that went down before the bell even rang. When I say marvelous stuff, I mostly mean Nakamura's entrance, which was spectacular, without feeling over the top. Lee England Jr. turned up and performed magic with a violin, initially playing The King of Strong Style's theme, The Rising Sun (originally recorded by CFO$) in an elegant solo, before the full theme kicked in and Nakamura did his thing around his new pal. LEJ was a perfect fit for the NJPW star and the whole product was incredible, with Brooklyn crowd marking out massively for it. Joe and Nakamura's interaction during the in-ring announcements lifted the bout even further, after what has been a dramatic build up.

Nakamura and Joe put on a match that lived up to the huge amount of hype, in a style of wrestling that I love to watch, that being the slow-burner. However, I think it has to be noted to after the buzz had warmed off from the entrances, the pair seemed to lose the crowd slightly. The action was of a high quality with Joe controlling a lot of the early going and the two exchanged holds, with the commentary team putting over both the respect and the dislike between the two competitors. It wasn't the kind of wrestling that was going to send the crowd into a frenzy, however the Barclays Center seemed to drift away, politely clapping the action with a few odd chants breaking out also. Personally, I felt like booking the three title matches, arguably the three biggest bouts on the show on after another meant that the crowd was emotionally burnt out and then knackered even more by Nakamura's entrance and the audience used the start of the match to re-charge. It took them until the former MMA star went for his first Kinshasa of the night to come back to life. 

Whilst it the crowd were still recovering, the bout picked up for me as soon as Joe hit an Enziguiri with Nakamura on the top and from that point as the contest began to develop into a strike and submission based encounter. The little details made everything so much more enjoyable, I'm talking about things like Joe putting his hands up and trying to block Nakamura's grounded knee strikes and this match was full of things like that. A submission sequence that included Nakamura flying into a cross armbreaker and Joe transitioning into a California Cloverleaf was smashing stuff, with both selling the severity of the hold, whilst crisply moving from move to move. Two massive near falls off Muscle Buster for Joe and a Kinshasa for Nakamura got big reactions from the reawakened crowd, whilst The Samoan Submission Machine selling after the Kinshasa was unbelievably good as he called the referee over to check on his jaw, which, of course, helps to protect Joe for what was about to come. Moments later it would be a middle rope knee to the back of the neck and second Kinshasa that got him the NXT title just 9 televised singles matches into his NXT run, only Kevin Owens (3) and Seth Rollins (6) have done it in less. 

Asuka putting the Women's Championship on the line against the woman she defeated for the title, Bayley found itself in the semi-main slot. The hype promo prior to the bout had told a brilliant story of redemption for Bayley, whilst painting Asuka as a dominant and powerful champion and that's mostly the way the match played out. In opening stages the commentary team did a superb job of putting over the contrasts between the two fighters, whilst the pair added to this through their body language during in the in-ring announcements and their initial exchanges. The back and forth start, with Bayley eventually leaping into a knee, emphasised the challenger as the underdog, whilst also showing that she could still hold her own with The Empress of Tomorrow. 

Comparable to how the Barclays Center effected the feel of the main event on television and possibly even directly related to that, they were on fire for Asuka v Bayley. It seemed to be like they were split 50/50, with chants for both women, often dueling and reacting to every move the couple made. I'm not sure how it felt in the building but it made for fantastic viewing at home and is testament to how the match has been built to ever since Asuka turned up in NXT. Having two babyfaces go head to head can cause the crowd to decide to get behind neither competitor, but despite both being likeable and entertaining characters and superlative pro wrestlers, the differences between their demeanors have been exentuated over the last few weeks and months, which continued throughout the contest and meant that different sections of the crowd could relate to different woman more. Clearly defined and well-rounded roles should mean that any combination gets a crowd excited and that's what we saw here. 

For me, the clash took a while to find it's place, but was great in closing stages with some strong near falls. A Bayley to Belly suplex got a marvelous response from the crowd, whilst the former champ struggling to escape the Asuka Lock was the best part of the battle as it was played perfectly both women and the commentators. The story of Bayley going toe to toe with the woman who took the title from her, played out through a number of back and forth sequences, fighting hard but mostly coming out with the short straw in each exchange played out well, leading to a finishing flurry where Asuka retained her belt with a series of kicks to the head. Bayley's slap that resulted in the flurry bought the narrative to a satisfying climax. The way Bayley sold the loss, remaining in the ring after Asuka had left, in what could very well be her final appearance for NXT, elevates the women's belt further as it was so clear what not being able to get the win and the strap meant to Bayley.

The match of the night came in the form of NXT's strongest tag team contests to date as The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) went to war with AIW's Johnny Gargano and CW's Tommaso Ciampa. There was so much that I enjoyed in this one, that it's difficult to know where to start and still have a coherent review, that isn't rambling madness. I'll start at the end, which saw Gargano tap out to an inverted figure four leg lock from Dawson in a dramatic conclusion. The work that was put in to legitmise the tap out and protect Gargano was exemplary, showing a proper intelligence for long-term booking and storytelling. With Ciampa sent into the post, The Revival focused all their attention on Johnny Wrestling, using the same move they put Big Cass on the shelf with, moments after a vicious chop block. A convincing and gratifying conclusion that adds another string to The Revival's bow and will make future matches involving the pair potentially even theatrical.

Over the last month or so, The Revival have become my favourite tag team in wrestling, taking that spot around the time of their 2/3 Falls bout with American Alpha and this match completely solidified them in that spot. Both men where excellent throughout, getting their old-school heel tag team act down to fine art and continuing to explore the possibilities within the genre. The work they did whilst Ciampa was working the psycho killer in peril role was sublime stuff. The spot where Wilder would purposefully fall into the ring to distract the referee, meaning he missed Ciampa's hot tag to Gargano and whilst the ref was trying to keep Johnny Wrestling out of the ring, The Revival went to work double teaming The Sicilian Psychopath. It was like "Ah that's good, oh that's better, sweet baby Jesus that's the best", consistently adding that extra level and then raising the bar. I like the Revival. 

As much as I mark out for Wilder & Dawson's act, the action took on a whole other dimension as soon as that hot tag was made. The near falls mounted up at a hectic pace and whipped the crowd into a frenzy as they willed the indy talents on grab their first titles in NXT. There was four or five genuinely convincing falls for Ciampa & Gargano, with each some how more convincing than the last and getting a better response each and everytime. Alongside the small package reversals and lengthy periods in submission holds, the strongest of these had to the pair hitting their superkick and running knee strike combination, only for Wilder to place Dawson's foot on the rope before the three count. The duo made each moment better than the last and their expressions got over their desperation to win the belt well. Despite being unsuccessful, Ciampa & Gargano helped raise the tag division up a couple of notches and with them going full time with NXT soon, things can only get better going forward!  

In the mid-card, Austin Aries and No Way Jose put on a good bout, that elevated Jose in defeat, but certainly could have been tighter in places. I was relatively impressed with Jose, who looked comfortable in the ring with the veteran Aries and pulled off some cool sequences in what was the biggest match of his career to date. The TKO reversal out of The Greatest Man That Ever Lived's roaring elbow attempt was crisp and Jose's TKO looked great, whilst reversing a brainbuster attempt with a falcon arrow also looked very nice. Placing Jose in their with Aries was undoubtedly a great decision as the 6 time TNA X Division Champion was able to lead Jose through an enjoyable opening match, that will no doubt have taught Jose a hell of a lot. 

For me, the contest was harmed by the Brooklyn crowd cheering for the heel Aries, but that shouldn't be the case in the feud that began once the match was over. Hideo Itami heading down to the ring to stop Aries from battering Jose even more got a big pop and the resulting scrap showed just the kind of action the duo could put on if asked. The back and forth strikes, whilst Itami was still wearing a suit (with bare ankles, because I imagine they overheat or something) was a great advert for a future clash between the two. Plus, Itami hit a GTS, which definitely pops the boys. Personally, I feel like this should have been the International Sensation's return to NXT, instead of having him worked two fairly simple bouts on TV on the last couple of weeks, as it would have felt like an even bigger moment.

With more than few similarities to Aries v Jose, 6 time TNA World Tag Team Champion Bobby Roode's NXT TV debut against Andrade Cien Almas was another good match that featured a former TNA main eventer opposite someone who has yet to fully connect with the NXT audience. Not only has Almas yet to win over the crowd, but they actively booed him, both on his entrance and during the match. Maybe that has something to do with how over the Glorious Domination (CFO$) theme and Gargano & Ciampa's "Glorious bomb" videos, but there's also an element of that Almas hasn't had much of an opportunity to truly show off what he can truly do, since transferring from CMLL, with this bout being double the length of any of his previous longest contest in NXT. I think the company overestimated La Sombra's reach outside of Mexico and things like his costume (the hat and braces thing) have not helped things at all. A crowd cheering for a heel and booing the babyface can have a real adverse consequences on how effective the storytelling of a match is, especially for a simple bout like this.

Having moaned about Almas' struggle to get over, it would wrong of me to not note that he and Roode put on an enjoyable fight, that had some great sequences of action in the second half. It's getting harder to be impressed by high-flying action, because it's abundant in 2016, even more so with the Cruiserweight Classic currently six week's into it's run. However, Cien's series of dives and tricks, that included a stunning double jump corkscrew dive to the outside, were genuinely impressive and the sequence where Almas feinted a moonsault then went for another on landing on his feet, only for Roode to get his knees up was a clever use of his skills. The two seemed to connect in the ring in that second portion, flowing through some great action and getting a couple of quality near falls. The finish was a dominant display from The It-Factor of Professional Wrestling as he came out of a back and forth sequence with the upperhand after nailing a big spinebuster and picked up the pin with the Glorious Bomb (Pumphandle Drop). I'm hoping beyond hope that Roode switches to a better finish sooner rather than later, as the Glorious Bomb was probably one of the weakest looking moves of the entire show. 

Rounding off the show, we had Ember Moon [Athena] making her debut against Billie Kay, in a decent introduction to Moon that showcased her pace and offence, although I'm still not convinced by Kay. For me, Kay still seems a bit off when on the offensive. When she was in control the action didn't seem to have any direction and she just randomly used other people's finishes. Using moves like Gail Kim/Xavier Woods' Eat Defeat/Lost in the Woods or a variation of Victoria's Widow's Peak just made the match feel clunky, as the moves came way too early for anyone to buy them as an effective near fall, whilst it causes you to think about how someone else did that move better because they could or can beat people with it! The struggle to get the Gory Special locked in didn't help things either. Luckily, Athena was impressive enough to get the crowd on her side towards the end of the match, with some groovy moves, including the O-Face (Diving Corkscrew Stunner) which got her the win. She's a welcome addition to the TV roster, hopefully we get to see her mix it up with the likes of Asuka, Bayley and Peyton Royce sooner rather than later. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 7.14/10

NXT has worked itself into a position, where the expectation of their supercards is so high, that it can be difficult for them to live up to the hype. Luckily for us viewers, NXT has so far managed to deliver on each and every one of them, getting a consistency that is few and far between in modern day wrestling. This show was a very good wrestling presentation, that did a number of jobs across the two hours, whether that be to introduce a performer, say goodbye to another or just to have a damn good match and manage to do all of these well. The Revival v Gargano & Ciampa was the strongest match of the night, with Nakamura v Joe not far behind, Bayley v Asuka up there as well, with a good quality undercard involving Aries, Roode and the debut of Moon. 

Was it as strong as the first one? Ummm...I'm going to say no. Whilst #2's undercard was strong, #1 had Bayley v Banks and Balor v Owens in a Ladder match, which were both a step above their opposite number on this show. However as sequels go, it certainly wasn't far off! 

The brand continues to evolve and I'd expect another completely different card when they head back to Brooklyn on 19th August 2017! 

All content - James Marston