Sunday, September 15th, 2019
Spectrum Center
Charlotte, North Carolina
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Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode
Strowman's booking has been curious his entire career. He really caught fire for awhile and then lost every important match he had. Now he's basically a part timer, at least on pay-per-views. The ring posts look awesome here tonight. Ziggler hits a nice running DDT on Rollins on the outside. I don't know why they don't pick something for both Roode and Ziggler and just stick with it. Maybe this will stick. They're both towards the end of their primes that it makes sense that they stick with tag team wrestling. Seth is wrestling like a man who doesn't have to wrestle again later tonight. Strowman shoulderblocks Roode right into Rollins. Roode hits a glorious DDT on Rollins and gets the pinfall to win the championships. Cole reminds us that they weren't even a tag team a month ago as if Strowman and Rollins are some long tenured team. Good opener with kind of a meh ending.
Match Rating: *** (out of 5)
Strowman gets interviewed backstage and says that he didn't lose the championships, Seth did. Just like he is going to lose his Universal Championship when he gets these hands.
Becky Lynch is here now and says that both her and Seth will still be champions at the end of the night. Becky says that her last 12 months is the best run in WWE history.
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley
Charlotte naturally gets a huge pop in her hometown and Bayley gets boos. Charlotte immediately hits a boot and almost gets a quick victory. I have to say the whole Bayley/Sasha storyline has me more intrigued than most angles they do these days. I'm also a big fan of both women, so that probably helps. Charlotte continues to stay on Bayley and throws her into the barricade. While Charlotte was talking to the ref, Bayley took the cover off the turnbuckle and slams her face into the exposed metal and gets the victory out of nowhere. While I obviously would have liked to have seen another 10 minutes or so of this match, this is part of a bigger picture and I can appreciate that. It was good while it lasted and this adds another layer to Bayley's heel turn.
Match Rating: *3/4
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
The Revival vs. New Day
In a perfect world, we would get a 25 minute classic between these two. Instead, I'm guessing right around the 10 minute mark. I will say the Revival hanging around Orton makes Orton more relevant than he's been in years. Dawson hits an awesome leaping clothesline to Big E off the apron. Cool spot there. The Revival dominates on Big E as Xavier Woods is laid outside the ring. Woods finally gets back up and gets the hot tag. Woods cleans house and almost gets the win with a DDT. Big E goes for his spear to the outside, but Wilder moves and then goes for a suicide dive but Big E catches him. All of this is happening faster than I can put the words down. The Revival take out Woods by his knee again and then hit the Shatter Machine. For some reason they aren't going for the cover and instead are trying to inflict more injury to Woods' knee. He puts him in a reverse Figure Four, but Woods is fighting. Woods can't take it anymore and taps and we have new champions. That's two kind of flat finishes in the tag team matches tonight. The rest was good, but too short for what it was going for.
Match Rating: **3/4
After the match, the Revival tells the WWE Universe that they are welcome for getting rid of pancakes and trombones. They also say that we will see a new WWE Champion tonight in Randy Orton.
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross are here backstage. As Nikki is talking, a boom mic gets in their face and it's R-Truth and Carmella. Alexa announces that R-Truth is on the set and a group of wrestlers come out to chase him.
Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
Apparently Rose and Deville are called Fire & Desire. Rose and Cross start things off. Cross mocks Rose and it's probably the most entertaining thing I have ever seen her do. It feels like Bliss is starting to get her groove back after a long run of injuries. Truth is in the ring right now and is being chased by the same wrestlers and then Bliss goes for a pin and gets a 2 count on Truth. Cross wins the hot tag battle over Deville. Deville then hits Cross into the ropes and causes Bliss to fall of the top rope. Rose and Deville hit a high and low combo move, but it's not enough. Cross then hits the Purge for the pinfall victory. That match didn't do much for me.
Match Rating: *1/2
Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
I guess Sami Zayn is doing the live mic manager schtick. I love Sami, but he can be of a lot more value than that. Miz takes the match and chucks it up to the stage. Nakamura hits a kick and knocks Miz off the apron. After a flurry of offense from the Miz, Nakamura gets him in the arm bar. Miz escapes and hits a DDT for a 2 count. Nakamura hits a cool variation of a German suplex with Miz hanging in the ropes. Miz has Nakamura in the Figure Four, but he grabs the bottom rope to break the hold. He goes for it again, but Nakamura counters with a small package for a 2 count. Miz goes off the ropes and Zayn grabs his leg allowing Nakamura to hit a knee strike to the back of the head, but Miz is able to kick out again. Miz counters the Kinshasa and hits the Skull Crushing Finale, but Sami distracts the ref. Miz chaes Zayn around the ring and Nakamura surprises him with a big kick from around the corner. Back in the ring he hits Kinshasa and retains his title. The last few minutes really picked up and it was an enjoyable match. I'm not sure if this pairing will finally make Nakamura mean something, but it's worth a shot.
Match Rating: ***
Raw Women's Championship Match
Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch
Becky slaps Sasha and slams her face repeatedly into the mat. Sasha heels her way into a comeback and is working Becky over for a little while. Becky hits a dropkick to the midsection as Sasha came off the top rope. With NXT becoming a third brand rather than a developmental brand (which I know it has been this way, but the USA deal makes it official), WWE really needs to develop the depth of the women's division. They need to have more undercard feuds and storylines to elevate the Sonya Deville's and Sarah Logan's of the roster. Meanwhile, Sasha as a heel is really what suits her the best. Becky goes for a superplex, but Sasha shoves her off and hits the Meteora for a nearfall. Becky gets Sasha into the Disarm Her, but Sasha gets to the ropes. Missile dropkick gets a two count for Becky and she's starting to show signs of frustration. Sasha hits a backstabber and then another one and rolls into the Bank Statement. Sasha puts a steel chair into the ring and while the ref puts it away she grabs another one and hits Becky in the midsection with the other chair, but that only gets a 2 count. Sasha grabs the chair again, but the official takes it away. Becky picks up the chair and swings at Sasha but hits the ref. The ref is down and Lynch hits Sasha in the back with the chair. Sasha retreats in the crowd and up the stairs. They are battling up the stairs and Becky puts the Disarm Her on Sasha on one of the railings and Sasha taps, but there is obviously no ref here. They are now out in the concourse and Becky continues to take it to Banks. They are now fighting down the stairs and back towards the ring. Banks drives Lynch back into the barricade. For some reason there is no new referee and the announcers say that Becky was disqualified and obviously retains her title. Lynch is now hitting Banks with a chair to the back repeatedly. She puts on the Disarm Her on the chair and finally some referees come out to break it up. The non-finish had to be used here to continue the story and the match itself was good. Both women worked hard and kept things compelling throughout.
Match Rating: ***1/2
WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston
Their first match at SummerSlam was a miss for me. Let's see if they can put something better here tonight. We just watched a hype video about how personal this match is between these two and yet we get a slow, methodical start. I'm not sure I quite understand the logic there. They continue at the dreaded Orton pace. Orton hits a suplex to the floor and then drops him on the announcers table. Kofi hits a dropkick off of the second rope, but Orton then throws him through the ropes into the ring post. Kofi makes a comeback and goes for Trouble In Paradise, but Orton hits a backbreaker for a 2 count. Kofi dumps Orton over the top rope and Kofi hits his leap over the top rope. He puts him back in the ring and heads up top. Kofi hits a crossbody, but Orton rolls through and gets a 2 count. Kofi goes for SOS, but Orton hits a big dropkick. Randy hits the RKO but for some reason the genius veteran doesn't hook Kofi's outside leg and Kofi is able to put it on the bottom rope. Orton goes for the punt, but Kofi avoids it and hits Trouble In Paradise and gets the victory. This one did not click for me either. It's time to move on from this one.
Match Rating: **1/4
The Street Profits are here doing their thing. The King of the Ring Finals take place tomorrow on Raw. Montez Ford sings the intro to "Circle Of Life". They continue yapping and in walks King Booker.
No Disqualification Match
Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan
Roman got the memo on how to start a grudge match and goes right for Rowan. This is easily the biggest singles match of Rowan's career. Reigns moves out of the way and Rowan goes shoulder first into the steel steps. Rowan hits Reigns with the steel steps and Reigns is now in the crowd. It's the Attitude Era all over again as we now have had two matches that have gone into the crowd. Back in the ring, Rowan is in control and the crowd at the moment couldn't care less. Rowan lifts off part of the LED board that is around the ring and drops Reigns face first but kind of more on the ring. This is not what this match should be. Reigns ducks a shot by Rowan and hits the Samoan Drop for a 2 count. Rowan hits a powerbomb through the table and Rowan quickly puts him back in the ring and Reigns kicks out. The match once again finds itself out in the crowd. Rowan does the Iron Claw through a table near the ramp. Reigns takes the crane camera and uses it as a weapon and then hits a Superman punch. Reigns runs down the ramp for a spear, but Harper comes out of nowhere and hits a big boot. As much as this match hasn't been good, Harper's return is a silver lining. Rowan pins Reigns here in what is of course an upset. I didn't care for that match and the crowd was pretty dead for most of it.
Match Rating: *3/4
Seth Rollins is in the back getting ready for his match. He doesn't care what Braun said about him losing the tag team championship match. Rollins says that he slayed a beast at SummerSlam and now he's going to add a monster to his collection.
Universal Championship Match
Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins
Strowman hits a shoulder tackle right at the bell. Rollins recovers and goes right for his knee and then hits three superkicks. Rollins is up top and hits a Frog Splash but Strowman kicks out before a 1 count. Strowman is now firmly in command and the crowd is very silent. This show has had way too many matches, reminding me of an early 90s WrestleMania. Rollins hits a couple of springboard knees and then goes to the top rope, but Strowman catches him and clubs him. Strowman runs around the ring and steamrolls him. He tries it again, but this time Rollins moves and hits a drop toe hold into the announcer's table. Rollins hits a suicide dive not once, but twice and the table collapses. Rollins superkicks Reigns onto the Spanish announce table and heads up to the top rope, but Strowman runs up and pushes him down. Rollins fights back up and tries for a superplex, but Braun counters it again. Strowman is on the top rope and hits a huge splash, but also hurts his knee on the way down. That gives Rollins a few seconds to recover and he is able to kick out at 2. Rollins puts Strowman into a sleeper hold. Strowman gets out, but Rollins hits the Stomp. But Strowman kicks out at 1. He hits a second one and this time he gets a 2 count. Rollins hits the Stomp for a third time to some boos and again Strowman kicks out. Rollins goes for a stomp, but Strowman catches him and goes for the powerslam, but his knee gives out. Rollins hits a Pedigree and then another Stomp and finally that is enough. Well, they did a pretty good job of protecting Strowman there, but you can only lose so many big matches before you are considered a mid-card guy. The match was pretty good, but nowhere near Rollins/Lesnar.
Match Rating: ***
Rollins is holding up the title as the show is about to go off the air, but then the lights go out and the Fiend is here. He hits Sister Abigail on the stage and the lights go out again. He then puts him in the Mandible Claw. Words can't describe how much I dislike this character and presentation.
Well, that was a very underwhelming show. From the reviews I had been reading, it seemed that Raw had really turned the corner and SmackDown was solid for the most part. This show just seemed to go on forever and none of the matches were anything you need to go out of your way for. The Kofi/Orton feud continues to be disappointing and Erick Rowan in a nearly 20 minute singles match is never likely to be good. For me, this show was desperately lacking guys like Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio, Andrade, Cesaro, Riccochet and Aleister Black. Let's hope Hell In A Cell delivers.
Overall Rating: 52%
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