Sunday, July 19th, 2020
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Tables Match For The SmackDown Tag Team Championships
New Day vs. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura
Cesaro's entrance is pretty awesome. New Day fights off the challenger's early attack. New Day brings a table in the ring and we get more brawling. Cesaro eats a low dropkick up against the barrier. Big E has Cesaro up on his shoulders, but Shinsuke makes the save on Kofi. They set up Kofi for a superplex, but Big E makes the save. Cesaro then has Kofi up for a military press, but Kofi gets out and Big E hits the spear through the ropes and he just misses a table on the outside. Cesaro is set up on a table outside. Big E tosses Kofi over his head, but Shinsuke and Cesaro are there with the table standing up. Big E blocks the suplex on Kofi and he eats a double kick to the head. Kofi goes up top and nails Shinsuke on the outside and in the ring Big E is stomping on Cesaro. New Day sets up a stacked table on the outside. Big E and Cesaro are battling on the ropes and Cesaro gets the best of him, as Big E tumbles in the ring. We get the Cesaro Swing/sliding kick combo. Kofi comes in and takes out both challengers. Kofi then hits a dive to the outside on Shinsuke and a leaping fist on Cesaro. Cesaro gets Kofi up and hits a powerbomb through the stacked tables and we have new champions. They played heavily on the tease aspect of this type of match, which I think would have worked better had they had a full arena. Either way, they worked hard here and put on a good match. I like Tables Matches better than most, so your mileage may vary.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Alexa Bliss is backstage hyping up Asuka, Nikki Cross and Kairi Sane.
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Nikki Cross vs. Bayley
After some early stalling and taunting, Cross hits a neckbreaker and gets a nearfall. Nikki is showing urgency here. She nails a tornado DDT on the outside and then a top rope crossbody. She hits another one and again gets a 2 count. Bayley rolls to the outside, so Cross hits a third crossbody, this time from the apron. Bayley takes back control after she slams Cross into the plexiglass. Bayley slides Cross in between the apron and the ring and starts pounding away. I always loved when Finlay did that. Cross crawled under the the ring and then Bayley slides into the apron and Cross takes advantage. Back in the ring, Bayley hits the Bayley-To-Belly for a 2 count. Bayley hits a superplex and again Cross kicks out. Cross gets a second wind and hits a series of clotheslines and a dropkick. She hits a running bulldog and she goes up top again. She leaps over Bayley and slams her down for yet another nearfall. Bayley charges her in the corner, but Cross moves and Bayley hits the turnbuckle hard. Cross then hits a neckbreaker off the apron to the floor and both women are down. Sasha tries to help pull Bayley out of the ring. This leads to the ref being distracted and she hands the Boss knucks to Bayley. She uses them and hits the Face Plant for the victory. This was really good storytelling. Both ladies really play their roles well and they gave us an entertaining match.
Match Rating: ***1/4
We get a Firefly Funhouse, with Bray Wyatt dressed up as a vampire. Wrestling in 2020.
They announce that Apollo Crews did not pass his physical and is unable to compete. MVP is here and he announces himself as the new United States Champion.
Eye For An Eye Match
Seth Rollins vs. Rey Mysterio
I have no idea where they are going with this match and I honestly don't see a scenario where it pays off. On his way to the ring, Rollins pulls out a pair of pliers out of his jacket. Mysterio shows up behind Rollins instead of coming from the ramp. It only works temporarily, as Rollins tries to slow things down. Mysterio uses headscissors to drive Rollins' shoulder into the ring post. Mysterio goes under the ring for a tool kit and grabs a piece of steel. Rollins hits him with a kendo stick. Mysterio sets up Rollins for a 619, but Rollins rolls out of the ring. Rollins catches a hurricanrana attempt and hits a Falcon Arrow on the apron. Rollins tries to use the kendo stick on Mysterio's eye, but Mysterio blocks it. Rollins slides Mysterio out of the ring and onto a table lying on the ground. Rollins goes again for the eye, this time with a chair. Mysterio gets the chair and misses wildly. Rollins keeps grabbing tools to try and go after Mysterio's eye. This time Mysterio hits a drop toe hold into the corner of the table. Rollins grabs some rop and ties Rey to the bottom rope. It doesn't last long, but Rollins hits Mysterio in the ribs with the kendo stick. Rollins tries to throw Mysterio into the kendo stick that is stuck in the turnbuckle. Rey is fighting for his life and hits a frog splash. Rollins goes for a Stomp, but Rey moves and hits a tornado DDT. Mysterio cracks the kendo stick over Rollins' head and then hits a sunset flip bomb into the the barricade. Mysterio hits a sliding sunset flip bomb into the barricade this time. How is Mysterio able to do the things he does at age 45? Mysterio cracks the kendo stick over his knee and goes after Rollins' left eye. Rollins gets out, but Mysterio is able to hit a 619. Mysterio hits a Stomp on the outside and if there ever was a time for him to rip out an eyeball, I guess this is it. Mysterio tries to recreate the moment that got us here, but Rollins is able to kick him in the balls. Rollins then hits him with a kick to the face against the barricade. Rollins now hits a Stomp of his own. Rollins now drags Mysterio to the steel steps and rubs his eye against the steps. Mysterio is cringing in pain and we can see part of his eyeball out of it's socket, causing the match to end. Rollins is off to the side puking. I can't believe I am typing these words. Who asked for this? As WWE has gotten less violent over the years, what made them try something like this out of nowhere? I actually really enjoyed the match until the last minute there, which makes it hard for me to rate. The action and intensity was good. The match itself was just so stupid. This is a concept that should never, ever be revisited again. But like I said, the actual work here was very good and they made the most of the stupidity.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Bayley is backstage and talks about Rey Mysterio and lets him know that he's not seeing double vision because she's still Bayley Dos Straps. Sasha tells us that she we will be Two Belts Banks tonight.
Raw Women's Championship Match
Asuka vs. Sasha Banks
We get some fast paced action to start, leading to Sasha slamming Asuka on her back. Asuka hits her with a kick, but Sasha gets the Bank Statement on, but Asuka gets to the ropes. Asuka is able to get Sasha into an arm bar, but Sasha gets the ropes. Asuka absolutely levels Sasha with a knee and then hits the Hip Attack, which sends Sasha to the floor. Sasha recovers and goes for a sunset flip powerbomb, but Asuka blocks it and hits another knee to the face. Sasha goes to her submission playbook and tries to take away the Asuka Lock. Asuka hits a Code Breaker and both women are down. Asuka misses a Hip Attack and Sasha tries to hit a suplex off the apron. Asuka blocks it and then she tries for the suplex. Sasha counters it and she hits a powerbomb into the plexiglass. Sasha goes up top and she hits the frog splash for a 2 count. She immediately goes for the Bank Statement, but Asuka is able to crawl to the bottom rope. Asuka is now unleashing a flurry of kicks and suplexes. She hits a Hip Attack for another close call. Asuka misses with a missile dropkick and Sasha hits a running knee for another 2 count. These two are starting to turn it in to second gear here. We get kind of a weird German superplex, where Sasha flips out and lands on her knees and no sells it. Sasha hits double knees in the corner, but then slips off of the second rope. Bayley and Sane start fighting outside the ring. That leads to some quick pin attempts, none of which are successful. Asuka gets the Asuka Lock in the middle of the ring. Bayley tosses a belt in, distracting the ref. However, he sees it and Asuka hits Bayley with a kick. Asuka accidentally sprays the green mist in the ref's eyes, allowing Bayley to interfere. Bayley rips off the referee's shirt and puts it on. She counts 3 and tells them to ring the bell. She awards the title to Sasha. Whoever came up to the finish for this match just couldn't bring themselves to be outdone by a match that featured a ripped out eyeball, huh? God, what a way to just absolutely spoil the good work that was done for the 19 minutes before that finish. At least in the previous match, you knew the ending would be stupid.
Match Rating: ***1/2
After even more commercials, they have an update on Mysterio. They let us know that there is a chance the he is able to regain his vision.
WWE Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre
Dolph announces the stipulation that the match will be Extreme Rules for him only. Should McIntyre get disqualified or counted out, Ziggler is the champion. After all the stupidity, this at least makes sense. McIntyre starts tossing Ziggler around until he rolls out of the ring. McIntyre is right there though. Ziggler rakes the eyes and grabs a steel chair. McIntyre blocks it and tosses it out of the ring. McIntyre hits a suplex and after they get back in the ring, he clotheslines Ziggler right back out again. Ziggler throws McIntyre into the ring post and plexiglass. Ziggler pulls out a table, but McIntyre gets to him and teases suplexing him into the table. Instead he spins and suplexes him to the floor. He hits an awesome seated powerbomb for a 2 count. Why in the world was McIntyre so underutilized for so long in this company? McIntyre pulls Ziggler up and starts talking some trash, so Ziggler kicks him in the crotch. Ziggler starts wailing away with a steel chair to the back. McIntyre catches Ziggler off the apron and McIntyre launches him on the table with a suplex. Ziggler hits a Fameasser off of the table and the McIntyre barely beats the count. McIntyre goes up to the top rope, but misses with a fist and Ziggler jumps on the back for a sleeper hold. McIntyre gets to the ropes, but he doesn't have to break the hold. McIntyre escapes and hits a big clothesline. McIntyre hits a slingshot into the plexiglass and throws him back into the ring. McIntyre hits a face-first Alabama Slam. He goes for a Claymore Kick, but Ziggler hits him in the leg with a chair and hits a Zig Zag for a 2 count. Ziggler hits a superkick on the outside and McIntyre is on a table. Ziggler goes up top and he hits an elbow drop through the table. McIntyre again beats the count and Ziggler is losing his mind. Ziggler hits another Fameasser and another Zig Zag. He then hits a Rock Bottom on a chair and McIntyre still kicks out. That was a nice nod to the Rock saying that Ziggler deserves the title. Ziggler tunes up the band, but McIntyre hits an absolutely fantastic Claymore Kick for the victory. Seriously, that is one that needs to be used in highlight packages for anything McIntyre is involved in. This was a really good match. The stipulation made sense, the match made sense, Ziggler bumped around like only he can and McIntyre looked like a star. Thumbs up here.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Swamp Fight
Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman
Strowman walks up to Wyatt in a rocking chair and somehow the lights go out in the outdoors and Bray disappears. Braun beats up some no name jobbers, while Bray is shown in the laboratory cheering him on. He is attacked by himself in the black sheep mask. I already hate this. Braun is now locked up in chains as we magically get to see all of his visions. I would rather see what is going on in Vince McMahon's head on a normal day than Braun. In walks Bray with the lantern. It sure looks as if Braun could just slide his arms out of those chains. Bray just yells a bunch of words that causes my brain to shut off, as I start to think about how I need to be up in 6 hours. Now he has a snake and it bites Braun, which leads him to being next to a fire. He starts beating up more dudes. A dude then gets lit on fire and is running around with some of the worst acting I have ever seen. Braun then hears a voice and it's Alexa Bliss doing her best Haunted Mansion impression. This is by far the highlight of this disaster. Bray attacks him, but Braun slams him into a rowboat. Braun walks into the swamp and then gets attacked by Bray with an ore. Bray tries drowning him, but when Braun finally pops out, Bray is no there. Bray again attacks him with an ore. Bruan is up and kicks Bray back into the water. Braun looks around and the exit credit logo pops up. Wyatt pops out of the water and pulls Braun under the water again. This time the water turns red and the Fiend is shown. I'm going to rate this only because I want to give it 0 stars.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
The best way that I can think of describing this show is that it's the best show that completely insulted my intelligence. There was some really good in ring action, some of the best I have seen in the quarantine era. However, I was also forced to watch a man "lose" his eyeball, a wrestler put on a referee shirt and count a pinfall and then watch a match in a magical swamp. Mind you, they are stooping to all of this while their ratings are the absolute lowest they have ever been. This roster is too talented to have to tell these types of stories and I truly hope they find their next game changer, but this isn't it. I am someone who grades more on match quality than booking, but at some point the booking matters. This would have been a really good show had they just let the performers do their thing. Unfortunately, in those three matches, they did not.
Overall Rating: 64%
No comments:
Post a Comment