Sunday, September 27th, 2020
Amway Center
Orlando, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Triple Threat Ladder Match For The Intercontinental Championship
AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn vs. Jeff Hardy
I like that this is a ladder match that actually makes sense and the story is simple enough for the announcers to explain. It's also true that it is a shame that they are having this match with no live crowd. Hardy starts out quickly, but AJ ends up hitting a slingshot forearm to Hardy on the floor. Zayn they hits a springboard moonsault to Styles. If for some odd reason you have actually been reading my recent NXT reviews, it has been an absolute watching Sami Zayn's beginnings with the company. Back in the ring, Hardy hits a back body drop on Zayn onto a ladder. AJ sidesteps Hardy off the second rope and he goes right into an upside down ladder. I'm not really sure what Hardy's plan was there had he hit Styles since he still would have hit the ladder. Styles then tosses Zayn into a ladder in the corner and Zayn does his best Curt Hennig. Zayn is in that rare class of wrestlers that are both tremendous as true heels and true babyfaces. Styles is the first to try and climb the ladder, but Zayn slows him down. Styles thanks him by hitting him with a Pele kick. Hardy and Styles are both up on the ladder now and Styles is able to throw Hardy off. Hardy gets back up to grab Styles by the ankles and drag him down the ladder. Hardy hits the trifecta of an inverted atomic drop, double leg drop and sit down dropkick. Zayn dumps Hardy out of the ring and hits an Exploder on Styles into a ladder. It doesn't last long, as Styles comes back but misses with a running forearm on the outside. Hardy then comes and hits Poetry In Motion. Zayn then comes in and hits a Helluva Kick on Hardy. Zayn starts climbing the ladder, but Styles chucks a smaller ladder at Zayn to stop him from climbing. Hardy and Styles are back climbing again, so Hardy tips the ladder and both men fall to the top rope. Zayn, who was sitting in the corner, got his knees up to protect himself from the ladder. Zayn begins to climb again. Styles goes for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Hardy pushes the ladder into Styles. Hardy hits a Twist Of Fate on Zayn and now all three competitors are down. Hardy is climbing now and Zayn tries to tip the ladder back. Hardy climbs down face first, but Zayn still dumps it and Hardy takes a nasty looking fall to the floor. I'm not sure what the plan was exactly there? Styles climbs the announce table and hits a moonsault into an inverted DDT on Zayn. He sets up Zayn on a ladder between the ring and table. In comes Hardy and he hits Styles with a ladder. Hardy climbs a huge ladder and hits the Swanton through Zayn on the ladder. Styles brings a ladder to the ring and begins to climb. Hardy tips him off and we're back to all three men being down. Zayn throws Hardy into the barricades outside the ring and grabs some handcuffs out of his jacket. Zayn takes a handcuff and puts it through Hardy's ear and handcuffs him to the ladder. Does Jeff Hardy say no to anything? Zayn tries handcuffing Styles to the ropes, but Styles fights back. Styles hits a vertical suplex, so Zayn puts the other handcuff on himself. Styles puts Zayn on his back to start climbing the ladder, while Hardy pulls the ladder up and climbs into the ring. Sami has the key out and tries to unhook himself while Styles is dealing with Hardy. Zayn handcuffs Styles to the lower part of the ladder, climbs the ladder and grabs both championships. The finish would have probably worked a little better with two babyfaces, but it was still a finish that fit the character of Zayn and he was the right guy to win in my opinion.
Match Rating: ***3/4 (out of 5)
R-Truth walks into the referee's room, he backs out and Drew Gulak rolls him up to win the championship. I think we've hit the point where we can retire this thing.
Raw's Women Championship Match
Zelina Vega vs. Asuka
I'm looking forward to what Vega can do here in this spot. Asuka has her way in the early going and puts on an arm bar. Vega gets to the ropes, but Asuka continues the attack. Asuka hits a Hip Attack on Vega, who is standing on the apron. Vega baits Asuka and throws Asuka into the steps. Vega works on the arm Asuka for a little bit and then we get some nice back-and-forth. Asuka goes for another Hip Attack on the apron, but misses and Vega puts her in a crucifix-like move on the ropes. She then hits a hurricanrana and gets a close call. Vega goes for the Backstabber, but Asuka holds onto the ropes. Vega hits a kick on the mat and gets another close call. Vega gets a couple more pin attempts in before Asuka counters it into the Asuka Lock and gets the quick tap from Vega. Vega showed a lot of promise here, but has a little sharpening up to do. It was probably wise to keep this one as a sprint, as Vega was able to show off what she can do and Asuka looked strong.
Match Rating: **1/4
After the match, Vega turns down a handshake and instead bows. Asuka bows back and Vega attacks and then leaves.
United States Championship Match
Apollo Crews vs. Bobby Lashley
I don't even watch the weekly programming and I feel like this is the 100th time Apollo has fought a member of the Hurt Business. Crews hits a nice kick onto Lashley and then a moonsault from the apron. Crews hits a top rope crossbody. Lashley comes back and hits a flatliner for a 2 count. Lashley continues to wear down Crews and MVP continues to talk trash in his face. Crews is able to hit a big elbow to Lashley and then jumps from the apron onto Lashley. Crews hits a gorilla press and a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Lashley hits a superplex on Crews. Crews comes back with a standing shooting star and then a Frog Splash off the top rope, but it's not enough. Lashley hits a chokeslam and then puts on the Hurt Lock for the submission victory. I thought they had a good match at Payback, but this one did not work for me at all. They executed all of the moves flawlessly, but the match had no flow or drama.
Match Rating: **
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Angel Garza & Andrade vs. The Street Profits
Dawkins hits a big dropkick on Andrade and Ford follows up with one of his own and another on Garza. Garza grabs Andrade while he is going off the ropes and he avoids offense from Ford. Andrade tosses Ford up and Garza hits a kick on the way down. Andrade hits a second rope missile dropkick and then Garza hits a running knee on Ford. These two have potential to be one of the best tag teams in WWE of the last few years right up there with Team DIY, Undisputed Era and The Revival. I'm sure they'll break up in a month, but I try to remain positive. Ford is able to hit a tag and Dawkins cleans house. Andrade is able to slow him down with a dropkick. Dawkins avoids double knees and hits a spinebuster, but Garza tagged himself in and hits a Spanish Fly off the top rope for a 2 count. Andrade moves Dawkins out of the way so that Ford can't make the tag. Garza hits a knee on Ford into Andrade's corner. Andrade hits the double knees for a nearfall. Dawkins tags in and hits a spinebuster and gets the win...but he doesn't. Andrade's shoulder was clearly up and Dawkins seemed confused there. They are now showing Garza being looked at by the medical staff, so perhaps it was stopped due to injury. Either way, this was a really enjoyable match and I can watch Garza and Andrade any day of the week.
Match Rating: ***1/4
I guess the draft is coming up again. It's hard to keep up with who is on each show as it is.
Drew Gulak celebrates his 24/7 Championship. R-Truth comes in hits Gulak with a metal bowl and wins his title back.
Bayley comes out and talks about how big of a shame it is that Nikki Cross isn't able to compete tonight. She offers an open challenge to anyone, but when no one responds within seconds, she asks the ref to come in and raise her arm. As she is celebrating, Asuka's music hits.
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Bayley vs. Asuka
Things start quickly and Asuka hits a German suplex. Bayley rolls outside and of course Asuka throws her back in. Asuka hits a Hip Attack and follows it up with an arm bar. Bayley gets to the ropes and then snaps Asuka's arm on the ropes. Bayley hits a back suplex and works on the arm Asuka injured earlier on. Bayley goes off the second rope and Asuka counters with a Code Breaker. Asuka on the outside hits another German suplex. Bayley then hits Asuka in the midsection with a chair and the ref calls for the bell. After that, Sasha Banks comes from behind and hits Bayley with a chair to the back. Bayley hits her with a baseball slide dropkick and grabs a kendo stick from under the ring. Sasha is able to get the kendo stick and starts wailing away. Sasha grabs a chair, but Bayley rolls out of the ring. This was obviously all about the story and not about the match.
Match Rating: *1/4
Ambulance Match For The WWE Championship
Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre
McIntyre immediately takes it to Orton until he gets hung up on the middle rope, where Orton hits the draping DDT. Orton stands around for awhile because he's Randy Orton until a masked man grabs him by the ankle. Who could that 7 foot, 500 pound man be? Oh my god, it's Big Show! Show then chokeslams him through the announce table as McIntyre recovers. McIntyre starts tossing Orton around and into the barricade. McIntyre throws Orton into the ambulance and then goes for a chair. Orton gets in a shot with a crutch first and they then battle in the ambulance. In between there, we get a really odd shot of the WWE camera crew there. McIntyre goes for the Claymore Kick, but Orton dodges it and McIntyre knocks the door off the ambulance. They start brawling in the backstage area and here comes Christian to toss Orton around catering. They head out back to the arena and now on top of the hood of the ambulance. He slams McIntyre though the windshield. Orton throws McIntyre off the ambulance, which means it's time for him to stand there again. Gee, I wonder what will happen next? Shawn Michaels is standing there and hits him with Sweet Chin Music and tosses him off the ambulance. McIntyre begins to carry Orton to the ambulance, but Orton hits him with a RKO on the floor. Orton gets him in the ambulance, but McIntyre fights it off. He hits the Claymore Kick and then throws Orton in the ambulance. Instead of closing the door, he drapes him over the edge and punts him in the head. He throws him in there and closes the door. This match was not for me at all. I like McIntyre a lot, but this did absolutely nothing for him and hopefully this is the end of this feud. After the match, Ric Flair drives away the ambulance.
Match Rating: *1/2
WWE Universal Championship Match
Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns
We get a lot of mind games and a slow start until Roman begins to dominate. Jey sneaks in a Samoan drop out of nowhere for a 2 count. Roman comes right back and hits a Superman punch. Roman is in Orton mode here today, methodically beating on Uso. Uso makes another underdog comeback, hitting a dive to the outside. Uso hits a top rope crossbody for a 2 count. He then hits a superkick for another close call. Roman then pulls out a leaping leg drop to slow down Uso's comeback. Jey avoids the Spear attempt and counters it into a schoolboy. He hits a superkick and then a Frog Splash for a 2 count. On the kick out by Reigns, Reigns shoved his left arm below the belt. Reigns hits a Spear and then does a lot more trash talking before hitting a second Spear. He then tells Jey to tell the world that he is the Tribal Chief and Jey doesn't oblige. Heyman then shouts that he is the Tribal Chief, but he tells him he wants Jey to tell him that and starts pounding away. He then gets into Charles Robinson's face and threatens to knock him out. I have to say, I hate how loud all of this is. As Roman continues to destroy Jey, out comes Jimmy Uso. He goes back to pounding away and Jimmy throws in the towel and that's the match. Jimmy tells Roman that he's the Chief as he tends to his brother. Reigns celebrates as he looks over at his cousins. I guess I am going to be the one person who did not enjoy this one either. I love the idea of the story, but the execution to me just did not work. I wanted a match, not taunting. I like Roman and I really like the Usos, but this just felt like a TV match to me.
Match Rating: **
That's back-to-back duds for the WWE here after a solid SummerSlam show. I really was excited for the Uso/Reigns match and it just wasn't my thing. The ladder match delivered a unique finish and a great start to the show, but unfortunately the momentum ended there and the show fell off a cliff. Here's hoping that Hell In A Cell provides a much needed spark.
Overall Rating: 48%
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