Saturday, October 8th, 2022
Wells Fargo Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook Match
Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium
I guess I should mention that Paul Heyman did the intro for the show. As the Brutes are on their way to the ring, we get a White Rabbit interruption. This one has a lot of potential to be a show stealer. A good pay-per-view six man tag is something I enjoy. I suppose this isn't technically a tag match though. This is a brawl the second the match begins. Butch is one of the most fun characters in WWE right now and everyone was making fun of it when they first changed his name. Imperium get the better of the Brutes early on and mess with the little bar that was set up at ringside. Gunther hits some nasty chops to the chest of Sheamus. They move back to the ring and go to work on Holland and Butch. Holland has a cool spot with a double back drop, but Gunther hits him with a boot right after. Imperium hits an uppercut/powerbomb combo on the outside on Holland and now it's Imperium vs. Butch. Sheamus is back and he's starts destroying Vinci and Kaiser. Gunther and Sheamus go at it in the ring and now Sheamus gets a chance for the 10 Beats Of The Bodhran. Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick but Vinci hits him with a Frog Splash to break up the pin attempt. We're back to all six men, but not for long. Sheamus hits the Irish Curse on Gunther and then puts on the Clover Leaf in the middle of the ring. Kaiser cracks the shillelagh over the back of Sheamus to save Gunther. After some more brawling, Imperium clear off the announce table, but Butch hits a moonsault off the top of the barrels to stop them from whatever they had in mind. Gunther pulls out another shillelagh and nails Sheamus with it, but Sheamus kicks out. Gunther goes for the powerbomb, but Butch and Holland stop him and now Sheamus gets in a shot with the shillelagh. Sheamus picks up Gunther from behind and hits the Celtic Cross through the table. Sheamus then hits the Brogue Kick on Vinci and that's all. These guys kicked the crap out of each other for 20 minutes and the crowd was with them for all of it. The Imperium are very good heels and the crowd has really bought into the Brutes. Very good opening match.
Match Rating: ***3/4
The Miz is backstage and he runs into Gritty backstage for some fun.
Extreme Rules Match For The SmackDown Women's Championship
Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan
Interestingly, this was the feature match on the e-mail I got from Peacock this morning about the event. So it going on second makes me think that this may be a glorified squash. Rousey should have always been a heel, as she's just naturally unlikable. Rousey does the Finlay spot where she moves the ring apron when Liv slid and then destroys her. She goes and grabs the Liv Morgan baseball bat, but Liv hits her sprays the fire extinguisher. But before Morgan can do anything else, she gets hit with Piper's Pit. Rousey then hits her with the bat and back into the ring. Morgan is able to hit the step up enzuigiri and grabs her bat back. Rousey uses her belt to whip Morgan and then ties her to the ring post and hits her with the bat some more. Morgan grabs the bat and drives Rousey into the post. Morgan grabs the table and puts it into the ring. Rousey hits her with a knee before she's able to do anything with it. We get a really awkward spot due to a chair falling out of the corner. Liv starts hitting Rousey with the chair and then hits Code Red with a chair for a 2 count. Unfortunately, these ladies just do not really have great chemistry in the ring with one another. Liv sets up the table now in the ring and lays Rousey on it. She heads up to the top rope and hits a senton through the table, but Rousey kicks out at 2. Rousey tries to get the arm bar in, but Liv lifts her up and slams her into the broken table. We get a weird struggle with Liv trying to counter it and it leads to Rousey putting on a chokehold of some sort and Morgan is out. Rousey is your new SmackDown Women's Champion. It wasn't for a lack of trying, but this one wasn't very good. It just seemed like nothing really went right here and it kind of felt that way in their other matches.
Match Rating: *3/4
Strap Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross
Kross has never done anything that I have been a fan of in WWE, but this is my first time seeing him since he returned. Kross refuses to put the strap on and attacks McIntyre instead. The match hasn't officially started and they are brawling through the crowd. Kross knocks McIntyre back over the barricade, but McIntyre hits a suplex on the mat. We get back in the ring and the strap is on Kross, so the match has begun. Michael Cole talks about Sting and Vader having possibly the greatest strap match, which I'm sure Vince would love. Scarlett distracts McIntyre and it allows Kross to pull him into the ring post. I just don't see any appeal in this Scarlett/Kross package. This match has just taken me out of this show that started so well. Fortunately, the next 3 matches should all be really good. McIntyre finally makes his comeback and hits a spinebuster for a 2 count. Kross feels like a guy they would have fed to Undertaker in 2003. They're whipping each other with the belt and it leads to McIntyre hitting the Future Shock. In comes Scarlett again and she sprays pepper spray in the face of McIntyre. Kross hits the Kross Hammer for the victory. This wasn't good.
Match Rating: *
Back to the Miz and he's talking to Maryse again about his birthday celebration. He's interrupted again by Gritty. Please be Pete Rose.
Ladder Match For The Raw Women's Championship
Bayley vs. Bianca Belair
OK, ladies. Let's save this show. We quickly have 2 ladders in the ring, with Bianca having the taller one. They fight over the smaller ladder and it leads to Bayley falling through the ropes. Bayley knocks Bianca down and then yells at a little kid. God bless her. Bayley goes for a catapult, but Bianca lands on the ladder and climbs into the ring and tries to climb that ladder, but Bayley grabs her off. Bianca folds up the ladder and body slams Bayley onto it before hitting a moonsault on it. It's about a 50/50 split when they go into the dueling chants here. Bayley hits a sunset flip into the ladder and she tries to set up the taller ladder again. Bayley then sets up a ladder on the steps and barricade. She runs off the apron and hits a running elbow drop. Belair fights back and uses half of the ladder on the back of Bayley. Belair is running up the ladder but Bayley is able to dump her to the floor. Bayley rips off a hinge on her knee brace, but she misses and Bayley hits the KOD. Belair is at the top of the ladder, but Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky are down here and attack her. Belair fights back and hits a double KOD on both women. Bayley hits a Rose Plant and puts the ladder on top of Belair as she begins to climb. Belair lifts up the ladder and down goes Bayley. The ladder is set up again and they race up to the top. Bayley grabs Belair's hair and pulls her into the ladder. Belair quickly recovers and uses her braid to whip Bayley and pulls her off. Belair goes for the KOD, but Bayley has a ladder in her hands. I'm not sure what she was doing with it because she lands on it on the way down. Bianca climbs the ladder and grabs the title for the victory. I actually thought Bayley was going to win here. This was good, but definitely not quite to the level I thought they were capable of. Plus, it didn't have Karrion Kross in it, so that's a plus.
Match Rating: ***1/4
I Quit Match
Edge vs. Finn Balor
For the first time I think ever on Peacock, I had some technical difficulties and missed the first minute or so of the match. This is the microphone version of the match, but no Roddy Piper to repeatedly ask "Whaddaya say?" here. Balor takes it to Edge until we get the inevitable barricade spot with Edge driving Balor through it. They make their way up to the pre-show announce table and Edge uses a hockey stick to choke Balor. They are now making their way up into the stands and Edge slams Balor's face into the steps. They eventually make their way back to the ring after a lengthy amount of brawling. We get some submission holds put on by Balor, but Edge won't give up. This one is dragging. Edge is able to send Balor into the chair set up in the corner. Edge puts on the Edgecator and then out comes Damian Priest and Dominik. Edge hits a Spear through the ropes to take them all out. Edge is getting ready for the Spear, but Rhea Ripley comes from behind and handcuffs Edge to the top rope. Now we get about 179 camera cuts or just enough to make you not want to watch. Balor grabs the kendo stick and starts cracking him over the back with multiple shots. Rey Mysterio's music hits and runs out with a chair. He knocks out Balor and Priest, but Dominik knocks him off the apron. Michael Cole is having a conniption. Out comes Beth Phoenix and she starts attacking Balor and Priest with the kendo stick. Rhea Ripley and Beth now alone and the crowd is into this. Beth hits a Spear and is able to get the key to take the handcuffs off. Edge hits a Spear on Priest and now Dominik is alone in there. Dominik wants a handshake and Edge gives it to him, but then kicks him in the crotch. Balor hits a Slingblade, but Edge comes back with 2 Spears. Make it 3. Edge orders Beth to grab a chair and he breaks off a bottom bar. He uses it Balor, but Rhea attacks Beth with brass knuckles. Balor hits the Coup de Grace 3 times, but Edge won't quit. Rhea grabs some chairs and sets Beth up for a One Woman Conchairto, but Edge quits to stop her. Rhea hits her with it anyway and Edge is beside himself. Like just about everything Edge has done since he has returned, this was way longer than it needed to be. The first half in particular really dragged. The whole interference part worked well and the crowd ate most of it up, but again even that was longer than it needed to be. The Judgment Day got good heat, but this is probably not something I'd go out of my way to watch again for awhile.
Match Rating: **1/2
Back to the Miz and Gritty, but this time Miz attacks Gritty. Here comes Dexter Lumis and he does his creepy schtick. He helps Gritty up and that gets a big pop. Gritty gets a kick in on Miz for good measure.
Fight Pit Match
Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins
Rollins is wearing a RVD tribute outfit. Daniel Cormier is the special guest referee here. There are no ropes and the cage essentially has a second level so that there are no escapes. The crowd is chanting "We want Wyatt". I mean come on, people. Did we all forget the Fiend? Riddle uses the cage to to hit a kick to the head. Cormier tries to pull Riddle off, but he accidentally hits him in the face and that gives Rollins the opening. The lighting for this match is really odd. Rollins hits a suplex into the cage and then hits a Frog Splash from the wall of the cage. The crowd doesn't seem to know what to think about this one and I guess I'm not really sure either. We get a nice sequence that leads to Riddle hitting the RKO and both men are down. We get some hard hitting stuff and Riddle goes for the RKO again, but this time Rollins counters and hits the Stomp. Rollins goes for a Stomp from up on the cage, but Riddle avoids it. Rollins climbs up to the platform this time and prances around for awhile to taunt Riddle. Riddle climbs up now and Rollins attacks him on his way up. Riddle is barely hanging on to a chain, but Riddle puts on a rear naked choke. Rollins escapes and slams his head repeatedly into the cage. Rollins has Riddle up and hits a powerbomb into the cage. That seemed pretty dangerous. Cormier is trying to get both men down, so Rollins tries to throw Riddle down. Riddle swings off the chain, but Rollins hits a Pedigree instead. Riddle hits a RKO and Rollins kind of rolls off the platform to the ring. Riddle hits the Broton and it sure looks like that probably didn't feel great. Riddle puts on the triangle choke and Rollins taps out. I had super high hopes for this match and I have to say I don't think it was what I hoped for. They put in a good effort, but the rules were restrictive.
Match Rating: **1/2
The show is about to go off the air, but the lights go out and we hear "He's got the whole world in his hands" and all of the stupid characters are in the crowd. After a video, there's a door on the stage. Please be Husky Harris. Out walks Bray Wyatt with the lantern and a mask. He blows out the light that doesn't need to be blown out because it's electronic and that's the end of the show.
Well, this show started off with a bang and then limped across the finish line. I am not a fan of Bray Wyatt's character, so the ending may vary with you. The rest of the show just didn't reach the heights I thought it would and in some cases, it wasn't very good at all. I wouldn't say it was a bad show, but no better than mediocre.
Overall Rating: 44%
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