Saturday, November 25th, 2023
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois
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Women's WarGames Match
Bianca Belair, Shotzi, Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch vs. Bayley, Iyo Sky, Asuka & Kairi Sane
Becky Lynch and Bayley start things off. This match is brought to you by Ruffles if you can't tell. Becky's team was voted by the fans to have the advantage. They battle between the two rings and Bayley is able to hit a suplex on the steel plate. Becky throws Bayley into the cage and then hits a few running low dropkicks into Bayley. She puts on the Disarm-her, which Bayley can't submit here. Dakota Kai comes out and pokes a kendo stick into Becky to break the hold. The kendo stick is in the ring and now Shotzi is running down to the ring. Bayley tries to block her from coming in, but she slams the door into Bayley. Shotzi grabs a trash can and some chairs to bring into the ring. The crowd boos because they want some tables. Bayley tries to climb to escape, but both opponents are right after her. You can't leave the cage or you lose the match. Out next is Iyo Sky, who apparently has now been in 5 WarGames matches. She brings in a chain to even the score. Bianca is out next and she helps save Shotzi from a double superplex. She hits a double suplex of here own. Kairi Sane is now on her way to the ring and grabs a..trash can lid? They then cover Shotzi in chairs and Iyo pushes Kairi up to let her hit a big elbow drop. I'm not really sure why that didn't at least kind of hurt her, but it didn't. Bianca then tosses Kairi from one ring to the next and onto Bayley and Iyo. It's Charlotte's turn now. She takes care of her opponents and then stares down Becky. Iyo climbs to the top of the cage and drops the chain down to Dakota. She attaches a trash can and pulls it up to the cage. She puts the can over her head and leaps off to take out everyone. I'm not really sure what everyone was doing at that point, but it did look pretty insane. It's now time for Asuka and WarGames will begin. Asuka gets a huge pop by pulling out a table. She also grabs a fire extinguisher. Damage CTRL grab the kendo sticks and get the advantage. They chain up Becky and Bianca and all hit them with the kendo sticks. Shotzi and Asuka both climb the top rope, but Asuka hits the mist in her face. They put a garbage can on Becky and she hits a missile dropkick. We then get a Charlotte moonsault and looks like she drilled Iyo in the head with her knee. Becky and Charlotte start working together and then give a big hug. That leads to a Figure Eight and an arm bar. Bayley comes in off the top to break up Becky's hold. Kairi tries to attack Becky, but she blocks it and again Bayley makes a save on a submission hold. Shotzi hits a Doomsday missile dropkick on Asuka and again is broken up by Bayley. Bianca sprays Asuka with the fire extinguisher but then is hit in the back with a chair. We're into the chaos segment of the match with people hitting big moves. Charlotte goes for a Spear on Kairi, but Bayley moves her out of the way and takes the hit. Bianca hits a KOD on her and puts Bayley onto the table. Becky hits the Manhandle Slam from the second rope and through the table for the victory. There were definitely some pretty crazy moments in this match, but these are always on the longer side and it often feels that way. There was a lot of good effort in there too.
Match Rating: ***3/4
We go back to Alpha Academy, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven are eating Ruffles together. Pretty Deadly come in and cause some disagreement until R-Truth shows up.
We go back to Sami Zayn and Jey Uso. Sami is worried because Randy Orton isn't here yet. Jey says it's his fault since he took part in putting Orton on the shelf.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Miz vs. Gunther
Miz is able to take out Gunther's leg and slams it on the ring post. He pulls out the Bret Hart Figure Four on the ring post in the very arena he did it to Steve Austin on. Miz goes off the top rope and runs into a big boot. Gunther continues dominating Miz, hitting a German suplex and another big boot. Miz finds an opening and goes back to the leg. He hits a series of big kicks and a tornado DDT for a 2 count. Gunther comes back with a powerbomb, but Miz is able to kick out at 2. They do a turnbuckle spot and the distraction from the referee putting it back on, allows Miz to hit two low blows and a Skull Crushing Finale, but Gunther kicks out. We then get the Bret Hart/Roddy Piper pin, but again Gunther kicks out. Gunther hits a clothesline and then a top rope splash. He puts him in the Boston Crab. Miz almost grabs the bottom rope, but Gunther pulls him back, puts the knee in the back and Miz taps out. That was a heck of a fun match. Miz is just so entertaining and has really become a fine storyteller.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Judgment Day are backstage and Dirty Dom says that he's been told that Orton isn't going to show up.
Santos Escobar vs. Dragon Lee
Apparently Escobar injured Carlito, so now we get Dragon Lee. I would say that's an upgrade. It's all Escobar at the beginning, but then Dragon hits a hurricanrana off the apron to the floor and then a dive over the top rope. Escobar comes back and hits a top rope hurricanrana adn then tries to rip off Lee's mask. Dragon Lee hits a stomp on the midsection off the top rope but then runs into a superkick shortly after. Lee hits a nice sitdown powerbomb and gets a 2 count. Escobar comes back with a Canadian Destroyer and then the Phantom Driver for the victory. This was solid and the crowd was more into it than I anticipated. That's a good sign for both men.
Match Rating: ***
Women's World Championship Match
Zoey Stark Vs. Rhea Ripley
We're at the part of the night where I can barely keep my eyes open. Rhea shows off her strength early until Zoey hits a few high flying moves. I haven't seen much Zoey, so this may be old news, but she is pretty impressive. Rhea is able to drop her face first onto the mat. We get a lot of back and forth stuff here, with Rhea hitting Rip Tide for the victory. That was a pathetic recap, if I do say so myself. Like I said, I'm sleepy, so give me a break. They were losing the crowd a little bit just because of their spot on the card, because the match was entertaining.
Match Rating: ***
Cody Rhodes tries to calm down his team about Randy Orton not being here yet.
Men's WarGames Match
Drew McIntyre, Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Finn Balor & JD McDonagh vs. Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins & Randy Orton
Randy Orton is still not out as we start the match with Seth Rollins and Finn Balor. Rollins leaps from one ring to the next before the match starts and now we are underway. Balor escapes a buckle bomb and hits a clothesline. Judgment Day has the advantage in this match. Rollins goes for a Pedigree between the two rings, but Balor counters into a back body drop. Rollins moves out of the way of the Coup de Grace and hits a Sling Blade. JD McDonagh is the next entrant and eats a boot on his way into the ring. He's able to crack a kendo stick on Rollins on his second attempt in. Rollins gets hit with multiple shots and a moonsault from McDonagh. Rollins gets his backup and it's Jey. He brings in a chair and is able to shift the momentum. The clock counts down and McIntyre wants in, but Priest stops him and tells him to stick to the plan. Drew isn't happy about that. Priest gets double teamed as he enters, as I guess he didn't get the memo about grabbing a weapon before entering. Just as I type that, he pulls out a baton and starts nailing both Rollins and Jey. Priest hits a somersault dive onto both opponents. It's now time for Sami to enter. He steals JD's kendo stick and hits him with that and then slams Balor's head in the door. Sami gets to be the hero and grabs the table. Sami's all fired up and hits a Blue Thunder Bomb on Balor. Finn grabs a pipe out of the cage and starts using it on his opponents. It's now time for McIntyre and he uses an Alabama Slam on Rollins to dump him on Sami. He shifts his attention to an injured Jey. He throws Jey around in the cage for awhile and takes out some aggression. It's now time for Cody Rhodes, just shortly after a 1D was given. Cody pulls out a bull rope, but Seth grabs the other end. They use it together on their opponents and then argue about Orton coming. It's now time for Dom and he of course comes out to huge boos. Dom is surrounded and gets jumped and then they set up the table. Rollins goes for a buckle bomb through the table, but Judgment Day is there to make the save. Rollins ends up being the one to go through the table and the clock is counting down. Out comes Rhea Ripley and she has the Money In The Bank briefcase. We are going to have a match during the match...or not. It's Randy Orton and he gets a huge pop. What a great crowd tonight. Orton is in full ham mode here tonight. He looks to be in great shape, but also is showing his age a little bit. It may just be ring rust also. The Judgment Day is able to outnumber him and attack him in the corner. We get a big brawl. Randy's team hit 5 draping DDTs at the same time. Orton turns his attention to Jey, but then hits a RKO. We get all the finishers and then they chase JD up the cage. Zayn, Rollins and JD are at the top and Orton is waiting at the bottom. They throw JD off and Orton catches him for the RKO. We get a Cross Rhodes on Priest and that is all. I'm surprised the faces went over in both matches tonight. The heels dominated the others, so I guess it makes sense. Anyway, this was awesome and a great way to cap off a really good show.
Match Rating: ****1/4
HOLY CRAP, IT'S CM PUNK! He gets a huge reaction as expected and celebrates with the crowd before we go to highlights. It was a little out of left field, as he didn't interact with anyone, but it was great. I know a lot of people will not be happy he's back, but I can't help myself. I am a fan. We'll see how the rest of the story goes.
This was a really entertaining show and I can't emphasize enough how great it is when the shows are kept to 3 hours. This one flew by and every match was good. The main event was just a crazy match that everyone was invested in. Plus, you have two big returns to make this a historic event. This may have been the best show of the year.
Overall Rating: 90%
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