Daniel Bryan forces Seth Rollins to submit to the No Lock.
By Graham "GSM" Matthews Team Hell No and Randy Orton Argued There was plenty of solid mic work to go around between Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and Kane. I enjoyed the dynamic between Bryan and Kane, acting as if they had just broken up in the midst of a middle school relationship. They teased tension enough to make viewers question if Bryan and Orton can truly coexist in their tag title match at Payback, so this segment was successful in that aspect. They continued to foreshadow a potential Bryan heel turn, which I hope ultimately doesn't come to fruition. He is just way too over with the live crowds at the moment to be a heel, so WWE should make the right decision by not turning him at this point in time. Sheamus def. Antonio Cesaro These two always work well together and this match was no exception. Similar to their match on WWE Main Event last week, this bout was full of physicality and hard-hitting action. Cesaro hasn't meant anything in ages, so I didn't at all expect him to pull out a victory here. However, he took Sheamus to the limit with his impressive impressive, so at least he looked good in defeat. Damien Sandow's post-match attack on The Celtic Warrior was a nice boost of momentum for Sandow going into their Kickoff match at Payback. Heath Slater w/3MB def. The Great Khali w/Natalya and Hornswoggle This was an absolute waste of a match. I couldn't care less about anyone involved and the bout accomplished nothing at all. If nothing else, it was only a mere minute long and it was cool to see Slater pin a former World Heavyweight Champion. Aside from that, though, this bout was meaningless and served no purpose on a go-home show for a pay-per-view in two days.
1 Comment
AJ Styles struggles to free himself from the ankle lock.
By Graham "GSM" Matthews Aces and Eights Interrupted Hulk Hogan I was surprised we didn't get any fallout from the conclusion of last week's edition, but I'm glad they held off on it. This show as fully focused on the Bound For Glory Series, as it should have been. I was glad that this was the only time we saw Hulk Hogan all night, the way it should be. Bully Ray, Jeff Hardy and Bobby Roode played their roles well, but nothing too extraordinary. As much as I like Roode and Hardy, it doesn't make sense to simply give them spots in the tournament just because they've won it before. Why not make theme earn their spot like everyone else? Bad Influence def. World Tag Team Champions James Storm and Gunner to Qualify for the Bound For Glory Series (Non-title) I'm ecstatic to see both members of Bad Influence in the Bound For Glory Series this year. Daniels was able to compete in it last year, but not Kazarian, so it's nice to see both guys getting their due. However, after being the odds on favorite to win last year, I'm a bit disappointed that James Storm won't be in the tournament this year. He's World Tag Team Champion alongside Gunner, so I guess that takes precedence. I hope this victory over the tag champs leads to Bad Influence getting a title shot at some point. Joesph Park def. Crimson to Qualify for the Bound For Glory Series It's awesome to see Crimson back on television after a year-long absence, but why reintroduce him in this fashion? Crimson is much more deserving of a spot in the Bound For Glory Series than Park. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the Park character, but he serves no purpose in participating. Alas, I guess they need someone to be the jobber to the stars similar to Robbie E's role last year. This should be part of an on-going story with Crimson rather than a meaningless one-off loss if they intend to keep him on television. By CJ Blaze The show kicks off with a video highlighting Bo Dallas winning the battle royal to get his shot at the NXT Title tonight! Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro I could watch these two fight all night! Their chemistry is great, and they will probably be fighting each other for a world title someday. Zayn’s loss comes as a surprise because it kind of kills his momentum, but it won’t matter too much. Winner: Antonio Cesaro - by pinfall -Renee Young interviewed Baylee backstage about her upcoming match in the Women’s title tournament. Baylee has a new gimmick. where she loves robots.
John Cena goes to work on Payback opponent Ryback.
By Graham "GSM" Matthews Convoluted opening segment featuring Triple H, Curtis Axel and Mr. McMahon. The matches between Axel and HHH were fine for what they were, but weren't long enough to truly mean anything. McMahon restarting the match got old rather quickly, but I appreciate the effort in attempting to do something different. I had my hopes up at one point that we might actually see a 60-minute Iron Man match between the two, but sadly, it was too good to be true. Decent match between United States Champion Dean Ambrose and Kane. This wasn't one of Ambrose's better matches, but it was passable for what it was. I was initially upset with Ambrose losing via disqualification, but it made sense it settling up the U.S. title match between the two at Payback. Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan fending off The Shield was a nice way of building towards their respective matches for later in the night. Brief match with The Miz defeating Cody Rhodes. We've seen these two clash multiple times in the last few months, so this bout was nothing out of the ordinary. Wade Barrett was good on commentary and helped hype the Intercontinental Championship match for Payback. Although I wanted Fandango to capture the title, Curtis Axel is a great consolation prize. Hey, it's better than seeing Barrett face Miz in singles action for the billionth time. Nice match between Chris Jericho and Big E Langston. Jericho's pre-match promo was solid and was effective in building towards his upcoming match with CM Punk. His verbal exchange with Dolph Ziggler was pretty good, but it makes me wonder if we'll be seeing them feud over the World Heavyweight Championship down the line. As for the match, it was mere minutes long, but at least it tied into Ziggler's feud with Alberto Del Rio, which will culminate on Sunday. Fun match with Antonio Cesaro between Sin Cara. I enjoyed this bout more than most Sin Cara matches and they managed to work well together. I'm glad to see Cesaro score a rare victory on Raw, which he was in desperate need of. I hope to see him join forces with Zeb Colter, who is currently directionless due to Jack Swagger getting injured a few weeks back. |
Categories
All
Archives
May 2024
|