Rumor has it that I watch wrasslin sometimes. So I figured I'd record my thoughts on the "biggest party of summer" for posterity.
I missed out on the pre-show so I have no opinion on those matches. I also want to preface this by just complaining in general about the placement of matches on the card. The women's title match going on second, Styles v. Cena II going on fourth, and both world title matches going on before the US Title "match" and Lesnar/Orton were all mistakes that should've never been made.
JeriKO def. Enzo & Cass - It was a fine match. I'd say it was RAW quality. I wasn't bored watching it and it served as an okay opening to the show.
Charlotte def. Sasha Banks - Another okay match; but a victim of their previous encounters that were better. Plus the ending left a lot to be desired.
The Miz def. Apollo Crews - A sub 6 minute title match. 'nuff said, really. EDIT: Actually I should say I was rather impressed with Crews despite how short the match was. He pulled off some pretty impressive moves. Hopefully they can give him more of a character in the future to go with his in ring ability.
AJ Styles def. John Cena - An absolutely amazing match that exceeded my already lofty expectations. Better than their first match which was already a MOTY candidate for me. Styles going over clean as a whistle was a thing of beauty. A shame that it happened so early since it pretty much ruined the rest of the show, though.
The Club def. The New Day (Via DQ) - Much like the first match on the card, this was a very RAW-esque match. All the attempts at "comedy" fell totally flat for me, especially the Jon Stewart interference which lasted way too long.
Dean Ambrose def. Dolph Ziggler - This match did absolutely nothing to stand out or be memorable. I'm sure part of that is being a victim of following Styles/Cena II; but even still this felt like a paint-by-numbers match.
Heel Women def. Face Women - About what you'd expect from a six-woman tag match, really. There were a few spots that were surprisingly enjoyable; but eventually things just devolved into typical catfight nonsense in the end. Obviously designed to give fans a breather between title matches.
Finn Balor def. Seth Rollins - <Obligatory comment about the title belt goes here.> The other highlight of the night. Just a very good match from start to finish. I would've been fine regardless of who won; but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to see Balor go over.
Rusev def? Roman Reigns - If this was the story they wanted to tell. Fine. Two problems, though. One: Making Rusev look weak by having Reigns shrug off his assault and then 'injure' him in the process. Two: WHY DID YOU PUT THIS AHEAD OF EITHER OF THE MAJOR TITLE MATCHES!?
Bork Lazy def. Randy Orton Pardon me I feel a nap coming on. It sure is nice that this match wasn't literally 15 years in the making because boy howdy would that have been a lot of anticipation for nothing. I already had low expectations because neither competitor interests me in the slightest; but it's still sad to see them live down to them. Putting aside the ending, the match itself was just boring. Orton barely got any offense in, and Lesnar just hit a bunch of half-assed Germans before the inevitable exchange of finishers. I honestly don't care if the ending was intentional or not, I'm just glad it put an end to the match, lest it go on for another 10-15 agonizing minutes.
So all in all it was a rather underwhelming show. One really good match, one amazing MOTY contender, and a bunch of forgettable filler. For the second largest event of the year it sure didn't feel like it.
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8 years, 3 months ago
22 Aug 2016 13:37 CEST
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