Yo, how good was that Alexa Bliss Q&A? Amazing talent.
1. Apollo Crews, American Alpha & The Hype Bros vs. Curt Hawkins, The Vaudevillains & The Ascension
Liked the 10-man NXT All-Star tag… everything flowed well, and there was a lot of fun stuff – Hawkins and Crews tore it up, there was the brief Ryder/Hawkins showdown, the collective crowd LOL for Mojo’s shtick, Aiden’s Flair bump, Alpha’s run of double teams, the shrieking as Gable reached for the tag, Mauro unable to name Curt Hawkins. The “everybody dumps everybody” spot was such stupid pro wrestling fun. FUN I SAID!!! ***
Oh my god was the opening video package great. So epic – felt like they were running a ladder for president.
1. SmackDown Tag Team Title: Heath Slater & Rhyno [c] vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton) w/ Luke Harper
The Slater/Rhyno vs. Wyatt Family Tag Titles match was short, but fun and exactly what it needed to be. Slater bumped and sold big for the Wyatt’s… his sell of the Garvin Stomp was so sweet. I love Randy Orton as a guy that doesn’t try to play to the crowd but milks everything just enough that he’s SO over. This had legit one of the coolest finishes ever – Harper sacrificing himself and taking a Gore, Wyatt doing the spider walk to distract Rhyno and Orton dropping the RKO. So decisive, so good. ***
2. No DQ Match: Carmella vs. Nikki Bella
God damn pal, that Nikki/Carmella wasn’t a big win for anybody but was a pretty solid brawl. Didn’t Nikki’s right leg go into the stairs or am I just a fucking geek? Carmella sells like she’s faking an orgasm. That’s all I’ve got, I’m so sorry. **1/4
3. Ladder Match – WWE Intercontinental Title: The Miz [c] w/ Maryse vs. Dolph Ziggler
Matches come along every so often that feel like the right type of match but just aren’t that compelling to watch. Miz vs. Ziggler felt like that match. Liked the physicality, the slower pace. LOVED Miz’ selling (the elbow drop and fall from the title). Finish was great. Just never 100% bought in. Miz promo was tremendous though. Want a sad comparison? This felt like Balor/Joe in a Cage. A 1/2 match that still felt kinda’ weak. Still, Feud of the Year. 1/2
4. Chairs Match: Kalisto vs. Baron Corbin
Kalisto and Baron Corbin went all out and I loved it. I don’t know if Baron Corbin is any good as an in-ring professional wrestler but we now know that he not only has command of his gimmick but is also willing to die for our sins. Lots of nasty chair bumps here. Nice of Kalisto to remind us that he can rock too. The tope into the Deep Six was fucking INCREDIBLE. This was a great example of using a gimmick match and ending an intense feud – no cute shit here, just a nasty and wild brawl. ***1/4
5. Tables Match – SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Alexa Bliss
Becky/Alexa didn’t click for me, but happy for Alexa. They didn’t find many interesting ways to use the table gimmick and at the same time that’s all the match was based around. *3/4
6. TLC Match – WWE World Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Dean Ambrose
In a world where this match didn’t happen five or six times a year the TLC match would probably be seen as some transcendent shit. As it was it was pretty fucking awesome. How many different ways can I say that AJ Styles is the best? Everything guy does has an extra SOMETHING to it and it brings all his matches way up. Great mix of a hate-filled brawl and two Athletic WWE Superstars having themselves a wild fun gimmick match. Tons of wild spots, highlighted by that first release suplex through the chair, Dean spinning AJ’s ass into the ladder, and the springboard 450 through the table (WHAT!!). Fuckin’ hell, James Ellsworth! ****
Another fantastic Bryan/Miz showdown on the post-TLC Talking Smack. Love Alexa, love Corbin, love Ellsworth. Love Talking Smack.
This was a fun show – some stories were closed, some began, the characters were colorful and interesting, and the main event rocked. A couple stinkers, but I never thought to myself “why do I watch this shit?” and sometimes when you’re watching professional wrestling that’s the most important thing. 7/10
