Review and Results: WWE Battleground (24.07.2016)

Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Charlotte and Dana Brooke

I picked Carmella to be the mystery partner, but of course, the predictable choice was the correct one: Bayley! She came out to a storming ovation. The crowd were thoroughly into this match, thanks to Bayley and Sasha. Dana Brooke did her best to bring down the quality of this match. But the sheer talent of the other three women kept the quality high. Not a great match by any means, but a fun opener that set the tone for the rest of the night.

WINNER: Sasha Banks and Carmella 

VERDICT: 7/10. A fun and exciting opener that thrived on Bayley’s “surprise” entrance.

Predictions: WWE Battleground (24.07.2016)

Becky Lynch vs Natalya

Surely there can only be one winner in this match? That’s Natalya. This feud will likely dominate the women’s scene on Smackdown for a few months. It leads me to one of my many criticisms of the WWE Draft: why spilt up the women? Why not have the Women’s Division exclusive to Smackdown? Raw will have an exclusive Cruiserweight Division, so why not give Smackdown something exclusive? The Women’s roster is sparse as it is, and bringing up a few women from NXT won’t help things much.

Review and Results: WWE Money in the Bank 2016 (19.6.2016)

If you call something ‘the greatest ever’ before it has even happened, then you’ve pretty much shot yourself in the foot. WWE’s brag that this would be the greatest Money In The Bank would be the greatest PPV of its name seemed an absurd brag, considering half the matches were Raw level matches. As it happened, even a few of the big bouts failed to live up to greatness…

Review and Results: WWE Payback 2016 (1.5.2016)

Was WWE Payback 2016 the beginning of a new era for the WWE, as the pre-show slogan would have us believe? Or was it merely a smokescreen, a clever subterfuge to make us think it was a new era? I’m still unsure, but Payback certainly delivered in the ring…(oh, and why did most of the promo posters have The Wyatt Family in the background? They weren’t even on the show!)

Review and Results: WWE WrestleMania 32 (3.4.2016)

Was WrestleMania 32 as underwhelming as its poor build suggested? In the main, yes, due to some bouts that underpeformed and some perplexing outcomes….

Review and Results: WWE Fast Lane (21.2.2016)

Did ‘Fast Lane’ offer any surprises at all? Did it create any excitement at all? The quick answer to both questions is: no! There were a few good matches, but the obvious outcomes sapped them of any suspense. We are on the Road to WrestleMania, but the traffic has stalled…

Review and Results: WWE Royal Rumble 2016 (24.1.16)

 

Dean Ambrose (c) vs Kevin Owens (Last Man Standing Match for the Intercontinental Championship)

The only worthwhile match on last year’s Royal Rumble was the Triple Threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It was a Match of the Year contender, and this year’s Royal Rumble began with a Match of the Year contender. I’ve lamented that Owens and Ambrose haven’t put together a great match, but they certainly did in the opener. It contained the requisite amount of kendo sticks, tables and chairs for your typical hardcore match, but Owens and Ambrose mixed all of the elements together with panache. In the first five minutes, we saw Owens break the timekeeper’s barricade with a cannonball to Ambrose. The high spots came thick and fast, hooked together by some good in-ring psychology. A Last Man Standing match can feel disjointed, but Owens and Ambrose saved the real countdowns until the last ten minutes or so. This was easily the best match of the night, and it will take a hell of a match in the coming year to match its quality! Also, Ambrose’s victory signalled an end to his feud with Owens. Where will the two wrestlers go now? Hopefully to even bigger and better things!

Predictions: Royal Rumble 2016 (24.01.16)

Tonight, the road to WrestleMania begins with the Royal Rumble! However, due to the curse of injuries afflicting the WWE at the moment (has Dixie Carter done a deal with the Devil to make sure as many WWE superstars are injured for the biggest PPV of the year?!?!), I reckon the road won’t be paved properly until Fast Lane. That’s why the WWE Championship is on the line in the Royal Rumble: so the Number 1 Contender spot isn’t set in stone. No doubt we’ll find out the Number 1 Contender at Fast Lane! They should bring back the Elimination Chamber to decide who that will be…Anyway, here are my predictions for tonight’s event!

Review and Results: WWE Survivor Series (22.11.2015)

Roman Reigns vs Alberto Del Rio

Survivor Series got off to a very good start with the hard-fought match. Both Reigns and Del Rio worked their butts off. At first, it seemed like they wouldn’t gel. But after the five minute mark, the match had a great leap in quality. From Del Rio’s reversal of the Superman Punch into the Backstabber, to Reign’s sheer strength in lifting Del Rio with one arm into a Sit-Out Powerbomb, the last ten minutes of the match made me doubt that Reigns would win. Of course, anyone could have predicted a Roman victory, but for the two wrestlers to make me doubt it was a testament to the match. Five more minutes and this match could have been great. Unfortunately, with the time constraints, it was merely very good.

Review and Results: Hell In A Cell (25.10.2015)

Hell In A Cell came off one of the worst Special/PPV builds in WWE history. Does the WWE want us to care about their storylines? From 2015 alone, it appears not. Barely an ounce of effort went into promoting Hell In A Cell. Maybe it’s the WWE’s plan, though? It worked with WrestleMania 31: that was also terribly built up, yet the event itself was a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t the best WrestleMania of all time, far from it, but it was a great leap in quality from the build that preceded it. Maybe WWE want to lower our expectations so dramatically that even an average Special/PPV will look brilliant in our jaded eyes? It’s just a theory…and it worked with Hell In A Cell! It was, overall, a very good PPV. The good far, far outweighed the bad. And it started off with John Cena’s US Title Open Challenge…