WWE Main Event 22/07/2014

Seth Rollins vs Fandango

Perfectly fine match, with the up-and-coming main eventer getting a clean win over the lower midcarder. Rollins’ kneeling flatliner in the corner looked a bit weak, despite Fandango trying his best to save it with a big sell, but the rest of this was competent professional wrestling. Fandango shows nice fire on his comeback, but gets planted with a buckle bomb and a curb stomp for a quick win

Jey Uso vs Ryback

Decent stuff here, as they work a nice speed vs power section at the start. Uso throws some really nice right hands before using his speed to get two counts from a roll-up and a crucifix. Ryback catches him from the second rope with a huge spinebuster that looked great. Meathook clothesline gets reverse to a big Samoan Drop, but a Curtis Axel distraction allows Ryback to hit a second attempt to win.

Slater Gator vs Big E & Kofi Kingston

Bit of a curio here, as the proto-New Day are accompanied by Xavier Woods in glasses and Brother Love’s clothes, barking orders at them throughout the match. Titus does get to chuck around Kofi at the beginning, but he soon tags out after Slater and O’Neill start bickering. Big E blitzes them both, the New Day hit their own twist on Demolition Decapitation to both (with a Kofi top rope stomp replacing the elbow, looked a bit shit to be honest) and Xavier yells at them to stack Slater Gator on top of each other for the win. Interesting glimpse into what might have been, but I think their current direction was a better choice.

Jack Swagger vs Rusev

Both come into this nursing wounds from their previous matches – Rusev has a bad ankle, that Swagger tries for from the opening bell, whilst Swagger has a suspected concussion from hitting his head on a ring post. We get a break, with Rusev fully in control on the return, kicking Swagger repeatedly in the head and using it as a focal point. Loved Rusev stomping and standing on Swagger’s head whilst holding onto his arm for leverage. Swagger’s comeback is nice, huge overhead bodyslam and he hooks the ankle lock after grabbing the foot on an attempted block of the Swagger Bomb. Ending is a bit disappointing, as they head outside and Rusev uses the Russian flag to draw a DQ, but the meat of this was really fun

WWE Main Event 17/06/2014

Rusev vs Santino Marella

As good as 30 second squash as you’ll get. Rusev blocks a Santino kick, hurting Santino’s leg, then hits a jumping kick and the Accolade to win

Paige vs Naomi

Face vs face match, with Paige only recently winning the Divas title. This wasn’t very good, both ladies looked pretty clunky in the ring, like they weren’t quite sure what the other was going to do. There were a few nice bits, such as Paige cutting off a corner bulldog with a clothesline and a really good nearfall as Paige rolls through a top rope crossbody. It’s just that every time they have to exchange a hold, it looks like they’re trying to remember what comes next but are failing to do so. Naomi gets the surprise win with an inverted DDT.

Sheamus & the Usos vs the Wyatt Family

This was pretty good, but I kinda expected better from the talents involved. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it – it’s genuinely good all the way through – it just never heats up to quite the levels you’d expect. The best bits, as you’d expect, are when Sheamus and Luke Harper mix it up. They exchange some nice looking shots, with a mix of head shots and body blows. The faces control with some quick tags until Harper hits a throat thrust on Jey Uso. I like that, as the head of the family, Wyatt doesn’t get in the ring until they’ve got full control of one of their opponents. The heat on Jey is pretty fun, with a few hope spots sprinkled in. Loved him fighting out of the Wyatt’s corner, but then running directly into a Harper Michinoku Driver. The hot tag gets made only after Rowan misses a few moves, and Sheamus and Jimmy Uso both get to run wild off the hot tag. The end is pretty great, as Jey hits a big dive to the outside on Rowan, but Bray intercepts Jimmy as he goes to dive on Harper, fluidly hitting him with Sister Abigail for the win. As I said, nothing bad about it, just that it’s good rather than great.

WWE Main Event 10/06/2014

Jimmy Uso vs Luke Harper

Really fun little match. Starts off really nicely, as both guys are big guys who can move at quite a pace, and both lay in some nice shots. Loved the Uso crossbody with Harper draped over the ropes, and I loved how Harper took control of the match by flinging Jimmy face first into the middle ropes. Uso gets a few hope spots, but Harper is great at cutting them off, be it stopping a corner charge with a big boot to the face or stopping an Uso suicide dive with a big forearm to the face. The end is a bit abrupt, as Uso nails a superkick and gets a quick roll up, but I like that it took a sudden death shot to stun Harper just long enough to pick up the win.

Rusev vs Kofi Kingston

Really interesting to remember how strongly Rusev was pushed in the early days. Right at the start Kingston tries to use his speed advantage to slide through Rusev’s legs, but gets caught and takes a huge clothesline to the back of the head. Rusev hits some great looking driving knees with Kingston in the ropes and though Kofi gets a brief fightback, Rusev hits a great looking sudden superkick and the Accolade finishes. Fun squash.

Seth Rollins vs Dolph Ziggler

So yeah, without including Enzo, who wasn’t on the main roster at the time, this is basically my nightmare WWE match. Two guys who haven’t the foggiest idea on how to put a match together or how to wrestle appropriately for their character. Therefore, I’m pleasantly surprised to say this wasn’t too dreadful. It actually contains a really good Seth Rollins performance for 2/3 of it – here, he grounds Ziggler, wearing out his back with repeated suplexes and ramming him into the turnbuckles with real force. I mean, Ziggler doesn’t bother to sell this damage long term, but I appreciated the effort from Seth. Plus, he acts like a total condescending prick throughout, dismissively kicking Ziggler in the head and talking shit to him. He gets drawn into a “you hit your move, I hit mine” ending, but he was really good here. On the other hand, Ziggler was wretched. Moves on Rollins like a hiptoss or a backdrop seem to happen in spite of Ziggler here, who barely connects with his opponent. His grounded punches are woeful and he hits maybe the worst fameasser of his career. Just terrible stuff. The end sees Ziggler sell a turnbuckle bomb by crawling conveniently into the middle of the ring to eat a curb stomp for the Rollins win. 

WWE Battleground 2016

Bizarrely, this is one of the few times I've written a review of a recent WWE PPV on the blog since I did Battleground 2013 a few years back. I'm normally to lazy to write up thoughts on a show, as there's usually one match I fancy skipping, but this year, the entire show looked decent. As it turned out, it was a good show all in all.

Dana Brooke & Charlotte vs Sasha Banks & Bayley           

Huge pop for Bayley as the mystery partner. Bayley and Sasha milk the audience reaction, so the heels jump them to start, which makes sense. I also liked the ref checking with a beaten-down Bayley if she wanted him to ring the bell, made it look like she was a fighter. The match was a really hot opener, and I think all four women contributed to that. I’m not as high on Sasha as a lot of people, and there were a few sloppy moments here (including a terrible looking flying headscissors), but I think she did a good job on the apron waiting for the hot tag. Likewise, I’m not as down on Dana as a lot of others, I think here she showed she’s got a brain for how wrestling works. Loved her petty little kicks in the corner after a few stomps, and her trash talking is on point. Bayley takes a few nasty bumps here, including hitting the back of her head on the turnbuckle, and both here and Dana really collide on a double clothesline spot. Sasha nails a beautiful looking knee to the side of Charlotte’s face. It all breaks down before Bayley wipes out Dana with a nice leaping kick through the corner of the ring, and Banks locks in the Bank Statement on Charlotte for the win.

The Wyatt Family vs The New Day

A nice reminder of WWE circa 2014, where there were great 6-man tags on a near weekly basis. This was the best the Wyatt’s have looked in a long time, with Rowan and Bray both looking great. Rowan really laid in his blows here, whilst Wyatt looked dynamic, getting great height on his senton. Kudos to Kofi here, he made the Wyatts look gold, with a big bump landing him on his head off a Wyatt clothesline. Big E looks great coming in off the hot tag – he’s so athletic and his size makes him look like a missile as he runs the ropes. His overhead belly-to-belly on Rowan was superb. The match had a fun underlying story, with Xavier Woods still scared of Bray and showing signs of falling under his spell, before Kingston attacking Bray snapped him out of the trance. However, Bray does the spider walk to put Woods off his game for a second and Sister Abigail gets three. Really fun.

Rusev vs Zack Ryder

Hard not to love Rusev’s trunks having “US Champ” on the waistband. This was fought just about right for the respective levels of these two. Rusev is so good right now, he was portrayed here and the dominant force, with Ryder getting some well timed comebacks. Loved the brutality of Rusev just laying into Ryder on the mat. I thought Ryder did well to show some spirit here – for example, when Rusev caught an attempt at a boot, Ryder kept punching Rusev in the head to try and get him to drop the foot, rather than just standing like an idiot. I also loved Ryder hitting a desperation missile dropkick from the barricades after getting dumped there by Rusev. In the ring, Zack hits the Rough Ryder, but hasn’t worn down Rusev sufficiently, so the El-Bro hits knee. Ryder still looks strong in defeat as Rusev is forced to use the super-Accolade for the tap. Good filler.

Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens

It’s nice to see a feud ending match without any stipulations for a change, just two guys finally sorting out who is the best. Loved Owens immediately escaping the ring when the bell rings, suckering Sami outside to hurl him into the barricades. Owens is great at making stuff look natural – for example, after crotching Zayn on the top rope, Sami lands in the corner and Owens seizes the opportunity by quickly going for a cannonball. It’s the look he gives as if he’s just realised where Sami is, and that he can hit a big move if he just goes for it quickly. Really enjoyed how Owens worked the chinlock, including grinding his stubbly beard into Sami’s head just to be a dick. Sami takes a nasty looking spill on a moonsault press, landing on a shoulder which Owens then works on. There are some really big bombs thrown here, and a lot of stuff kicked out of, but it works here in the context of two guys who know each other so well and hate each other laying it all out in one last grudge match. Zayn hitting a brainbuster on the apron looked sick, and Owens sells it perfectly. Owens preventing the corner tornado DDT and hitting another cannonball to the back of Sami’s head was a lovely twist on a familiar move. The end is suitably climactic as well – Zayn nails the Heluva kick, but instead of trying the pin, he looks at the beaten frame of his once-best friend, and quickly nails a second knowing that one wont be enough to finish Owens off. Really great match, really felt like a suitable ending to their feud.

Becky Lynch vs Natalya

Hard not to feel bad for Becky being stuck in a feud with Natalya, whilst Bayley and Banks soak up the adoration of the crowd in the opener, especially as she’s now stuck on a show with no women’s title. Fun start to the match, with Becky outwrestling Nattie and keeping her grounded. Natalya is a bit robotic in her movements, but I enjoyed her heel work here, as well as her focused legwork. Combining the two by posing whilst standing on Becky’s leg is terrific. Hard not to love Nattie’s trash talking of “my cat is better than you”. Becky showed great fire on her comeback, still selling the legwork, and I loved Natalya just ramming her hand into Becky’s face to allow her to put on the sharpshooter. Becky escapes, but Natalya kicks her leg out from behind the official on a rope break and locks in another sharpshooter for the win. You can tell Natalya raised her game working with arguably the best woman wrestler on the roster, and this was her best match in years.

Darren Young vs The Miz

I’m so ready for this Darren Young mini-push, and it feels like he is as well. Loved him throwing some big forearms, hitting great looking overhead suplexes and still taking big bumps to the floor. Miz’s control wasn’t particularly interesting, which is a shame as he’s been good this year, but it felt a bit lacklustre here. Still, the good vibes I’ve had from the quality of the show so far meant I was into this enough that I actually cared about the outcome of a Miz/Young backslide struggle in 2016, so this did it’s job. Terrible ending though, with both men disqualified after Bob Backlund and Maryse get involved outside, but I did like Darren Young’s crazy eyes after he’d snapped.

The Club vs John Cena, Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady

Enzo cuts a decent promo before the match, followed by a pretty wretched effort from Cassady. His delivery is terrible. Luckily for the match quality, Cassady doesn’t spend much time in the ring, and when he is in there he’s mainly just throwing Enzo into their opponents. Luke Gallows may have the worst ring attire in the company, but I really enjoyed him here, hitting a nice Jackhammer on Amore and later hitting a Baldo Bomb on Cassady which looked impressive. The Club work a long heat on Enzo, and AJ in particular shows an impressive nasty streak. Loved him hurling Enzo into the barricades. There’s a great cutoff of a hot-tag as Anderson just throws himself at Enzo to prevent him reaching his corner. The match does break down a bit towards the end, with it kind of degenerating into people entering the ring, hitting a finisher, then turning around to get hit by the new guy entering the ring. Also, there’s a horribly clunky moment when Cena sort of catches Enzo in the air, and Gallows has to stand staring like a twat before Cena uses Amore as a weapon. Still, this was pretty good, Cena finishing off AJ with a top rope Attitude Adjustment

Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns

Despite a few nice moments, this really is a match that didn’t feel like it added up to the sum of it’s parts. It starts well, with Reigns and Ambrose teaming to repeatedly eject Rollins from the ring, and I liked the work by both Ambrose and Reigns here. Roman felt like a big brick wall of an opponent, ploughing through both guys on offence and standing up to a lot of Rollins’ attacks. With this in mind, it made sense that mortal enemies Rollins and Ambrose teamed up to powerbomb him through a table to take him out of the match. Ambrose really felt like the scrappy underdog champion, and I loved the spot where the other two were so preoccupied with fighting each other that they failed to spot Ambrose running along the announce tables to hurl himself at them. Two things let the side down: firstly the typical triple threat format which required one person to be predisposed at any one time whilst the other two fight. Secondly, I didn’t enjoy Rollins’ contribution to the match as much as I did the other two. Hate his superplex which he chains into a falcon arrow, it takes away all the impact of hitting a big top rope move. He also has a dreadful looking pedigree, which he needs to bin off ASAP. The callback to the Shield split with Rollins chairshotting both guys in the back was a nice touch, but this match didn’t wow me. Still, good to see the champion put over strongly with a clean win, leaving both opponents down for the count.

WWE Main Event 08/04/2014

The Shield vs The Wyatt Family

Bit of a C-show treat to have their feud blown off on Main Event. This wasn’t as good as the Elimination Chamber match the same year, but I preferred this to the Raw match. Dean Ambrose was really good here, kicking the bout off by smacking the sheep mask off Erick Rowan’s face. As the smallest man in the match, this made him look tough as fuck. Following a brief heat section on Rollins, the main heat of the match is on Ambrose, and he excels here. Loved his facial expressions as he sold Rowan’s squeezing of his temples, and as a wild, scrappy face, it allowed him to have hope spots naturally interspersed in the bout. You can buy Ambrose as a “going down swinging” type, and it felt totally in character when he’d make his comebacks. Rather than Ambrose actually making the hot tag, things instead break down when Rollins makes a save, as if this match was a powder keg just waiting to ignite. Loved Luke Harper’s wildman tope, which sent Reigns flying over the announce table. With Reigns down, Rollins does some great work as the face saviour, hitting back-to-back dives to take out Rowan and Harper. More chaos ensures before Ambrose hits Dirty Deeds on Rowan to win. Really great match. Also worth pointing out Reigns’ post-match promo, where he’s so natural on the stick and the crowd just eat it up.

Jack Swagger vs Dolph Ziggler

Really like Swagger, so it’s sad to see him weighed down by Ziggler, who is just wretched here. This started really quickly, to the extent that we saw the Swagger Bomb in the first 30 seconds. Things go to shit as Swagger tries to do some basic leg work to set up Ziggler for the Patriot Lock. Swagger chopblocks Ziggler’s leg from under him, but then Ziggler hits a load of offence that is totally dependent on the leg – knee up to block another Swagger Bomb, dropkick, Fameasser – just totally undermining any attempt by Swagger to prepare for his finisher. Thus, when Swagger does lock it in, plucking Ziggler from midair to grab the ankle, it has less impact when Ziggler taps out. Would have been a better match if Swagger has faced literally anyone else on the roster.

Rusev vs Sin Cara

This is days after Rusev was called up to the main roster, so he’s still called “Alexander” here. Sub-one minute squash, with the leaping kick and the Accolade finishing off Cara.

WWE Extreme Rules 2015

Dean Ambrose vs Luke Harper

This was a pretty fun deal, and I liked Ambrose’s high-energy assault to start. The kendo shots on Harper sounded really nasty, but not as nasty as the suplex onto an open chair that Harper hits. Harper lawn darting Ambrose into a chair in the corner was pretty great. I really like that Ambrose has these quick flurries of energy when on the offensive, and the quick offensive burst that ended with his diving elbow drop was fun. There was a lovely spot on the outside where Harper tried to throw Dean into the ring, only for Ambrose to pivot his body on the apron and burst out with a clothesline. Really fun spot. They brawl to the back and, as Harper tries to escape in a waiting car, Ambrose dives into through the passenger window and off they drive…

Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler

The first few minutes of Ziggler offence were pretty meh, including Ziggler hitting a horrible “carry me round” tornado DDT to the floor. As soon as Sheamus goes on offence though, things quickly improve, as Sheamus hits a lovely knee to the temple of Ziggler. Even a Sheamus chinlock looks great with how he cranks at Ziggler’s neck whilst holding it. Ziggler gets the odd hope spot, but this match is all about great Sheamus offence. I loved him catching a superkick, hurling Ziggler down and just flipping him into the Cloverleaf. Ziggler gets the win with a fluke roll up, but it’s Sheamus who comes out of this looking great.

The New Day vs Cesaro & Tyson Kidd

Xavier Woods was incredibly annoying as a face, so he’s perfectly suited to the role of heel cheerleader here. I actually saw a version of this match at a houseshow in Nottingham, so I wasn’t surprised that this was pretty great. Loved Kidd and Cesaro stomping their opponents to the beat of “New….Day Sucks”. Kidd hits a beautiful dive through the ropes, taking him straight through Kingston. This is actually the most I’ve enjoyed Kofi Kingston, as this heel role has given him a bit more of an edge. Now, he’s using his speed for quick cut-offs, which look more effective than they did as actual match-winning offence. Cesaro whipping his opponent from corner to corner, peppered with uppercuts, is a really neat face spot, whilst Big E spearing through the ropes to send Kidd flying to the floor is an ever-impressive bump. Kingston gets the win with a handful of tights on a roll-up, and I want to see this match every month.

Dean Ambrose vs Luke Harper

….and we return to these two guys as they drive back into the arena. Ambrose hits a great elbow from the top of the car onto Harper and a celebrating New Day, before the match returns to the ring. There’s a great visual as both guys throw chairs into the ring, and suddenly make eye-contact from opposite sides. The match ends with Harper trying an ill-fated top rope move, instead getting hurled from the top onto the chairs, and Ambrose hitting Dirty Deeds for the win. Fun deal.

Rusev vs John Cena

Given the PG nature of WWE programming, this was never going to live up to my ideal of a brutal chain match, but I did hope for something a bit better than this. This was fought under touch-the-four-corners rules, with lights to indicate the scores on each turnbuckle. The problem with this stipulation is that it makes the match pretty repetitive and dull, with lots of drama-free tug of war spots. I did enjoy Cena yanking Rusev into the ring post when they were brawling outside, mainly because Rusev took an insane bump into the steel. However, the match was typified by Rusev, a man not known for his high risk moves, climbing to the top rope solely so that Cena could pull him off using the chain. The match is pretty much a spectacle of watching two talented guys slowly walk between turnbuckles that they’d normally zip between, just to try and create some drama. The end sees both guys somehow tied on three posts each, both needing the same final turnbuckle to win. Rusev goes for it, is pulled back and nailed with the AA for the Cena victory.

Nikki Bella vs Naomi

This heel turn has worked wonders for Naomi. Showing her more aggressive side has slowed her down, eliminating some of the athletic, but sloppy, moves she used to do. Also, her statuesque form makes it convincing for her to boss other women in the ring. I thought her hitting a running bulldog through the rope to send Nikki face first into the second turnbuckle was great. She also hit a slick full Nelson bomb into a pin, which looked good. Nikki’s offence looked a bit weaker than usual here, with a springboard kick looking pretty milky, and we didn’t get to see her awesome forearm smash. Nikki gets the win with the Rack Attack after Brie Bella kicks Naomi behind the referee’s back. This was pretty good.

Roman Reigns vs the Big Show

From the get-go, you could tell this was going to be good, as both guys were clearly not afraid of laying in some punches. I loved Big Show refusing to use weapons, confident enough that his size made him enough of a weapon in his own right. It also allows Reigns to get some big pops whenever he brings out the plunder. Of course, when Big Show only gets an 8 count following the KO punch, he suddenly decides to start using the weapons after all. I like how smart Big Show is in breaking the count by rolling out of the ring, as it gets him back to his feet with the least amount of effort. There is a negative part where Big Show uncharacteristically goes to the top rope, which is clearly only so Reigns can throw him off. Show chokeslams Reigns over the top rope to the floor through two tables in a massive bump. Looked great. Big Show sets up more stuff over by the announce table, giving Reigns time to recover, and even when Show returns to the ring, Reigns can only take control by avoiding a Show offensive move, rather than via his own attack. Show rolls out to his feet again, so Reigns knows he has to down the Big Show outside of the ring. A huge spear through the Spanish announce table looks to have done this, but Show is able to get up at 8. This leaves Reigns little choice but to bury Show underneath the main announce table, which finally gets him the 20 count. Really great match, logically laid out and with some massive bumps by both men. With Reigns now having the match-of-the-night for three PPV’s in a row, can we now just accept he’s actually really great? 

Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton

This is a world title match in a steel cage with the RKO banned. The problem this match has is that no-one believes they’ll take the title off Rollins already, and no-one believe the steel cage will keep anyone out of the match. In fact, most of the match is a background to the drama between Kane, the external gatekeeper, and Rollins. I mean, I love Kane’s new “frustrated middle manager” gimmick, but it shouldn’t be overshadowing your brand new world champion’s first defence. That said, a lot of the action was good here. I dug Rollins, like a chickenshit, fleeing to try and escape at every opportunity, especially from an Orton slingshot. There was another moment where Rollins avoided Orton’s snap powerslam and tried to quickly escape while Orton was regaining his bearings. It also built up the later spot where Orton caught Rollins as he springboarded into the ring with a huge snap powerslam. Orton hit a lovely looking superplex, and I loved him doing the pose for the RKO, but hitting a pedigree instead, as a “fuck you” to the Authority. Ultimately though, it built up to a shitty end, as Kane gets in, J&J Security get in, Kane flip-flops between who he’s going to help and finally Rollins nails Orton with an RKO before escaping. It’s a shame that a decent match ends with the commentators arguing semantics over whether or not Rollins was allowed to use the move.

WWE Survivor Series 2014

I recently wrote another review of this show, which was a little more accessible to non-fans, for www.strangethingsarehappening.com, which you may want to check out if you feel like reading TWO reviews of this show. This is the more nerdy version.

Fandango vs Justin Gabriel
As a Johnny Curtis fan, I really like the aggressive edge to the "new and improved" Fandango. His back suplex onto the apron looked suitably nasty. Gabriel got really impressive height on a springboard moonsault, just a shame only his hands made any connection with Fandango. This was brief, but pretty great from Curtis, nailing Gabriel with a big clothesline, the falcon arrow and the Last Dance to pick up the win.

The Usos vs The Miz & Damien Mizdow vs Los Matadores vs Goldust & Stardust
Mizdow is easily the most over person in this match. I enjoyed Los Matadores in the opening, all quick tags and goofy fun matwork. I love the fact that heels in the match soon realised thet can get great heat by not tagging in Mizdow, even his own partner. I loved Mizdow finally getting in, and Goldust blind tagging him right away. I liked the logic of the Dust brothers, as defending champs, working the heat section just between themselves, not risking getting blind tagged by opponents. Fun series of tombstone reversals between Stardust and a matador leads to a swank looking tornado DDT by the matador. The Usos get in and offer a lot of superkicks, but not much else. There was a really great dive series, featuring both Usos, Stardust, El Torito and finally the Matadores before Mizdow brilliantly blind tagged himself in to get the winning pinfall on Goldust. Hot opener.

Paige, Cameron, Summer Rae & Layla vs Natalya, Naomi, Emma & Alicia Fox
Despite being a heel, Paige gets the second biggest chant from the crowd. The biggest chant goes to Mizdow, who is way more entertaining than this awful match. Naomi sets the tone early with a shitty crossbody, before Cameron obviously sympathises with her former Funkadactyl colleague by hitting a super-bad bulldog on Natalya. Cameron is soon pinned with a roll-up by Naomi, yet somehow removing the worst wrestler from the match doesn't improve it's quality. Normally, the announcers ignoring a match would really annoy me, but here listening to Michael Cole reminise about the Mean Street Posse is preferable to watching the match. Fox pins Layla following a backbreaker. This just goes on for ages and goes nowhere. The only fun part is watching Paige despairing about her awful team-mates, openly calling Summer an idiot. Summer taps to the Emmalock and we get a briefly watchable "Paige vs the world" section, before Naomi pins her. The crowd goes mild. It's unbelievable that they looked at this face team of utter no-marks and decided to have all four of them survive. To be honest, the sooner they release all the non-Paige participants in this bout and promote the NXT girls, the better. Most of this was WEW bad.

Dean Ambrose vs Bray Wyatt
This was a big leap forward in match quality. Really enjoyed the brawling in this one, felt like two guys who really wanted to hurt each other. Ambrose's diving forearm from the apron looked great. Wyatt stamping on Ambrose's hand, a body part he ended up not working on, just made him look really sadistic. Wyatt's big senton was fantastic, he gets great height on it, and I loved Wyatt emphasising his bulk for once by standing like a brick wall in the face of an attempted Ambrose crossbody. I liked the fact Wyatt was able to reverse the rebound lariat after watching Ambrose go through the set-up for it, but later turned his back when throwing Dean through the ropes, and thus got hit by THAT attempt instead. Ambrose hitting a diving elbow when his opponent was still standing really works for his character. The DQ ending was a bit of a copout, but I really liked that Wyatt passed Dean the chair to use on him, and rather than putting the chair aside, Ambrose waffled him with it, then battered him with tables, ladders and a heap of chairs.

Slater Gator vs Adam Rose & the Bunny
Brief fluff that continued the Rose/Bunny split that was never really resolved. Slater Gator don't normally spend too long on offense, so it was fun to see some nice power moves by Titus on Rose before the hot tag to the bunny, who pinned Slater after a second rope dropkick.

AJ Lee vs Nikki Bella
Eh, nothing to this. Brie kisses AJ, Nikki hits the Rack Attack and wins. Still, better than the other divas match.

Seth Rollins, Rusev, Luke Harper, Mark Henry & Kane vs John Cena, the Big Show, Erick Rowan, Ryback & Dolph Ziggler
So, the start of this is pretty fun, I did chuckle at Triple H psyching up Mark Henry, only for him to run straight into a knockout blow from Big Show for the first elimination. I'd rsther have seen Kane go first, but hey ho. Ryback looks really good running wild on everyone, especially nailing a spinebuster on Rusev, which makes his early elimination also seem odd. Harper and Rusev destroying Ziggler is pretty great, loved the big spinning slam from Harper. There's a fun dives spot involving Rollins and Ziggler, before Rusev is eliminated after hurling himself through the Spanish announce table. It was a predictable way to eliminate him, but the execution was terrific. The Rowan/Harper stand off gets a big reaction from the crowd, before Harper eliminates his former team-mate with a huge clothesline. I like the fact that the Big Show turn actually makes sense here - he looks at his two team-mates, sees Cena down and Ziggler barely conscious and makes the best decision he can to keep his job. This of course sees him knock Cena out for the pin and then get himself counted out. This leaves Ziggler against three men, and really is where the match loses any remaining credibility. I can just about buy Ziggler getting one last run of momentum and pinning Kane with the Zig Zag. I struggle to accept him kicking out of a monstrous looking Liger bomb and then being able to roll-up Harper for the elimination. However, one thing that gets totally overlooked in all the hoopla of Sting coming out is the fact that Ziggler hitting Rollins with the least threatening finishing move in the whole WWE somehow knocks Rollins out for nearly seven minutes. I've seen referees recover from real finishers quicker than the "future of the WWE" recovered from being lightly pulled to the mat. Aside from that quibble, it's a fun main event match.