I just wanted to do a quick breakdown of my thoughts on the show last night. Overall, I enjoyed the show. That being said, there were a few things I did not care for. Let's break it down!
Pre-Show--- WeeLC: El Torito vs. Hornswoggle:
This worked for me as a comedy special attraction. The second half of this match really got over with the crowd at the IZOD Center. Good for these guys to put on a fun show. Rating: ***
Match #1: Swagger vs. RVD vs. Cesaro
This was a fun match and had the crowd going. The finish was terrifying with Rob cutting his face on the trash can. This was a nice win for Cesaro, and I hope he can move on soon. Rating: ***
Match #2: R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev:
Squashtastic. Plain and simply a quick and painless match that felt kind of pointless. Rusev looks strong, and R-Truth continues to ruin Xavier Woods. Rating: *
Match #3: Bad News Barrett vs. Big E Langston (C) for the Intercontinental Championship:
This was a decent match that the crowd was mostly quiet for. Big E got little to no reaction from the Jersey crowd, but Barrett was definitely over. These two got the job done, and I liked the finishing sequence quite a bit. Rating: ** 1/2
Match #4: The Shield vs. Evolution:
Match of the night. Easily. I enjoyed this match quite a bit, particularly in the second gear once the hot tag was made to Reigns. The brawl through the crowd was fun, and the spot from Rollins was insane! Shield went over here, so I will presume they are done with Evolution. That or there will be a new member to even the odds after Batista leaves. If this was the only match against Evolution, it was darn sure a good one. Rating: ****
Match #5: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
I did not like this at all. I have not been a huge fan of the modern cage match as they leave a lot of logic out the door. I felt this match didn't help things. The last ten minutes of this match was an overbooked mess that featured Cena beating the crap out of three dangerous heels, or at least they were dangerous. You cannot go this route. I wouldn't mind one spot where he gets them out, but it was continuous John Cena destruction with the only saving grace for Wyatt being a demon child who sang and had an awful synthesized voice. I am sure there are people who enjoyed this. I am not one of those people. Rating: *1/2
Match #6: Paige (C) vs. Tamina for the Divas Championship
This was a fine showcase match for Paige. The Scorpion Crosslock is a devastating submission move that I have fallen in love with. Paige adds a lot to this division and I hope AJ is back soon to have some good matches with the new champion. Paige wins decisively here, and that was perfect. Rating: **
Main Event: Daniel Bryan vs. Kane for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
This was a fun main event with a throwback to the Attitude Era brawls and it gave Daniel Bryan a definitive win with his first Championship defense. The crowd wasn't thrilled that they went backstage for so long, but they loved the headbutt off of the forklift. The flaming table spot was pretty cool, although the flames didn't look amazing. I liked it a lot, but I was not thrilled that they left it open at the end with Kane getting right back up. I really don't want another PPV match between these two. Rating: ***1/2
Overall, this was a decent show. The Wyatt/Cena match ruined the vibe for me personally, but the rest of the show did it's job effectively. Shield vs. Evolution is the reason to see this show, so check it out. The nice thing about the WWE Network? I didn't pay any extra for this show, so it felt like they could try some different things. The big difference in presentation was the post-show which featured press conference clips. This is very effective at giving instant follow-up for the show. I hope this is done in the future.
Thank you for reading! We should have a podcast later this week with our thoughts on the show and going over some of the big shows coming up for the rest of May.
Pre-Show--- WeeLC: El Torito vs. Hornswoggle:
This worked for me as a comedy special attraction. The second half of this match really got over with the crowd at the IZOD Center. Good for these guys to put on a fun show. Rating: ***
Match #1: Swagger vs. RVD vs. Cesaro
This was a fun match and had the crowd going. The finish was terrifying with Rob cutting his face on the trash can. This was a nice win for Cesaro, and I hope he can move on soon. Rating: ***
Match #2: R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev:
Squashtastic. Plain and simply a quick and painless match that felt kind of pointless. Rusev looks strong, and R-Truth continues to ruin Xavier Woods. Rating: *
Match #3: Bad News Barrett vs. Big E Langston (C) for the Intercontinental Championship:
This was a decent match that the crowd was mostly quiet for. Big E got little to no reaction from the Jersey crowd, but Barrett was definitely over. These two got the job done, and I liked the finishing sequence quite a bit. Rating: ** 1/2
Match #4: The Shield vs. Evolution:
Match of the night. Easily. I enjoyed this match quite a bit, particularly in the second gear once the hot tag was made to Reigns. The brawl through the crowd was fun, and the spot from Rollins was insane! Shield went over here, so I will presume they are done with Evolution. That or there will be a new member to even the odds after Batista leaves. If this was the only match against Evolution, it was darn sure a good one. Rating: ****
Match #5: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
I did not like this at all. I have not been a huge fan of the modern cage match as they leave a lot of logic out the door. I felt this match didn't help things. The last ten minutes of this match was an overbooked mess that featured Cena beating the crap out of three dangerous heels, or at least they were dangerous. You cannot go this route. I wouldn't mind one spot where he gets them out, but it was continuous John Cena destruction with the only saving grace for Wyatt being a demon child who sang and had an awful synthesized voice. I am sure there are people who enjoyed this. I am not one of those people. Rating: *1/2
Match #6: Paige (C) vs. Tamina for the Divas Championship
This was a fine showcase match for Paige. The Scorpion Crosslock is a devastating submission move that I have fallen in love with. Paige adds a lot to this division and I hope AJ is back soon to have some good matches with the new champion. Paige wins decisively here, and that was perfect. Rating: **
Main Event: Daniel Bryan vs. Kane for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
This was a fun main event with a throwback to the Attitude Era brawls and it gave Daniel Bryan a definitive win with his first Championship defense. The crowd wasn't thrilled that they went backstage for so long, but they loved the headbutt off of the forklift. The flaming table spot was pretty cool, although the flames didn't look amazing. I liked it a lot, but I was not thrilled that they left it open at the end with Kane getting right back up. I really don't want another PPV match between these two. Rating: ***1/2
Overall, this was a decent show. The Wyatt/Cena match ruined the vibe for me personally, but the rest of the show did it's job effectively. Shield vs. Evolution is the reason to see this show, so check it out. The nice thing about the WWE Network? I didn't pay any extra for this show, so it felt like they could try some different things. The big difference in presentation was the post-show which featured press conference clips. This is very effective at giving instant follow-up for the show. I hope this is done in the future.
Thank you for reading! We should have a podcast later this week with our thoughts on the show and going over some of the big shows coming up for the rest of May.
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