WWE Evolution (WWE's 1st All-Women PPV Special) -- Results & Afterthoughts

WWE Evolution was a women's professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands. It took place on October 28, 2018, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York. It was the first WWE pay-per-view to consist solely of women's matches.

Results:

Dark Match: NXT UK Women's Champion Rhea Ripley (c) def. Dakota Kai to retain

Since this match wasn't advertised for airing on the actual PPV, I'm guessing that WWE will show this on the Network exclusively at some point down the road once the NXT UK show catches up as they crowned Rhea Ripley as champion a while ago. The problem on the hold up was fishing for networks for this show before they settled on airing it on the WWE Network.

I have to tip my hat at Rhea Ripley heeling it up on her tweets and banter with Tegan Nox since her injury in the Mae Young Classic. That's how you keep kayfabe alive, folks.

Team Bestie (Trish Stratus & Lita) def. Alicia Fox & Mickie James w/ Alexa Bliss

The live crowd was eating this up as the opener as I felt like we were watching a match from 2006-2008ish with the four women involved. I thought some people had the nostalgia goggles on pretty heavy and fogged up as a lot of this match came off really sloppy at particular spots, yet the crowd continued to chant "YOU STILL GOT IT" during the duration of this match. I dunno about all that...



Even more surprising was that Bliss came in to shove Lita off the top rope during one of her initial Moonsault attempts. I thought WWE doctors won't even clear you to do even that much when they say you're suffering from a possible concussion? That just came off really weird. Still, the right team won here as the first feel-good moment of the evening. I did enjoy the combination of moves from Lita and Trish that picked them up the win.

If Lita and Trish are planning on sticking around for that possible inevitable Women's Tag Team titles announcement, then I hope they are going to polishing off that ring rust at the Performance Center.

Nia Jax wins 20-Woman Battle Royal for a Future Women's Championship Match

I can't speak for anyone else but from how the women here were given short entrances here and not really given much time to show the significance of the Legends and former women coming back to be a part of this match, I felt like I was watching the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal from a few years ago that Santina Marella won as a complete joke to shit on the entire Divas division as a literal slap to the face at the time too.

The IIconics went out first and they were asking for it too after dragging on and on with their belittling of their competition. I swear those girls' voices sound like nails on a chalkboard. Molly Holly and Alundra Blayze went out not too long afterwards. We didn't even have time to even see a Molly Go Round (like at the Royal Rumble earlier this year) or a German Suplex from either. Talk about a damn waste...

Ivory joined Carmella for a 7 second dance break as how her and R-Truth have been doing on SmackDown! Live lately, only to get tossed out shortly afterwards. I will admit that all of the returning Legends and former Divas looked stunning here tonight, especially Torrie Wilson, Ivory, Michelle McCool, Molly Holly, Alundra Blayze, and Kelly Kelly.

Seeing McCool wreck some of the girls for a moment gave me deja vu to back when she had her own "Reign of Terror" on SmackDown! as the head of LayCool. It just tossed more salt into the open wound when the cameras panned back to Maryse watching at ringside with her husband, Miz Mizanin. If Maria Kanellis could have been in this thing for a few minutes then Maryse could've came in too for a hot minute too.

I want to know what is up with these teases for Tamina Snuka and Nia Jax squaring off in these battle royals/Rumble matches? It seemed like they were teasing a potential alliance but that came crumbling down the second it came down to the final moments of this bout. Speaking of alliances, I thought it was funny that the last fraction of Absolution (Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville) came crumbling down when Mandy eliminated her own "bestie". I hope they don't split them up as it's the only thing that those two have going right now. Besides the fact, remember if WWE does green light this whole Women's Tag Team titles thing, they are going to need a lot of tag teams for it.

I had Ember Moon pegged to win this match and boy did I almost get trolled with Zelina Vega sneaking in and tossing both Nia and Ember over the top rope towards the end. That moment resulted in the death and destruction both Tamina and Zelina as Nia military pressed that poor girl out of the ring and into an unsuspecting Tamina at the bottom of the entrance ramp. I would be bloody surprised if Tamina doesn't have a concussion from that as she literally caught Zelina with her face during that spot.

Ember tried to bring it to Nia, but ultimately it wasn't enough as Nia tossed her over the top rope to pick up the win. From how much praise Nia gets outside of WWE in the media, I shouldn't be surprised with this decision. At the same time, I have remotely NO interest in another Ronda vs Nia match.

Toni Storm def. Io Shirai in the Mae Young Classic Finals to become the 2019 Mae Young Classic Tournament winner, winning a future NXT UK Women's Championship Match

I saw people raving about this match left and right on social media live last night, but I thought it was OK. These two women are no strangers to facing each other, having faced each other back in the STARDOM promotion in less than a year or so. In that regard, I felt that what we saw here was underwhelming in comparison. It's that same feeling of disappointment that I had when all of that hype and anticipation for AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania was going to recreate their Wrestle Kingdom classic in a WWE ring, only to perform under WWE standards to lackluster results.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the effort here by both ladies, but I was just expecting a little more. At the same time, the finish on who was walking away as the winner was rather predictable too as Toni Storm was the only one who already had established entrance music and a custom Titantron made while Io Shirai was still using the generic stuff provided from the tournament. Not to forget that Toni Storm is already signed to NXT UK brand and this win is the most logical decision to put more eyes on that show.

Shayna Baszler def. Kairi Sane (c) to win the NXT Women's Championship for the second time

This match was good, but I didn't think it was as good as their previous outings. This is starting to become the female equivalent of the Gargano/Ciampa feud. NXT has to be careful here with Kairi and Shayna hogging the spotlight or crowds are going to start turning on them if they continue to beat a dead horse with this feud. It's time for someone else to get a shot.

I guessed it earlier that day that Jessamyn Duke and Marina Safir were going to debut and help Shayna regain the title. That being said, Kairi might not need much help as she was fighting off the Horsewomen on her own for the most part. I could easily see this leading into Shayna having her own female Undisputed Era from how this plays out going into the next TakeOver special. I just hope this doesn't lead into a female War Games match. No need to rush that now and save it for next year.

Natalya, Sasha Banks, and Bayley def. Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan)

I went out for gas and a fast food snack at this point, but was continuing to watch on my phone's WWE Network app. Say what you want, but this was Liv Morgan's coming out party. Boy, did that girl turn a lot of heads with her performance in this match. That was miles above and beyond from her lackluster performances on both NXT and the main roster.

At the end of the day, the right team won though as Nattie, Sasha, and Bayley picked up the win. Now can we give all of these excessive Sasha and Bayley vs. Riott Squad matches a break? I don't even watch RAW and SmackDown! regularly anymore and I'm sick of hearing about it when I peak at the results every week.

Last Woman Standing Match - SmackDown! Women's Champion Becky Lynch (c) def. Charlotte Flair to retain

Easily the best thing on this card all night. If anyone tell you otherwise, they need to get their head examined. I don't know if it's the best main roster match in WWE history in relation to women's wrestling, but it's definitely up there in some fashion. This was the most compelling feud/angle going into this show and the ladies definitely delivered in what seemed like the definitive finale for this feud. Becky Lynch beat Charlotte Flair clean - it's time for both women to move on to something else and keep them apart from each other for a while.

RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey (c) def. Nikki Bella (w/ Brie Bella) to retain

I don't even see why this was even the main event. I understand that WWE considers Ronda to be their golden goose to lay them the golden eggs to keep WWE's women's divisions up on the radar in mainstream media, but there was no way that this match was going to top the one before it. Plus whatever happened to allowing the match with the hottest build go last?

I honestly was rolling my eyes at the bulk of this. I won't complain about Ronda selling for the Bella Twins here as she sold for Alexa Bliss at Summerslam for what felt like an eternity before she won that match, so I wasn't going into this match expecting a complete squash. In all honesty, it should have been one with Ronda Rousey going over as the definitive de facto woman to beat if she beat Nikki Bella in the same manner and as quickly as how Brock Lesnar did to John Cena at Summerslam 2014. Just hit her with a few moves and go home.

I get it... WWE wanted to paint the narrative that Nikki Bella was fighting as one of the last remnants of the Divas Era against this wave of current generation, legit ass-kickers who have been taking WWE's women's divisions by storm as of late.

Closing Thoughts

As of this writing (1/2/18), WWE already announced on Monday Night RAW that Ronda Rousey's next opponent will be Becky Lynch in a non-title match for the upcoming Survivor Series PPV. I honestly don't know how I feel about that as I can't see anyone benefiting from that match outside of maybe Rousey. It seems like WWE is doing anything they can to get Becky Lynch to be seen as a heel in their "universe" when the fans have universally accepted her as their new fan favorite. I don't see why they have to fight against this. Just go with it and profit off of it. It was bad enough that they were piping in boos during the PPV during her entrance when that entire Nassau crowd were collectively behind her during her match at the PPV. They need another strong female figure to build storylines and feuds around, so why not go with someone else that isn't named Charlotte Flair for once? The last thing they need is another disaster like how they mishandled Bayley, Sasha Banks, and ultimately Asuka over the past year. Oh how the mighty have fallen. I could go on about those missteps, but that would justify an entire separate post to cover that mess properly.

The biggest question coming out of this event is whether or not WWE are going to continue taking their women seriously following this event. Otherwise, it's just going to look like an "apology payday" for the women while they continue with the "No Girls Allowed" Saudi Arabia show AKA Crown Jewel (or Sweet Saudi Money 2: Electric Boogaloo as how Solomonster refers to it on his podcast...) that got a chorus of boos during this event. WWE has fine crop of women - spanning generations of talent from past to present that showed up in numbers for this event. That's something to be proud of, no matter how you felt about the individual talents. The women of WWE came out and represented in force and it was a solid show. I honestly wouldn't go as far as people were saying on social media that this was the best WWE show all year, but I'll say it was worth the time and effort. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair killed it in their match while everything else on this show ranged from OK to passable. I just hope that WWE considers this a one and done and don't feature the women as prominently as they did with this platform, despite the fact I was rolling my eyes at how hard they were patting themselves on the back about this event that I could've sworn I could hear Vince McMahon burping in gorilla.

WWE Elimination Chamber (Feb. 12, 2017) -- Results & Afterthoughts

Elimination Chamber (2017) (known as No Escape (2017) in Germany) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for the SmackDown brand. It took place on February 12, 2017, at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. This was the seventh event under the Elimination Chamber chronology, the first to be held since 2015, and the first to have three women's matches.

Eight matches were contested at the event, including one on the pre-show. In the main event, Bray Wyatt won the titular Elimination Chamber match to become the new WWE Champion, the first singles championship of his career. On the undercard, Naomi defeated Alexa Bliss to become the new SmackDown Women's Champion, marking her first championship in WWE, while other prominent matches included Randy Orton defeating Luke Harper, American Alpha retaining the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in a tag team turmoil match, and Becky Lynch defeating Mickie James.

Preshow: Mojo Rawley def. Curtis Hawkins

Didn't watch live. Didn't care. Only thing I heard was that "Will Rawley get his 'mojo' back??" from JBL and I facepalmed.

I went back and watched this last night after Monday Night RAW and there wasn't much to write home about here. Hawkins got some shots in before Mojo gave him one hell of a Running Haymaker and finished him off with some spinning powerslam that looked like a botched Deep Six by Corbin. If they are going to revert Mojo back to his squash match days from NXT, then I'm back to not giving a flying fuck about this guy. The Hype Bros. tag team with Ryder was a breath of fresh air for both of those guys and it's sad to see Mojo devolve back to what wasn't working even back down on NXT.

Becky Lynch def. Mickie James

Seemed odd that Mickie would lose her 2nd (or rather 3rd if you're counting her match at NXT Takeover against Asuka) PPV bout in a row since returning to the company. Most people will argue but it looked like Mickie and Becky were struggling to mesh their styles well here. It finally came together by the end, but I couldn't help but think of Mickie James and Gail Kim's iffy chemistry here. Y'know, when you think that match would be great on paper but the execution ends up being a bit off? I'm not shitting on neither woman here, but I was left feeling that this match left a lot to be desired. On top of that, where do we go from here? Becky already got her payback on Mickie, so I don't see how they were going to continue this feud.

By the way, what the fuck was Becky Lynch wearing? Did she lose her gear that was in luggage that was possibly lost at the airport or something? Just seemed so out of left field on that look for this show.

Apollo Crews & Kalisto def. Dolph Ziggler

Let's be honest here, this match was fucking horrible. Rest hold after rest hold after rest hold to little to no offense by Crews until Kalisto returned after the prematch attack by Ziggler. Kalisto hits like 2-3 moves, tags in Crews, who finishes Ziggler off with his finisher for the win. ALL of these guys are capable of SOO much better. If they aren't going to do anything constructive or noteworthy with Kalisto, I say draft him into the Crusierweight division on 205 Live. Otherwise, he should be marketed as the new generation Rey Mysterio (or hell get Lince Dorada or Gran Metallik in that role) instead of being canonfoddler in this storyline for Ziggler's heel turn. As for Crews, I STILL say that he shouldn't have been called up from NXT so early. That is a guy they are ruining from head to toe on the main roster. Not even SmackDown Live's magic can turn this dude around at this rate.

You know this match was bad when the crowd was cheering for Ziggler to keep attacking Crews in his injury spot post-match.

Tag Team Turmoil - WWE Tag Team Champions American Alpha (c) def. Heath Slater & Rhyno, The Vaudevillains, The Usos, Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango), The Usos, and The Ascension to retain

Slater and Rhyno beat Breezango and Vaudevillains in quick fashion only to lose to The Usos, who were sporting ring gear like they just came from the club prior to arriving to the arena. And here I thought the Ascension where dead in the water. No sir, the Vaudevillains have taken that spot in terms of tag teams that have been wasted on the main roster. I gotta admit that The Ascension had me fooled that they were going to were going to steal the gold after that long as hell post-elimination beating by the Usos. I wasn't thinking that the Revival would debut here as it's pretty obvious that NXT are setting them up for a triple threat against DIY and the Authors of Pain after what transpired on last week's show post-Takeover.

Outside of the Ascension or the Usos (again?) winning the belts temporarily in these weeks prior to 'Mania, I honestly can't see American Alpha NOT walking into WrestleMania as the SmackDown! Tag Team champions. As good as Alpha are at least their tag team division isn't on life support as much as the RAW end of things are. That being said, there's not much to work with here on SD in terms of solid teams to make people want to pay attention to tag team wrestling. My idea would have had the tag team titles be inter-brand titles and have the champions perform on BOTH shows, since clearly they aren't going to open the Cruiserweight division to guys outside of RAW...

Nikki Bella vs. Natayla - Ends in Double Count Out

Goddamn this match was too goddamn LONG. The first half I dare say was better than the entire Becky/Mickie match that opened the show, but towards the end this match fell flat, even more so with the count out finish. They "kinda" set the stage for that rumored mixed tag team match with Miz and Maryse against Nikki and Cena here, but I think people are grasping at straws on that one. Then again, they could blow off this feud on one of the SmackDown Live episodes before WrestleMania and have like a fatal four way or a battle royal for the SmackDown Women's Championship involving the other women, so who knows.

This match would've been better if they just cut it short and at that halfway point while the people were still into it and called it a day. This match's biggest flaw was dragging on for FAR too long.

It's pretty sad when Nikki's so-called "Fearless Lock" looks more devastating than Cena's STF-U.

Randy Orton def. Luke Harper

I honestly went out on a food run during this match and got back in time to see Orton hit the RKO on Harper from out of nowhere.

Much like the preshow match, I went back and watched this match in its entirety after RAW last night, and I have to admit that this was the second best match of the evening. That wasn't a hard feat to accomplish though when the bulk of the show was VERY mediocre up to this point. Harper has always been the best worker within the Wyatt Family and could easily be a breakout singles star whenever they decide to dissolve that gimmick. Harper would be finally able to burn that filthy shirt, shave his balding hair, and get a respectable look going for himself.

Naomi def. Alexa Bliss (c) to become the NEW SmackDown! Women's Champion

Much like the other two women's wrestling matches on this card, there was a lot of sloppy execution here, but overall, I thought Naomi and Alexa did great here. They actually have good chemistry with each other and the win for Naomi was a pleasant surprise as I was dead sure that WWE booking logic was going to let the heel talking shit and devaluing babyface Naomi (much like Booker T during Triple H's racist tirade during their feud) would have led to Bliss retaining the title and validating that Naomi was irrelevant. Instead, WWE actually did something great here and finally rewarded Naomi for all of her hard work. I stood up and applauded Naomi because this was a LONG time coming.

Naomi has been sidetracked and derailed at almost every opportunity, including getting shoved to the sidelines after her standout performances against Paige in their feud in favor of the returning AJ Lee at the time, forced to turn heel and pick up the tablescraps of what was left of AJ Lee's gimmick as part of the Team BAD faction with Tamina Snuka and later Sasha Banks - in which ultimately led to Naomi and Tamina being reduced to being Sasha Banks' "sidekicks" during the opening phase of the Divas Women's Revolution. It wasn't until now after being drafted to SmackDown! Live that she had a golden opportunity to shine on her own without being overshadowed, much like what is going on RAW with the division only consisting of 2-3 same women feuding for the title.

What pissed me off last night was seeing people on social media shitting all over Naomi's win here. All I can say is STFU. Alexa Bliss had a solid few months with the title - much like Becky Lynch - and she was becoming stagnant. I honestly started to feel like she getting boring with her wannabe Harley Quinn mixed with heel Trish Stratus vibe she has going on. She's at that point as a heel - especially now that she's aligned with Mickie James - that she doesn't need the title to be over. I've said this a million times now, but people always forget this - Championships are mainly for getting people over who otherwise couldn't get over on their own.

Give Naomi a chance before you're all so quick to judge that she's going to fail in this role. Remember Daniel Bryan wasn't the best talker either when he came into WWE until towards the end of his (rather unfortunate) career, but made up for it with his in-ring ability. Anyone who can't recognize Naomi's pure athletic and in-ring ability are fucking blind. I'm all for giving her a chance to see what she does with this opportunity, even if it's short-lived. Much like how WWE did Alicia Fox, they can't take that moment away from her.

Elimination Chamber Match for WWE Championship - Bray Wyatt def. John Cena (c), AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, The Miz, and Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose to become the NEW WWE Champion

Without a shadow of a doubt, this was the match of the evening. If you don't watch anything else on this show, you should watch this match. Cena and Styles start things off, picking up where they left off from Royal Rumble last month until Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt joined in. After Baron Corbin entered the match, he went in to clean house with everyone, but Corbin came off as a complete moron.

I've seen other reviews and other various podcasts where fans are criticizing WWE for not "protecting" Corbin in this match. Fuck that. Corbin isn't Braun Strowman, despite the fact that he was the one (after several Superstars helped) to eliminate him during the Rumble. Corbin's still very green and just in this position because he's TALL. Corbin hits those same two moves - the Deep Six and the End of Days and doesn't try to pin ANYONE. Instead, he comes off looking like a bigger doofus than he already does by just showboating and taunting in front of the cameras until he's eliminated by Ambrose.

Well, at least we know who Ambrose is feuding with for that Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania. I just hope they don't shoehorn in Ziggler and everyone else in midcard hell on SD Live to be in a multi-man bullshit filler match for WrestleMania. The IC title (along with the US title) needs to be taken care of with consideration to the legacy of that title's prestigious history. They need to start treating it just as important as the WWE Championship in my humble opinion - double goes for the SmackDown Tag Team titles if Gable's dream for that title to main event 'Mania someday. I could rant about how much I don't like midcard champions wasting a spot in Chamber matches as you KNOW they aren't going to win, but I'll save that conversation for another day.

I gotta say - Bravo to whoever told Corbin to keep a shirt on during his matches now as no one has to look at his lack of a physique for a big man. Same goes for Bray Wyatt, but he's not Kevin Owens fat... err obese. Bray's more Dusty Rhodes at his prime husky.

I know people were complaining about the new Chamber structure, but I for one, loved it. It looks more safer and more optimized for spots. It's not a new gimmick match anymore so WWE should know what they want out of this thing by now. I don't get why fans on social media have an idea with the safety pads on the floor when WWE has more than enough guys injured right now. Elimination Chamber was the most dangerous gimmick match to perform in on the road to WrestleMania, even though I still think it's just as stupid to have Tables, Ladders, and Chairs and Hell in a Cell prior to Royal Rumble too in terms of safety, but that's just me...

Last but not least, let's give Cena, Styles, and even Bray Wyatt a hand for their performances here. Styles took one HELL of a beating from everyone involved here while Cena put on a solid performance as well since him and Styles were in this match from the start to the end. You can't count Bray out of the praise either as he made sure to make his presence known here as well. Seeing Bray Wyatt capture the gold was a LONG time coming. I'm glad they had him put down both John Cena AND AJ Styles in the same match too to solidify him as a main eventer, instead of that bullshit where Cena could come back and say that he wasn't beaten by the guy who got the championship next.

To be honest, I REALLY hope they don't have Bray Wyatt drop the title to Orton as he deserves to ride this out for a while. You can give the title to Orton anytime. Let Bray (along with new SD Women's Champion Naomi) enjoy this for a while. Just roll with these title changes and see how they do over the next few months.

Overall, Elimination Chamber was a slightly above average show, with the main event being the best thing on the show while the Orton/Harper match and the two title changes were two welcome surprises. If I were to grade this show, I'd give it a strong B- if I'm perfectly honest.

WWE Hell in a Cell (Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015) -- Results & Afterthoughts

Hell in a Cell (2015) took place on October 25, 2015, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. This was the first WWE PPV other than SummerSlam held in Los Angeles since No Way Out in 2007.

Once again, my co-author Serena and I are tackling coverage of this event together since many of you gave us feedback that you enjoyed our back and forth banter as we discussed these wrestling events.

Ziggler, Cesaro, and Neville def. King Barrett, Sheamus, and Rusev

ZX: Another WWE PPV, another Preshow bout with some of their most talented in-ring guys on the preshow. I really hope that WWE begins to invest more into these guys’ characters and get them higher up on the card. It’s a criminal offense that we’re not seeing guys like Cesaro main eventing PPVs by now. Dear Vince McMahon, Cesaro has all of the brass rings. You need to give him the platform to get to the top of this company.

Serena: Just to be honest and upfront about it… I never watch the pre-show. Most of the time I really don’t care for the panel. They don’t really discuss anything, but just recite the same lines the commentary use during Raw or Smackdown!. Even more often I don’t care about the match. Yet, this time WWE has outdone themselves. Six superstars who are all capable of performing at a main event level and their all in a 6 Man Tag Team Match. To say that this breaks my heart would be an understatement. I propose to do the WWE World Heavyweight Title defense at the pre-show as well. Because it seems like every PPV the biggest title defense is at best at the middle of the card.

United States Championship Open Challenge - Alberto Del Rio def. John Cena

ZX: Shocker of the night by far. WWE must have given Del Rio one HELL of an offer to make him leave AAA in a heartbeat while still holding their Mega Championship at the top of that promotion to come back like this. I guess WWE’s “mistreatment” of him wasn’t that bad to make him come back running like a trained puppy.

I have to admit that I have lost a bit of respect for Del Rio to just jump ship like that in a heartbeat, abandoning AAA after all that they’ve done for him in the meantime, as well as potentially Lucha Underground Season 2.

Even the Cena haters can’t even hate on this match. Cena lost to Del Rio quick and it was CLEAN. There’s no disputing that loss in the least. I have to wonder what is the long-term plan of pairing Del Rio with Zeb Coulter while Jack Swagger gets the shaft?

Serena: I agree with Z on this one. Honestly, I was very surprised seeing ADR stepping on that ramp. I did read about possible deals between WWE and Alberto, but with the way he left the company and talked about it afterwards, it seemed like his return would be a highly unlikely possibility. Also, I do hope I am not the only one seeing the irony in Alberto Del Rio becoming U.S. Champion after he got fired because of an altercation with staff who made racist remarks. But hey, fans for the first time ever will have a legit reason to chant “You Sold Out!”

The match itself was very decent with Cena displaying the same revamped style he has been showing throughout the year and Alberto Del Rio proving that he is probably in the best physical shape he has ever been. The pin was clean, the win was clear and now we start the story arc of “Mex-America”.... Don’t blame me for wishing that heel Dolph Ziggler would have been the one to challenge Cena for the title.

ZX: I was in the same boat with you for a DZ/Cena feud. WWE are pulling him a 100 different directions at once and it’s hurting him more than helping. Cool, the Tyler Breeze debut was well-done, but the Rusev, Lana, Summer Rae, DZ love triangle (or rectangle) had an awkward ending. So Breeze’s debut just comes across as damage control to me while WWE doesn’t want to admit that they fucked up. I guess they are going to ignore the whole seeds they planted of the DZ/Cena feud - from Total Divas to the matches and segments themselves. It’s comes down to a LOT of bad booking on WWE’s behalf.

Hell in a Cell -- Roman Reigns def. Bray Wyatt

ZX: Unlike most people, I was more invested in this build-up more than anything else going into this event. Even though I’m getting sick of Bray Wyatt being built up as a threat then get shot down at the PPV, each and every single time he's in a major feud.

Serena: Don’t hate me on this, but I am not a big fan of Bray and the entire Wyatt family gimmick. I don’t think that it is in any shape bad, but it just doesn’t click with me. So when I saw Bray at “Money in the Bank” stealing the victory from Roman, I sighed. I didn’t think there was any point to this rivalry. And pretty much till a few weeks ago I absolutely loathed this family vs family storyline. The turning point was on Raw, when Roman came out for a stare down with Bray and simply said “Hell in a Cell.”. It was the best build up to a match as of late. Nothing. No flashy statements, no long winded promos (Yes, Roman did slip with that one later down the road.), just two men wanting to finish a grueling rivalry.

After all of this you expect a bone breaking and career stalling match. I personally think that they definitely delivered. Sure, this match is not anything out of the box, but the effort that both Roman and Bray put in was visible without any doubts. Reigns, who is following the footsteps of John Cena, is improving greatly with each PPV. This time you could notice the change in his facial expressions throughout the match. He did a stellar job emoting and reacting to each near pin fall or missed shot. Subtle enough, but still noticeable. Also, some pretty neat spots with the kendo sticks and tables. The match was entertaining and captivating, probably becoming the standout match of “Hell in a Cell”.

Tag Team Title Match -- The New Day def. The Dudley Boyz

Serena: While writing this joint review with Z, I noticed that this match wasn’t even listed in this match. Shows how memorable this tag team collision was. I said this before and I am not scared to state this again. The New Day are great performers. Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have the definitely found their style, they use pop culture references perfectly, their ring work is solid. But at this point the Unicorns are so over that I a get bored watching them. That is the problem with the team being so flamboyant and out there that it doesn’t take long to reach the limit and become predictable. New Day’s title defense was the same match we see every week on Raw and Smackdown!. Same spots, same jokes, same “unexpected” victories. I don’t know if it is just me or others see it too, but there is a lack of chemistry between the Dudley’s and New Day. Something just doesn’t seem to click. So for me this match served as a bathroom break.

ZX: Can you blame me? The match itself was rather easily forgettable. Like you said, the Dudleys and New Day don’t really mesh well. With the rumors that the Usos are coming back into action floating around, I hope that means they will feud with the New Day while the Dudleys join up with the Brothers of Destruction against the Wyatt Family for Survivor Series.

Divas Championship Match - Charlotte def. Nikki Bella

ZX: Once again, Nikki Bella carried Charlotte through another high profile match and made her look like a million bucks. Nikki has definitely showcased her sheer dominance in the ring here. She has had her share of skeptics and critics throughout her title reign over the past year, but she definitely showed a lot of improvement here as she worked Charlotte’s limbs like a hungry predator. Her desire to regain the Divas Championship was on clear display here.

I know you guys are getting sick of me frowning on Charlotte but I can’t get behind her when Nikki works her body for the ENTIRE match then have Charlotte no sell the abuse, hit that lazy-looking Spear and lock in the Figure Eight for the win with little to no effort. It’s just as bad as AJ Lee getting ragdolled in her matches only to slap in the Black Widow and have her fans rave about how great she is.

The post-match “celebration” just ruined the good vibe from this match though. Paige came out to celebrate with Becky Lynch and Charlotte like there’s NO animosity between them. That alone made me feel like WWE has no remote idea of keeping up with their own storylines. Even the “heel turn” by Paige the next night on Monday Night RAW, it still didn’t remedy the situation for me. I’m sure Smackdown! will air by the time we get this article up but I really hope that WWE starts breaking up these teams and give these women time to shine individually while creating actual legitimate storylines.

Serena: So Charlotte has been a poorly booked champion. I know that Z isn’t too keen on her, but when I saw her coming to the main roster from NXT, I was genuinely excited to see her become champion. She is physically strong, looks like a true athlete and reminded me somewhat of Victoria/Tara. At Night of Champions, Nikki dominated so significantly during the match and the win for Charlotte was so weak that my hopes of an exciting title run fell below sea levels. And so far I wasn’t proved wrong. Baby Flair is portrayed as weak and gullible, week after week falling for Paige’s “Heel Turn 101” antics. (Paige current gimmick deserves its own separate rant). This match didn’t do any good for Charlotte either. Nikki Bella benefited from the smack she got for becoming the longest reigning Divas Champion and retaining the title by DQ before Night of Champions and is building herself as the strongest and most clean cut, classic heel on the main roster. The crowd hates her, she doesn’t do the mistake of working the crowd as a face would do and now embraces a style similar to heels like Owens, Dash and Dawson, who mock their opponents and picks a body part to injure repeatedly throughout the match. In conclusion, great match for Nikki, underwhelming defense for the champion, Charlotte.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match -- Seth Rollins def. “The Demon” Kane

ZX: In my opinion, this was one of the weakest matches on the card. Unlike most people on social media, I don’t have a problem with this match’s standing on the card. I personally felt that they could have booked this on previous Monday Night RAW or Smackdown! There wasn’t nothing stellar or extraordinary about this match, just pretty predictable from top to bottom. I was more relieved that Seth Rollins had a strong credible win for once instead of his weak booking as of late over the course of his title reign.

I get he is supposed to be cowardly, chicken-shit heel but there’s a way to book him stronger and still have him sneak by with the wins. If you want proof, go look at JBL’s heel run from Smackdown from 2003-2004.

Serena: Oh, how did I hate this entire angle with Seth trying to prove that Corporate Kane and Demon Kane is the same person. The person who offered this one should be fired right on the spot. It feels like it hurts me physically to see how poorly Seth has been booked as the champion. The guy is stellar. He truly is. He is the man and works great as an egomaniac heel. But the storylines he has been given are ridiculous to say the least. And this one with Kane was no different. I agree with ZX, I was relieved that Seth Rollins got a strong clean win and this match finally ended the so-called rivalry between him and Kane, but in the long run this added nothing to his wrestling credentials and people will forget that this defense has ever happened in a few months.

I hope that there is still a proper opponent for Seth to have the perfect feud with.

Intercontinental Championship Match - Kevin Owens def. Ryback

ZX: A nice short and sweet match. It could have gone either way in my eyes but I wasn’t mad with the result. Owens plays the part of a natural heel flawlessly and Ryback gets to benefit from Owens’ talents. Maybe this can repair the damage to Ryback’s image after losing momentum over the course of the last two years despite having a few strong feuds.

He’s another guy who I feel like WWE needs to properly build up that could potentially be a major player in another year or two. He’s already removed that Goldberg analogy since he’s already a MUCH better worker than him.

Serena: Ryback seems like such a genuinely good guy. That was why I felt so incredibly sorry for him, when CM Punk threw the Big Guy under the bus by accusing him of being a stiff worker and a threat to other wrestlers. I am happy to see Ryback in a feud with someone like Owens, because the latter really knows how to put someone over, while benefitting from it as well. KO can showcase the good guy nature of Ryback and let him display his incredible strength and also work his amazing heel gimmick and show agility that not many bigger wrestlers possess.

This match was absolutely fine. Nothing good, nothing bad about it. I would be interested in seeing more development for both parties and for their rivalry, because now it mostly seems like a title defense for the sake of having a title defense.

Hell in a Cell Match - Brock Lesnar def. The Undertaker

ZX: I don’t care whether the blood was intentional or not, but it was a welcome treat in a match like this. We don’t have to go back to the days of people blading in EVERY.SINGLE.MATCH and looking like a horror movie (I’m looking right at you Ric Flair…) from the blood everywhere, but a little blood here and there in a raw, physical match such as this is perfectly fine. What’s the point of these speciality matches if people aren’t getting messed up from the sheer brutality of them? I understand that this is the PG era, but don’t make it the “Kiddy Block” Family Filter era.

I’m going to get into a little of film theory here, but let’s face it. After the Attitude Era and a little of the Ruthless Aggression Era, along with a LOT of ECW and hardcore/deathmatches in general, wrestling audiences have been desensitized. What is desensitivity? It’s when an audience sees one thing so much that they become “numb” to that experience to the point where they are unfettered to it. The perfect example I can give in modern media is the horror movie genre. The horror genre grew obsessed with extreme violence and showing blood in every scene to the point where audiences grew numb to these “scares” thanks to films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the modern remakes), the Saw franchise, and other notable horror flicks. Now there’s a movement with films, such as the original Paranormal Activity where the horror is all in the audience’s head and they are left to imagine the on screen horror instead of seeing all of the violent acts take place. This is a throwback to the horror classics, such as Psycho, where less is more. WWE is doing a bit of the same thing with the PG era, training their audiences to expect less so when they do add in a bit of blood in a match like this there’s a more of a “wow” factor and causes more of a reaction from their audiences.

I went into this match not really expecting much as I’m not going to act like I have been mind-wiped by WWE and I still remember The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar’s feuds from 2002 and 2003. I was expecting a complete rehash from that stuff back then. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with this match. The spot where Lesnar exposed the floorboards after removing the protective padding in the ring was a nice touch, but I have a feeling that Bubba Ray Dudley and Sting may have fed that spot to Lesnar and Taker since they did the same thing in Impact Wrestling a few years back. Nonetheless, it was still a great spot. I just wish that Taker actually had better aim on the Tombstone Piledriver to make it look more legit on the floorboards.

Serena: I probably have a lot less to say about this match than ZX did, but I mostly blame it on my lack of wrestling history knowledge. I personally didn’t really know how to feel about this match. It is always a great pleasure to see Brock in the ring, since he is greatly entertaining. But the bout between him and Taker at Summerslam (okay, the ending of it) disappointed me greatly. So, I didn’t really know how will this match go down. And if being completely honest… I did enjoy it. The match resembled something I used to watch in 2006 (yes, I am very much a baby in terms of watching wrestling). Both the blood, which we rarely see on WWE programming and some creative spots (Exposing the floor boards, for example) gave us a very enjoyable bout between two legends in the wrestling business. I am happy that the feud ended with the win going to Lesnar and I am even more excited that this rivalry has come to an end. Just like with Seth, I am more than intrigued to see who is next in line to face the Beast Incarnated.

Post-Match -- The Wyatt Family assaults The Undertaker and carries him out to end the show

Serena: When I saw the Wyatt family came out my initial reaction was “WTF? What are they doing here?”. Sure, I remember the match between Bray and Taker at Wrestlemania in April, but I didn’t have a feeling that something was left unresolved. The ending seemed clear. But nonetheless, The Wyatt’s came out, beat the living hell out of an already beaten Undertaker and carried him out of the ring. It felt odd. Just odd. Not bad, not stellar, not even “meh”. WWE continued their tradition of ending their recent PPV’s with a “huh?” from the crowd. That was the feeling I’ve gotten after seeing the end of “Hell in a Cell”.

ZX: JR brought this point up on his HIAC review on his podcast the past week and I have to agree 100%. Why in the blue hell didn’t any of the up and coming talent, especially the babyfaces, didn’t pour out of the locker room to help the Undertaker? No Kane to reunite the Brothers of Destruction (even though Kane came out on RAW to the same result the next night) after losing his job. You would think that guys like Cesaro, Neville, Ziggler, Reigns, Ambrose, etc. would jump at this chance at this chance to get the rub from helping a “legend” such as the Deadman. I guess no one on creative nor in the locker rooms were thinking of that.

It would have been a great chance to add more heel heat for the Wyatt Family as well since you know they would layout the babyfaces before carrying out the Deadman.

In all seriousness, I’m all for a Wyatt Family vs. Brothers of Destruction feud as long as it doesn’t end with Kane and Taker wearing those janitor jumpsuits like Daniel Bryan came back wearing after whatever sick shit the Wyatt’s do to convert people to their cause.

OPINION -- Why the AJ Lee vs Paige Feud Isn't Working

I'm not going to sugarcoat this, but let's face it - this feud is getting stale. No, scratch that. It's been stale for months now. WWE is just beating a dead horse at this point. I'm down to the point where I can't fathom how even the most hardcore of AJ and Paige fans are still egging this on.

I can't believe that I'm revisiting this topic again after my last rant on this matter, but what the heck, I'm game to discuss this topic again.

First of all, let's review the matches at hand. I already discussed up to WWE Battleground in my last article on this matter. Thank you to the respective uploaders from DailyMotion for having these matches up in their entirety online.

Pay-Per-View Match History

Forgive me as I'm going to sound redundant as I review some of the same ground from my original article.

WWE Battleground -- Divas Championship Match - AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige

AJ and Paige left a lot to be desired in terms of match quality. I wouldn't say it's the fault of either Diva in terms of ring ability, I just think it's one of those occasions like with Gail Kim and Mickie James where they are talented athletes but have ZERO chemistry in the ring together. It just doesn't click. AJ and Paige seemed to be still "feeling" each other out in terms of how they match up with each other here.

Their match at Battleground didn't allow neither AJ nor Paige cut loose in the initial build up to this feud. They were playing off each other as "frienemies" with Paige becoming the aggressor now while AJ has reverted back to her "crazy" gimmick in an attempt to show some degree of unpredictably that she has a chance against the Anti-Diva.

WWE Summerslam -- Divas Championship Match - AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige

AJ ALREADY beat Paige twice now. It's like that last time The Rock challenged Steve Austin at WrestleMania X-8. Austin was already up 2 to 0 in that feud and Rock's win did NO favors for him. It's looking the same way for Paige. I could understand if they were tied even in this feud then I would care more. Paige's change in attitude to a more aggressive style is going to make this match more enjoyable to watch, but I don't have a single doubt in my mind that they are going to allow AJ to drop the title to her, especially from how Paige has been beating her up week-in and week-out.

Like I said before, there is NO clear distinction on who is face or heel in this feud. At Battleground, it was a match between two struggling faces/tweeners. Now going into Summerslam, it seems like a tweener (who wants to be heel SOO bad) against the obviously heel Paige. I understand we are in an age of wrestling where being the bad guy is perceived "cool" but heel vs. heel feuds tend to be completely boring in my eyes.

WWE Night of Champions -- Divas Championship Triple Threat Match - Paige (c) vs. Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee

After all of the whining from the AJ and Paige marks about Nikki didn't "deserve" to be involved in this feud, this turned out to be the BEST match in this feud to date. You can't even knock Nikki at ALL in this match. She took more bumps and had more of a solid offense than AJ and proved her worth here in this match. AJ and Paige benefited with the third wheel in the mix and put on an all-round great performance from start to finish.

What I Feel Like WWE is Doing Wrong With This Feud

The Mock Lesbian Romance/Sexual Undertones

First, we had this...

Now don't get me wrong. I don't have an issue with same-sex relationships, especially nothing against girl-on-girl action. At first, I was like Paige, going "Huh?" and brushed this occurrence underneath the rug. Thanks to WWE and to the delight of AJ Lee's horny fans on Tumblr and social media, it continued...

Then there was THIS...

The only thing I keep wondering is when are they going to have the HLA (Hot Lesbian Action) match from the Ruthless Aggression Era and get this over with. Hell, they could bring in Edge and Lita to referee that post-PPV live sex celebration on Monday Night RAW the night after the PPV...

This feud has gone from the point of healthy competition to constantly wondering when and where these two Divas are going to cave into this bloody obvious sexual tension between them. The competitive aspect of this WRESTLING feud is almost completely non-existent if you remove the Divas Championship out of the equation here.

So much about being PG, huh, WWE? Just keep in mind that not everyone invested in your product are interested in smut...

The Matches

Most Diva fans had an O-face off this moment, which was sadly the best match
in this 4 month feud...

Before anyone tries to defend the matches in this feud, compare Paige's performances BEFORE this current feud with AJ Lee to her previous bouts against Naomi, Emma, Sasha Banks, Alicia Fox, and more importantly the match below against Natalya.

I'm not necessarily saying the matches in this feud were god-awful, but I have come to expect MUCH more from these two Divas, especially Paige, in terms of their ring work.

Multiple Title Exchanges

Nikki Bella confirmed this news earlier today. I can't speak for anyone else but I'm sick and fed up of the title merely being traded back and forth between AJ and Paige as if none of the other Divas exist. Trading the Divas title back and forth like a hot potato isn't doing the title nor the Divas division as a whole any favors.

Sure, WWE gave fans their dream match, but the sad fact of the matter is this. Fans want to throw comparisons of this feud to Trish Stratus and Lita's feud when it's on COMPLETELY different terms. The Trish/Lita feud was allowed to mature over time and not forced down our throats all at once. Trish was a model-turned-wrestler while Lita was a wrestler from day one, which forced the skeptics/casual and hardcore fans to buttheads over who they liked more. As it stands, the only way that WWE could recreate that dynamic is to have AJ or Paige feud with one of the Total Divas as there is no way to recreate that drama between Paige and AJ.

There's a way to keep a rivalry going without constantly keeping those two individuals in the main event circle. If you want an example in current mainstream wrestling, look no farther than Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell's feud on TNA/Impact Wrestling. Keep note that the bulk of that feud didn't involve the championship at ALL.

Burying The Rest of the Divas Division at the Cost of Keeping AJ & Paige Over

Look at how AJ is rolling her eyes in disgust here while Paige stands mocking Nikki...

I could write a separate article about how much I can't stand how WWE segregates their Divas division, thanks to Total Divas, and how they encourage their fans to have this same mindset, but I'm going to attempt to keep this short.

Every time WWE adds another Diva (unless it's Stephanie McMahon) into the mix of this feud it's second fiddle to AJ and Paige. I can understand burying lower tier Divas, such as Eva Marie, Cameron, and the returning Rosa Mendes but Natalya, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Alicia Fox, Naomi, Summer Rae, Layla, and even Emma have been losing left and right to them. When they aren't losing to AJ and Paige, they are portrayed as background material or reduced to meaningless filler in comparison to those two Divas.

The thing that really pissed me off was when the Bella Twins got another storyline going and the AJ/Paige fans were wishing nothing but misfortune upon that until the fact that WWE dragged Paige and AJ Lee into the mix to shut up the critics. We can ALL agree that the Bella Twins' feud sucked for the most part but shit like this is inexcusable. If you care about women's wrestling (or wrestling PERIOD) then why the FUCK do you wish any ill-will on the other women in that promotion (or ANY promotion for that matter)? You as a fan should want to see any and ALL women in this sport do well. That makes your idols and fan favorites look good and the wrestling product (especially the division itself) look good as a whole. One diamond in a sea of shit doesn't say anything about your worth as a champion in my eyes. Take a moment to think about that before you put your favorite Diva upon a pedestal and look down upon the rest of the Divas Division.

Instead of trying to build off each other to make the Divas Division better as a whole, the other Divas are used as merely plot devices to keep this AJ/Paige feud going in motion.

Perfect example of this was on Monday Night RAW (10/6/14) this week, where AJ Lee teamed up with a returning Emma (who hasn't been seen on RAW for months now) against Alicia Fox and Paige. AJ bails on Emma mid-match and leaves, forcing Emma to job to Paige and Alicia Fox. Really? You would think that the babyfaces would work together to get the job done to send Paige and Alicia Fox home with their tails between their legs. Nope. You can point some of the blame at WWE Creative for this, but I'm positive that AJ is at a position where she can call her own shots of how her own creative direction is handled.

While it's cool that Alicia Fox is involved in this feud after her brief push during the summer of AJ Lee's absence, it brings up a bit of a plot hole. Why is Paige able to co-exist with the mentally unstable Alicia when WWE's resident "crazy chick" hasn't been able to see eye-to-eye with her at all? It would've made more sense to pair Fox with AJ to go against Paige. Giving Paige hired help just diminishes her individual threat level as a challenger to AJ's title even more. One would think that AJ would revert to the cowardly heel tactic as that's what she reigned supreme with for the bulk of the past year with Tamina Snuka at her side.

(Sighs) Don't even get me started on how many times Naomi and Natalya have been thrown underneath the bus to propel this feud...

How I Feel Like WWE can Remedy/Fix This Feud To Make it Great

Deliver the Payoff & Move On

A "payoff" in wrestling is the end of a storyline/feud that brings everything to a close in that narrative with a powerful climax. I see wrestling fans constantly complain about TNA/Impact Wrestling taking forever to deliver the payoff to the point of nobody cares when they do. I can humbly say that this is no different here for WWE. As this feud drags on, week-in and week-out, I'm constantly asking myself "who is STILL caring about this feud?"

It should not be up for debate whether or not Divas are on Total Divas should not be a deciding factor for winning the gold. There are other deserving women on the WWE roster that could serve as the focal points of the division other than AJ Lee and Paige.

At this rate, WWE are transforming Paige and AJ Lee into the redundant Randy Orton and ever-constant/unchanging John Cena of the Divas division, exchanging title wins much to the disgust of the fans.

Allow Paige to develop her OWN identity - not as AJ's CLONE

This is the Paige we fell in love with on NXT...

Wrestling fans fell in love with Paige on NXT because she was a legit competitor. WWE did the right thing by showcasing her talents in AJ's absence, but as this feud has dragged on, Paige has been transforming into AJ's mirror image in terms of personality and character.

I don't care how many times I hear it but AJ Lee is NOT original - she's the female equivalent of CM Punk: a snarky tweener. If that's all what it takes to get over and win today's Diva fans' affections, then I truly fear the future of women's wrestling in WWE.

What I want is for WWE to bring back the "Anti-Diva" Paige full on - not just for one week, not just for short bursts sporadically. If you want to have a good endgame for this feud, have Paige decisively beat the shit out of AJ like Brock Lesnar did to John Cena at Summerslam. As a result, this knocks AJ down to the bottom of the food chain and gives her something new to work towards as she has to climb up the ladder again and find something new to topple Paige (along with other opponents along the way) with as the "cray cray" game has met it's match.

Paige is still young and has room (and more importantly, TIME) to grow as a wrestler and an on-screen personality. There's no need to milk everything dry out of this feud here and now.

Attach AJ Lee & Paige to two other high-profile/up and coming Superstars to elevate their rivalry & status

My top two candidates would be pair Paige up with Seth Rollins and pair AJ Lee up with Dean Ambrose since WWE is obviously trying to make him into the new CM Punk. Both AJ and Ambrose are portrayed as "crazy" so it works. Paige could added as eye-candy to Seth Rollins as it seems like Authority may have him splinter off onto his own. Their pair-up options aren't limited to those two Superstars as WWE has PLENTY of mid-carders who could use a little push with a popular Diva in their corner. Look at the wonders of having Lana in his corner has done to Rusev's career!

If you want to continue the Trish/Lita comparisons, think of the build to Backlash 2005 where Trish Stratus and Lita accompanied Viscera and Kane to their Singles match to add a layer of depth to that mid-card feud.

Closing Words

From my constant jokes and wisecracks on social media, I'm sure you guys are positive that I absolutely despise AJ Lee. I don't hate her - I hate how WWE portrays her with these lackluster feuds and storylines and how she comes across as cheap imitation of CM Punk in a WWE environment that is hungry for his presence in a CM Punk-less WWE. I adore Paige, but I hate how WWE continues to paint a picture that seems like they want to paint her into AJ Lee's mirror image. 

Diversity is a splendid thing and WWE shouldn't be afraid of change. Now is the time to experiment and do something things different with the WWE Divas Division. Look at NXT, they try something different all the time and get mixed results. At least they have the courage to try with their Women's Division. 

There's no doubt in my mind that the AJ Lee/Paige rivalry could be as legendary as the Trish Stratus/Lita rivalry someday, but WWE needs to step back and take careful consideration on how they approach this feud instead of haphazardly shoving it down fans' throats all at once. 

WWE Night of Champions 2014 -- Results & Afterthoughts

On Sunday, September 22, 2014, WWE held its annual Night of Champions Pay-Per-View event, where ALL WWE championships would be defended from top to bottom. After the last month and half of god-awful Monday Night RAW broadcasts, I haven't been enthusiastic about this event in the least. I told myself going into this event (along with the ones that follow) that if it blows, I'm going to consider reducing the amount of time in a week I torment myself watching WWE programming.

Preshow - The Peep Show (w/ Chris Jericho and Randy Orton)

I was glad to see WWE finally finding a use for Christian, who was still sidelined with an undisclosed injury, but managed to host this segment. It was an added bonus to see him and Chris Jericho trade quips before being joined by Randy Orton who referred to the duo as the Canadian Brad and Angelina...

As for the preshow panel, I'm was surprised that it went on for roughly an hour this time around. WWE is really taking this concept seriously as a vital component of these events hosted on the WWE Network. For that, I applaud them.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match - The Dust Brothers (Goldust & Stardust) def. The Usos (c) to become the NEW Tag Team champions

This was a solid match to kick things off for tonight, but I'm sure the Tag Team division are getting sick of opening almost EVERY WWE PPV nowadays. The Usos don't have anything to be ashamed of here. I wouldn't mind if they pick up the gold again later down the road to keep this feud alive since the Dust Brothers seem to be the only other team being pushed right now.

JBL: "I dunno what happened in Dusty Rhodes' house that ended up w/ his 2 boys wearing facepaint..." ROTFLMAO #WWENOC #WWE
— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

I hope the rumors of The Ascension being moved up from NXT aren't true as the main roster already has more than enough tag teams they aren't using - Rybaxel, Los Matadores, Kofi/Big E, Slater Gator (Heath Slater & Titus O'Neil), Adam Rose & The Bunny (facepalms...) and especially the Wyatt Family's Luke Harper & Eric Rowen.

I would love for a gif of Stardust rolling around the ring during the post-match celebration. I swear I love that dude's entrance theme TOO damn much.

United States Championship Match - Sheamus (c) def. Cesaro

Cesaro came out to this match looking like he got dressed in the dark wearing both Taz and Lord Tensai's entrance gear. As for the match itself, I found it hilarious that people were raving about this match on social media as they were in COMPLETE shock that it was amazing. I said it on my predictions on Facebook that this was going to be one of the sleeper hits of the evening and boy, did it deliver big time. 

I'm laughing at you guys are actually SURPRISED that this match is amazing. Hello, it's a CESARO match. Get w/ the program. #WWENOC #USTitle
— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

If you want your match to look like a million bucks, you fight Cesaro. Sheamus isn't a bad champion nor a bad wrestler. It's just that most people (myself included) forgot that he was STILL the US Champion period. That's just bad marketing on WWE's behalf. I wish WWE would make people care about this title again, much like how The Miz and Dolph Ziggler are making people give a damn about the Intercontinental title. 

I love how Cesaro and Sheamus went out there and pulled out a few new moves out of their arsenals, especially that Judgment Slam counter to the Brogue Kick. 

After this match, they aired the Sting reveal commercial for WWE 2K15, like people haven't seen this already... 

Intercontinental Championship Match - The Miz (w/ Damien Sandow) def. Dolph Ziggler (w/ R-Truth) to become NEW IC champion

Let's be real here, Florida Georgia Line ruined this match on commentary as WWE did their best recreation of the mess that was Wrestling Society X's horrible commentary. You would think WWE would have learned from them, but nope. Having musicians who know next to NOTHING about a wrestling match call it from ringside does nothing but distract from what is going on in the ring.

Lawler: "I had a job at a concrete company, but the work kept getting harder and harder."

The puns start there and only get worse, folks. Fortunately, Ziggler and Miz's "stunt doubles" (R-Ziggler and Mizdow) provide more than enough comedy relief in this match. I'm sure there are a million memes and gifs of Sandow on Tumblr writhing on the ground, mimicking Miz post-match. I'm not going to lie, I HATED the finish to this match. If they were going to do that, they should have just had this match the following night on Monday Night RAW. If you're reading this article, you should already know that Miz lost the title to Ziggler the next night anyway, so losing here didn't make much sense at all.

Seth Rollins calls out Roman Reigns - Dean Ambrose returns

Dean Ambrose reminds me of a young Al Bundy getting into bar fights & strip clubs from how he arrives & tears shit up. #WWE #WWENOC — Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

Seth Rollins moves from one feud with one of his former Shield teammates to a filler feud with the other former Shield teammate once Dean Ambrose was written off television to go film a movie. Now that Roman Reigns had emergency hernia surgery, WWE had to rush Ambrose back into the picture to continue this feud where they left off. If you don't know that timing is EVERYTHING in wrestling, then this is the perfect time to learn. I shudder at the thought of what WWE would have done here if Ambrose didn't already wrap up filming that movie he's going to be in. I love how everyone had a million and one jokes about Ambrose not even stopping to pay the taxi driver after arriving to the arena.

Did Ambrose pay the taxi driver? "Nope."

My issue with this "open challenge" was that it would have been better if they had one of the NXT guys, namely reigning NXT Champion Adrian Neville or Sami Zayn, fight Seth Rollins in a match on this PPV only to have Ambrose to interfere when Rollins would try to cheat to win. That way the talent on NXT gets some exposure to the non-WWE Network subscribers and Ambrose's return isn't so damn obvious.

As for Ambrose and Rollins' brawl, I didn't mind it but I tire of how many times they have done this in their feud. I'm guessing they are going to finally let them cut loose in a Street Fight or some sort at Hell in a Cell to get this over with. On a side note, WWE is REALLY trying to hit the analogies to Brian Pillman home as commentary consistently refers to Ambrose as a "loose cannon". I personally see Ambrose as the new Stone Cold Steve Austin who just doesn't give a fuck about Authority (the stable) or actual authority at all.

(Laughs) Stephanie McMahon came to the event wearing her Sunday best, not even bothering to change clothes after church...

Rusev (w/ Lana) def. Mark Henry

I'm American and I couldn't give a flying fuck about this USA vs Russia feud. I'm just here for Lana. LOL #WWENOC #WWE — Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

If you follow me on Twitter or read my other blog, Method to Madness, you should know from my discussions about Captain America that I don't like overly patriotic characters - not in comic books, films, television, or any other media. I do understand that WWE is trying to maintain this legit USA vs. Russia hype behind this match - I just don't have to like it. I just NEVER liked the mindset of "my country is better than yours" to rile people up. I felt sorry that Mark Henry was actually legitimately crying during Lillian Garcia's performance of the National Anthem at the start of this match.

I'm not going to lie, but I personally felt the best thing going in this match was high slit that was cut into Lana's already shorter-than-short mini-skirt. I was enjoying ogling her at ringside than watching the action in the ring.

Speaking of Lana, you have to give her props. She's one of the VERY few people in WWE who have legit heat with audiences with their on-screen persona. I've said it once I'll say it again - without Lana, I'm positive that Rusev would have been as forgettable as Vladimir Kozlov and Luther Reigns in the role he's in currently.

As for the match itself, it wasn't bad at all. You would expect these powerhouse vs. powerhouse matches would be boring but Mark Henry managed to make it interesting with his feuds with The Big Show and Sheamus when he was a heel and he recreated some of that magic with Rusev here. Speaking of Rusev, he's one of the better "big guys" that WWE has had in a long time. He's extremely mobile for a guy for his size, yet doesn't allow his speed hinder him like other typical powerhouses. My biggest complaint about this match was that they hyped up Mark Henry like he was going to be the one to put down Rusev for good, but he tapped to Accolade like a bitch, just like EVERYONE before him.

Now I get it, Rusev and Lana are descendants of COBRA's Destro and Baroness. #WWENOC — Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

Everyone's predictions of Rusev being fed to Cena to end his streak is looking more and more to be the obvious outcome, especially since WWE has to be careful when and how they eventually have John Cena tie or surpass Ric Flair's 16-time championship record. We'll discuss Cena's title wins a bit later...

Randy Orton def. Chris Jericho

This was another match I felt that was point-less going into the PPV. Unlike the Rusev/Mark Henry feud, it wasn't given a ton of TV time but was setup in a knee-jerk reaction to the conclusion of Jericho's feud with Bray Wyatt. Speaking of the Wyatt Family, I have to wonder why they have been left off of WWE programming after Jericho and Wyatt's program ended. You would think that Harper and Rowen would still be in the Tag Team title picture, but nope.

Back to the match at hand though... This match served as Jericho's curtain call to his current run with WWE as someone has to put over Orton as a legitimate threat again after being reduced to Authority's low-tier henchman, behind Seth Rollins and Kane.

If there's anything to take away from this match, take note of the stellar ring psychology from bell to bell here. Orton methodically wears down Jericho like a predator to his namesake, while Jericho sells this brutal assault but comes back for more. Not many people can work this well with Orton and make him look this good. I hope Orton appreciates this much-needed blessing that Jericho gave him on the way out of the door. Orton hasn't had a match this good in ages. 

BLOODY FUCKING OBVIOUS finish there folks. When does Jericho EVER climb up the turnbuckle for anything nowadays? C'mon people. #WWENOC — Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

Much like the previous match on this card, my biggest gripe with this match was the finish. You could see that RKO coming a mile away, especially if you're an Orton fan. What happened to the days when you didn't see it coming at all?

If you didn't see that catch RKO coming... Well you've never seen a @RandyOrton match #WWENOC— Mick (@mreed0803) September 22, 2014

Regardless, this match turned out better than I expected. See ya during WrestleMania season, Jericho. Enjoy the well-deserved break.

WWE Divas Championship Match - AJ Lee def. Paige (c) and Nikki Bella to become NEW Divas Champion

From the SHEER amount of people on Twitter raving about this
spot obviously don't know that this is NOT the first time the
WWE Divas have done this before...

I'm going to do an extensive article on the things that WWE can do to tweak each of their divisions, especially the Divas Divison, to make them better with the talent pool they already have, but I want to go on record and say that this match was MUCH better than I was expecting going into this. I'm glad to be proven wrong on a lot of these matches on tonight's card that looked bland at first glance. First of all, Paige's promo that was aired again before this match from the Preshow was VERY damn good. It's things like that pisses me off about how WWE handles the Divas Division. If WWE took the initiative to do things like that with Paige when she first debuted, then WWE wouldn't had to drag AJ Lee back into the mix and toss her right back at the top of the Division. Let Paige - and other Divas talk - give us a chance to get to know their personalities. I don't care if you love or hate the Bella Twins feud, but we can all agree that WWE has to start somewhere if they want to start building other stars in this division other AJ Lee.

Funny how ALL the AJ/Paige marks are quiet now that this match is actually GOOD w/ a Bella Twin in there. #WWENOC #DivasTitle — Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

I have to laugh at how you knew Nikki Bella came into this match ready for a fight - symbolized by her hair braided up in a cliched MMA/girl-fight manner. I hope all of the people who thought that she was going to drag this match down feel stupid now - Nikki took a lot of insane bumps and hung toe-to-toe against WWE's two top Divas. I don't know about anyone else, but she seemed more deserving of this opportunity than Brie Bella was last year when she was granted an one-on-one opportunity against then-champion AJ Lee. If Nikki Bella can keep up this level of intensity on a regular basis, then I'm perfectly fine with her being the Divas Champion again at some point in the near-future - despite the disgust from the IWC (internet wrestling community) on anyone from Total Divas holding the title.

BAFFLES me people are still saying Nikki can't wrestle after that match. She had awesome moves and took all the brutal bumps. #WWENOC— Ibm (@RidersinBlack) September 22, 2014

As for AJ Lee and Paige, it was fine that they continued their pseudo-lesbian romance in this match as part the ring psychology, but Nikki Bella continued to come between them before their interactions came to a climax - no pun intended. I was glad to see AJ get more offense in for once instead of flopping around the ring like a ragdoll. Another thing that I noticed was that AJ's application of the Black Widow isn't as sloppy nor half-assed as she executed it in the past.

I STILL say AJ winning was the WORST case scenario for this match and the Divas division as a whole. Ugh. #WWENOC— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

Like I said on my predictions on Facebook for this event, I feel like AJ Lee regaining the Divas title was the worst case scenario. Whether you are an AJ Lee fan or not, you CANNOT deny that the Paige/AJ feud is growing stale. Something has to be done to change things up here. Making Paige into the wannabe AJ Lee to compensate wasn't working and making Paige change back and forth from the Anti-Diva gimmick isn't going to work either, especially if WWE isn't going to stick with it. It's the same recycled and rehashed trend they are doing with AJ Lee. One week she's crazy another week she's calm and collected at ringside on commentary. Is it a little too much to ask for some consistency here? I like Paige just as much as anyone else, but c'mon people. How can she call herself the "Anti-Diva" when she's still doing photo shoots and glamour shots like just like every other Diva on the roster? That's the harsh reality I want ALL WWE Diva fans to see - they aren't so different. It doesn't matter if they are on Total Divas or not. What matters is their ability to go into that ring and bring it.

While I could rant on my personal suggestions on how to improve the Divas division as a whole, I'm just going to save that discussion for another day. Otherwise, I would be ranting about this all night.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match - John Cena def. Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) via DQ; Lesnar retains as a result

While I understand that WWE had to allow John Cena to win here to bounce back from the vicious beating he received at Summerslam last month, but I felt like a draw would have been a better conclusion to this match. They didn't need to destroy the ring to do so, but I felt like audiences would have been spared from Cena-Mania Running Wild as he magically brought Lesnar into submission until the inevitable interference from Seth Rollins.

I like to think that WWE's writers are smarter than they seem from their booking decisions at times, and that's why I'm positive that John Cena is NOT going to reach 16 championship wins to tie with Ric Flair - let alone surpass that number, until WrestleMania season. If built-up properly, this could make a really good storyline/angle to market WrestleMania 31 with or at least kick-start WrestleMania season with. Remember they did the same with unifying the championships before Royal Rumble last year. WWE has to handle that situation carefully as there's a LOT of people they could potentially piss off if they don't make this particular milestone significant. At the same time, I'm not going to be one of those people who are going to get upset over Cena surpassing that record. With The Undertaker's Streak broken, that merely proves that NOTHING in wrestling is sacred anymore - not distinct finishers/signatures, winning streaks, nor title records.

Say what you want about Lesnar but he sold that like a pro... Rollins must have
a death wish or something though.

While the match as a whole wasn't bad, it dragged on a little too long for my taste. The lack of involvement from Paul Heyman was rather strange as well since he did nothing when Seth Rollins came into the ring ready to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase. Heyman is usually a LOT more animated in his ring-side involvement during matches.

Closing Words

Was this is a bad Pay-Per-View event? No, but I find it rather odd that the bulk of WWE's fans were tossing the ENTIRE card underneath the bus with the exception of Dean Ambrose's return and AJ Lee regaining the Divas title being the only highlights from this event. I'll admit I wasn't in the best of moods while I was watching this event live on Sunday, but that's why I waited until I re-watched the PPV with a clear head later that week before writing this article. I don't know what drugs everyone else was on, but this was a pretty solid event, with almost everything on the card being well worth watching (the Divas title match, US title defense, Jericho v. Orton, and the Tag Team title matches standing out above the rest) but I couldn't shake the feeling like this was merely an action-packed, high-profile edition of Monday Night RAW.