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Showing posts with label Rusev. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rusev. Show all posts

WWE Extreme Rules (July 15, 2018) -- Results & Afterthoughts



Extreme Rules (2018) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on July 15, 2018 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the tenth event under the Extreme Rules chronology.

The card consisted of twelve matches, including two on the pre-show. In the main event, Dolph Ziggler retained the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Seth Rollins 5–4 in an Iron Man match that went into sudden death overtime. This was the first time that an Intercontinental Championship match was the main event of a WWE pay-per-view since Backlash in 2001. In the penultimate match, AJ Styles retained the WWE Championship against Rusev. On the undercard, Alexa Bliss retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax in an Extreme Rules match, Bobby Lashley defeated Roman Reigns, and Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Jeff Hardy for the United States Championship.


I know it's a few days after the event has passed as we've already seen the PPV fallout episodes of Monday Night RAW and SmackDown! Live, so I'm going to try something different for this write-up. I'm going to include my live tweet reactions from during the event as part of this article.

I didn't watch the preshow/kickoff matches, but I'll comment briefly on them if I was keeping up with those storylines/feuds.




I didn't see it, but if this was as good as their match on SmackDown! last week then it should have been a solid opener for this show. Only thing I know is the right man won.







Again, I didn't see this match as I thought this was the preshow and the actual PPV didn't start until 8PM - regardless of that fact, the right team won.









Didn't watch, didn't care. 'Nuff said.





Since the finish showed up on my Facebook timeline during the PPV, I watched this during the gaps in the action.

I don't understand what is WWE's fascination with "chicken shit" heels on both brands holding their Women's Titles, but it's not doing either brand any favors. The only thing a match like this does is expose how inexperienced Carmella is in comparison to someone like Asuka.







This was over in less than 60 seconds. I've heard that Hardy has been dealing with nagging injuries since after WrestleMania, but I didn't think this match would have been over this fast. As SOON as I turned on the PPV feed, the match was over. I'm not complaining that Nakamura getting his first championship win, but dang, it could've been after a cool match, especially after that explosive dud of a feud him and AJ Styles had going.

Randall... err Randy Orton returning is "meh", but I'll take heel Orton over babyface Orton any day of the damn week.






This is all what everyone needs to see from this show to be quite honest, even though WWE bastardized the spot after showing the crash pad inflating during Owens' landing in the replays. 




Kane was allegedly dealing with a legit ankle injury.






Two weeks later and WWE already reversed what looked like a step in the right direction. Lashley's win here meant nothing as Roman Reigns beat him on RAW to win the right to face Lesnar at Summerslam for the Universal Championship. I hate to say it, but Lashley might have to reconsider going back to Impact Wrestling at this point. WWE obviously don't know what to do with him, or any non-dancing black wrestlers that aren't goofballs. Need proof? Just ask Apollo Crews...










This was arguably the best match on the card tonight in my eyes. Rusev put on a great fight against the Phenomenal One, but ultimately fell short of capturing the WWE Championship, thanks to an unintentional blunder from Aiden English. There's still room here for Rusev to bounce back and capture the title down the line. Unfortunately, I don't see Rusev as the man to dethrone Styles right now. If anyone right now, it should be Samoa Joe at Summerslam.

As of this writing (7/30/18), that's exactly where WWE is going too since Samoa Joe has penciled himself in as the next challenger to Styles' title.






In some ways I can't blame the crowd for not giving a shit about this match when the WWE Championship match can't even main event this card. Even more puzzling is the fact that this match went last with that lackluster finish to boot. If that was going to be the finish this should have opened the show instead of ended it.

As for the fans hijacking the match about the timer and counting down like it was the Rumble match, that was just totally uncalled for. Then WWE took it down and really pissed that crowd off, only to make them get more adamant about it.


As of this writing (7/30/18), Dolph and Seth are still in this lackluster feud with people barely invested in this feud - despite these guys being incredible workers - when WWE's fanbase already see Dolph Ziggler as damaged goods. Even I can see the writing on the wall. Dolph's push is going to only last long enough for that pivotal moment where Drew McIntyre (ugh... Galloway) turns on him Diesel-style and goes on his own as singles main eventer.



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WWE Fastlane (March 11, 2018) -- Results & Afterthoughts


Fastlane (2018) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for the SmackDown brand. It took place on March 11, 2018, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. It was the fourth event under the Fastlane chronology. The 2018 event was the final SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view and subsequently the final brand-exclusive pay-per-view under the second brand split as following WrestleMania 34, all WWE pay-per-views will be dual-branded, featuring wrestlers from both the Raw and SmackDown brands.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Rusev


I caught the tail end of this one, but from what I saw it was better than what I was expecting going in to say that they booked this match at the last minute. I hope whenever they do the next Superstar Shake-Up post-WrestleMania they do something with Rusev, Aiden English, and Lana. They need to quit squandering a potential main event player they have sitting on the sidelines here. As for Nakamura, it was a no brainer to give him the win here as he has to look strong going into WrestleMania. It just seems like they are biding their time on his time to shine before WrestleMania, where they (hopefully) make him look like a rockstar in his first WrestleMania match.


United States Championship Match - Randy Orton def. Bobby Roode (c) to become new champion and become the latest entry in WWE's ongoing list of Grand Slam Champions


There were some good moments in this match and a lot of slow bits too. Call me cynical but Orton and Roode just don't click well. They were teasing the RKO reversal from the top rope almost the entire match as even the crowd was ready to see it coming the multiple times that Roode kept going from off the top rope. I kept saying to myself, "Roode's going to get RKO'd out of the air..." I just knew it was going to happen as Roode isn't known for high flying offense and mostly kept his arsenal ground based.

I can't be mad at WWE taking the belt off Roode as that run was a flash in the pan anyway. Orton has more name value going into WrestleMania so I can understand why they went with Roode dropping the title to Orton here. Either they are going to have Orton drop it back to Roode at 'Mania or (groan) drop it to Jinder Mahal...


Carmella and Natalya def. Naomi and Becky Lynch


Nothing really to write home about this match other than the shock I had at Carmella picking up the win. They must be setting up the Money in the Bank winner to fail whenever she cashes in as WWE's mantra is usually to job out the MITB holder until they cash in for their big win. If they are setting up Asuka to win the title from Charlotte then Carmella can definitely count that out if she thinks she has a chance to cash in on Charlotte.


SmackDown! Tag Team Championship Match - The Usos (c) vs. The New Day ends in no contest after the Bludgeon Bros. (Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) laid waste to both teams


Going into this match I had little to no enthusiasm to see this match, despite the fact I knew that this would have been arguably the sleeper hit of the evening. Don't get me wrong - I have nothing against New Day and the Usos' in-ring talents. I'm just sick of seeing them feud. Their promos for this match have been great, but I don't want to see the Usos drop the titles to anyone until or after preferably WrestleMania. This has been the best run of their careers and no need to waste that push on dropping the belts to the New Day for the millionth time.

Seeing the former Wyatt Family members lay waste to the opposition here was the best thing I've seen from any portion of WWE's tag team division in months. Superb booking here. If they can find a way to shoe in Haas and Benjamin... err Gable & Benjamin into the mix too and have a Fatal 4 Way for the SmackDown! Tag Team Championships that's NOT on the damn preshow for WrestleMania then you can call me a happy camper.



SmackDown! Women's Championship Match - Charlotte Flair (c) def. Ruby Riott (w/ Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan); Asuka challenges her post-match for WrestleMania


I hate to knock both ladies here as this wasn't a bad match by any means, but good Lord Charlotte is a far cry from her father in terms of ring psychology. These matches where she takes the bulk of the abuse in the match and barely working her opponent's legs only to win off the Figure Eight drives me nuts. After the Alabama Slam/Modified Electric Chair Slam into the corner, it would've made more sense to win off a Natural Selection than slapping in the submission. I mean, c'mon she was working Ruby's head more than her legs in this match so that just made me throw my hands up in terms of psychology here.

As for the post-match angle that saw Asuka immediately come down to point at the WrestleMania sign, I wasn't surprised in the least. Out of all of the women on the main roster who have been spared Asuka's wrath, it's Charlotte who has somehow dodged the bullet to cross paths with the Empress of Tomorrow until now. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that they were going to have Charlotte drop the title to Ruby when they were building her up for this pending match. The only thing that would have stopped this match becoming reality would be some freak accident/injury between now and WrestleMania in April. Besides, out of the two reigning champions on RAW and SmackDown!, everyone knows that


WWE Championship Match - AJ Styles (c) def. John Cena, Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, and Dolph Ziggler to retain


This match wasn't bad, but it was very telling that AJ Styles was going to retain because he out of the mix for the bulk of the match. When I noticed that, it was very telling that they were going with the safest means possible to avoid any possible injury from the Phenomenal One here. You knew Baron Corbin wasn't winning this and Dolph Ziggler sure as hell wasn't going to win it, especially when John Cena's in the damn thing too. Owens and Zayn were there just to play off their bromance that's been the focus of SmackDown! Live for the last few months (and main reason I haven't cared to watch honestly...)
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WWE Extreme Rules (May 22, 2016) -- Results & Afterthoughts


Extreme Rules (2016) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE. It took place on May 22, 2016, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It was the eighth event under the Extreme Rules chronology.

** Preshow ** No DQ Match - Baron Corbin def. Dolph Ziggler

Not even Ziggler can make me give a damn about Baron Corbin. I've said it at least every week since he was called up to the main roster that he's not ready for this position. Corbin is boring on every aspect that you can look at him. To say that this was a no disqualification match you wouldn't even noticed from how the match was worked.

I cracked up laughing at Ziggler selling a LOW BLOW from Corbin like he got shot before he took the End of Days for that L. Someone explain to me why big guys like Corbin and Undertaker have to use a low blow to gain an upper hand when they are already supposed to be dominant and over-powering against their opponents?

Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows def. The Usos - Extreme Rules Match


In a bizarre twist of irony, Jey Uso fell on top of the ring bell (obvious throwback to Gallows' previous WWE run as Festus), allowing Anderson and Gallows to hit the Magic Killer for the win.

This is one situation where WWE's 50/50 booking is really hurting guys. How in the world are Anderson/Gallows supposed to stand out from the rest of the boring teams of the tag division if they couldn't beat the Usos of all people in dominating fashion. I don't hate the Usos unlike most fans, but damn, this one dragged out longer than I thought it would have.

I still have a feeling they are going to be heavily involved in the main event. I guess we'll see but I'm writing this as I'm watching AND live-tweeting the show.

Rusev def. Kalisto (c) to become the NEW United States Championship


Kalisto showing that he can look like a million bucks against bigger opponents left and right. First with Ryback and now with Rusev. Sadly, there wasn't much else to write home about his US title reign other than a few decent matches here and there. Nothing against Kalisto but he was a complete afterthought in terms of booking lately. I'm anxious to see Rusev continue where he left off before him and Lana were split up roughly a year ago. With Big Match John coming back in another week, I'm sure they are going to book Rusev/Cena IV for Summerslam this year.

As for Kalisto, the tag team division needs the Lucha Dragons desperately to freshen things up on a competitive level. I can't even remember if they've even held the tag titles since coming up from NXT.

One thing I have to notice about Lana's managerial performance at ringside is that she was a lot less animated as she was in the past. I don't know if someone told her to do less or something but it was throwing me off a bit to see her do less when she's normally a much more "lively" character at ringside. She's still got the facials and stuff down but she's not doing much else.

The New Day (c) def. The Vaudevillains to retain the Tag Team Championships


Pretty average match save for the finish and the near-fall spot where the Vaudevillains took out Big E and Kofi at ringside and hit their finish on Woods only for him to surprise the WWE Universe by kicking out. I was more shocked at reactions on Twitter that people weren't aware that Woods is actually a good wrestler. Hello, he's been on the WWE roster prior to this retarded gimmick. Then he was one hell of an X-Division champion in TNA too.

I really wish Big E would quit doing that suicide dive/spear spot out of the ring during every other match. He's landing on his head and/or arms and just bound to break something within this slew of injuries WWE has not bounced back from on the main roster.

A title win for the Vaudevillains could have helped them get over. Let's be serious here. Exactly how long do you think this gimmick is going to work on the main roster until WWE forces them to be repackaged? At least it wasn't a failure at launch like the Ascension or Emma's dancing gimmick...

As popular as the New Day are, people seem to forget that titles are for getting people over who can't get over on their own. When you're more over than the title you're carrying it's time to move to something else and propel someone else for that spot.

Fatal 4-Way Match - The Miz (c) def. Cesaro, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn to retain the Intercontinental Championship


Definitely a match of the night candidate with everyone shouting "Fight Forever" - echoing the chants from NXT Takeover: Dallas between Zayn and Nakamura from WrestleMania weekend. This is going to be a hard match to top on this card. Great work from all four men involved.

I'm not a Miz fan but he's definitely one of WWE's best pure heels (who doesn't need cheap pops or cheap heat nor flip flops to get over with the fans) and it's going to mean a lot more for whoever the babyface is that's going to beat him. Owens and Zayn can easily bounce back from this loss while Cesaro is going to have to do something to get his momentum back, but that shouldn't be too hard given his skillset.

Compared to Lana, Maryse is the complete opposite tonight when it came to being animated and supporting her man at ringside. Maybe one of the agents told Lana to scale it back a bit for she wouldn't step on Maryse's shoes a bit here? I dunno, maybe I'm thinking too much into that.

First Ever Asylum Match - Dean Ambrose def. Chris Jericho


I didn't care when they fought earlier this month and I honestly don't care in this glorified rip-off of TNA's Lethal Lockdown match mixed with Monster's Ball. Ambrose won by busting out the thumb tacks and hitting the Dirty Deeds on that for the win. Really surprised that the E would bring that weapon back out since like forever, but this event needed something truly "hardcore" to stand out.

Until that spot, this match ultimately boils down to being a huge cock tease for pending violence that almost never happens. It's still pretty awkward to see these hardcore matches without an ounce of blood in them at all too. At least the ending of this match remedied that situation slightly after the two moves onto the thumb tacks.

I guess Ambrose really is crazy if he dropped himself onto the tacks just to beat Jericho...

I hope this feud is over at this point. It's dragged on long enough. Ambrose needs to move onto someone else and get his eyes back on a bigger prize... preferably the WWE Championship.

The most whored out weapon in the PG-era landscape of WWE has to be the kendo stick. I would love to see a lot less of that weapon in the future if possible.

Submission Match - Charlotte (c) def. Natayla to retain the Women's Championship


Goddamn this fucking match. I don't have a problem with Dana Brooke as a person but I absolutely hated this finish. It was already bad enough that this match was below-average for what both of these women are capable of, but they just had to end it with Dana dressed up as Ric Flair to distract Nattie long enough for Charlotte to get the win?

Anyone who watches NXT should be able to tell you how moronic it is to align Charlotte and Dana Brooke together when they both wanted nothing to do with each other when they were feuding on that brand. Just typical WWE Creative booking this shit to fill in the gaps since Emma is injured and to leave Becky high and dry without a feud. This isn't a promotion in the least; Dana just went from being Emma's partner/sidekick to being Charlotte's goon/lackey. It's not like Charlotte needed anyone else in her corner when Ric Flair is already muddling that up in that aspect and holding her down in her career, but damn. Just when I thought WWE can't find more ways to devalue women's wrestling during this whole Divas Revolution, they find a way to make it even more stupid.

I'm honestly getting fed up of this settling for less when it comes for women's wrestling in WWE, no rather in WWE's booking and storylines as a whole. Fans complain and they cave in a sense to throw fans a bone to make them shut up for the time being. For example, when fans complained about the WWE Divas not getting much air time on the main roster like the NXT Divas, they called up Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch all in fell swoop to kickstart a "revolution". The Divas Revolution didn't go as how fans hoped as every woman was just as generic and cookie cutter as before, just stuck into stereotypical factions/tag teams. So what did WWE do to stop fans shitting on it? They stripped away the term "Diva", made Charlotte the first "Women's Champion" with a rebranded title. At the end of the day, they are still doing the same shit as before. Women are booked slightly better than a year ago, but the match quality is roughly the same since the veteran women are getting used more among the string of injuries thanks to everyone else. This still hasn't stopped Creative from booking some absolutely moronic finishes to these last few title defenses.

People keep calling it that Natalya's being "protected" but I fail to see how this is a legitimate argument. It's more akin to that Charlotte is being protected for whatever reason (more so than Nikki Bella in her record-breaking Divas title reign). She was protected at WrestleMania when it was clear her opponents were much more over than her and the crowds were ready for them to win the title for the first time. She was protected two weeks ago at Payback when WWE rehashed the Montreal Screwjob for the finish of a women's wrestling match. It's not making Charlotte look like a "strong" champion at all when she can't get the job done herself, even when her father was banned from ringside.

Boy, and people said that Samoa Joe's first and only title run in TNA was portrayed as weak with the bullshit finishes...

Seriously though, how is anyone supposed to take women's wrestling in WWE seriously when the competitive aspect goes out of the window at every opportunity in favor of something that doesn't show the champion as a credible athlete and deserving of said title?

Extreme Rules Match - Roman Reigns (c) def. AJ Styles to retain the WWE Championship


While I wasn't too crazy about the brawling in the crowd at the beginning of this match, I appreciated that someone finally used the preshow panel set for something for once. I was a little bummed out that the glass table didn't shatter from Styles being dropped onto it though.

For the rest of this match, Styles and Reigns killed each other to the point I was wondering if Styles must have insulted Reigns' mother to generate so much aggression from Roman during this match. Even the run-ins from the Usos and Anderson/Gallows made much more sense here and added to the drama of the match as they handily helped each Superstar attempt to get pins over the opposition and broke pin attempts. It all made SENSE - something that's rare in the current landscape of WWE storylines. AJ Styles and Roman Reigns kept upping the scales with the damage back and forth, even though it seemed like Reigns was thrashing Styles handily in a convincing manner at one point. If I had any issues with this match it's the fact that Styles telegraphed the counters for Reigns a bit TOO much and the fact that Reigns really didn't sell anything until Anderson and Gallows came out to even the odds.

Another thing older fans seem to forget that title matches used to be anything goes but damn, this match and the bulk of this entire PPV wasn't really "extreme" at all. They could have knocked out or blindsided the referee and still did all of these spots anyway. I'm not really trying to knock AJ Styles nor Roman Reigns as I thought they did phenomenal - no pun intended - for what they were given to work with in this spot.

From a storyline perspective, I got a feeling that AJ Styles flipping out with the steel chair towards the end of the match could be figuratively the point where Styles has accepted Gallows and Anderson's way of thinking. That could lead into the Authority being brought back into the fold backing Rollins once again. With Rollins already back as a heel (obvious by him attacking Reigns post-match), I'm guessing they are going to pick up where they left off on his run before his unfortunate injury last year.

Speaking of Rollins, I kinda wish that WWE played his music first before he came out as the crowd's reactions ruined his return before they showed him on camera - that is if you didn't see the news leaked out on almost every other website before the event even started.

What didn't sit well with me with this match was the reactions by fans on social media after the end result. C'mon you have to be fucking stupid to think that a decorated high profile champion and former TNA/Impact Wrestling wrestler - no matter who they are - will win WWE's top title within their first few months of being employed there. AJ Styles is lucky to even be in this position PERIOD. Tonight's match and the one at Payback were both great matches, but Styles didn't do it on his own - it was a team effort along with Reigns. That being said I wish fans would quit giving that guy such a hard time as he's actually pulling his weight in the ring. It's not like he's being thrown around like a ragdoll with next to no offense (AJ Lee) or being carried through the bulk of his matches (Ultimate Warrior, Batista, Charlotte, etc. - take your pick). The guy can actually work.

Roman Reigns may be The Guy, but Seth Rollins is THE MAN.

Welcome back, Architect. WWE's main event scene is in need of some restructuring.
Closing Words

Like mentioned above, Extreme Rules was a mediocre event, with only the Intercontinental, United States, and WWE Championship matches sticking out as the best of what this event had to offer. Sadly, this event is starting to stray far away from the extreme aspect completely. Outside of the Asylum Match, this entire event was your average run of the mill PPV. 

Seth Rollins is back in the mix, aiming for the title that he never lost thanks to his injury last year and we're a week away from the return of John Cena. Looks like Money in the Bank is going to shape up to be "money" with it's major players back on the table. 
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WWE Extreme Rules (April 26, 2015) -- Results & Afterthoughts


WWE Extreme Rules (2015) was held on Sunday, April 26, 2015, on the WWE Network. It is the seventh event under the Extreme Rules chronology. Extreme Rules is available for free to new subscribers on WWE's monthly subscription service in the month of April, the WWE Network in over 140 countries.


Kick-Off Match - Neville def. Bad News Barrett

Since Daniel Bryan wasn't medically cleared to compete tonight (reportedly still ongoing recovery from his injury during UK tour), so it was reported on WWE.com that Neville was named as BNB's opponent for tonight's kick-off show. This was one of the most mat-heavy bouts on the card, with Neville and BNB exchanging momentum like a hot potato. These guys have crazy good chemistry together and I happily approve of more matches between these two Superstars. That's saying a lot as I'm not really too fond of BNB's ring work in the first place, but Neville makes him look like a million bucks.



I'm sure the marks were happy after Neville on his first WWE PPV appearance as part of the main roster.

Street Fight Match - Dean Ambrose def. Luke Harper

This match "officially" kicked off this PPV event, but it was derailed after Luke Harper stole car and Dean Ambrose dove through the window, "Dukes of Hazzard-style" to pursue as the car sped out of the parking lot. I guess both Superstars have been playing too much Grand Theft Auto V...


This match continues during the post-match interview between the New Day and Renee Young after their win tonight only for the brawl to resume in the ring where both Superstars pile a ton of steel chairs into the ring as the fans chant "ECW!" A Dirty Deeds onto the pile of chairs seals the deal and gives Ambrose his first singles victory on a WWE PPV to date.

"Kiss Me Arse" Match - Dolph Ziggler def. Sheamus

After a vicious beating from Sheamus for the duration of the match, Dolph Ziggler manages to endure through several near-falls and sneak away with a win.

Despite the chants from live Chicago crowd and a rather ironic "MAKE HIM HUMBLE" sign in the audience, Sheamus refused to kiss Ziggler's ass. Sheamus promptly laid Ziggler out in a post-match attack and forced an unconscious Dolph Ziggler to kiss his "arse" instead.

(Sighs) Really? Is this what we reduced these two talents to? C'mon, WWE, BOTH of these guys deserve better than this. Match-wise, this was a solid match but I just wish WWE would take both of these guys more serious than pitting into a throwaway match such as this.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match - The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston w/ Xavier Woods) def. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd (w/ Natalya)

First of all, I'm glad to see that the tag team titles are being to defended on the main part of a PPV instead of the preshow/kick-off.


Solid match from start to finish. I can't even be mad that this horrible (read: stereotypical) gimmick went over the Brass Ring Club (Cesaro and Kidd). I understand why WWE did it though. The thing that since crowds are chanting "New Day Sucks" means that they are over, when in reality, fans aren't behind them at all. I'm just disappointed that WWE decided to take the belts off of Cesaro and Kidd when they have been white hot as of late. Sure, it puts them back into the "chase" for the upcoming boring summer months, but c'mon, don't kill their momentum when it just was getting off of the ground.

United States Championship Match - John Cena (c) def. Rusev (w/ Lana)

I'll be completely honest and say that I hate these Texas Bullrope-type matches as it merely transforms into the wrestling equivalent of a typical session of tug-o-war. We have seen John Cena and Rusev go at a grand total of two times prior to this match, so what makes match #3 in this series much different?



I wanted get into that ring and fight Rusev myself after he ejected Lana from ringside, urging her to go backstage.

Both Superstars roll with the other's punches and properly sell their offense until the typical Cena comeback sequence in the vein of Hulk Hogan until #LOLCenaWins to set the IWC (internet wrestling community) off in an eruption of unaminous groans of disgust.


I don't hate Cena like everyone else does just to be cool, but I'm ready for Rusev to move onto something else. I think we deserve that "proper" Ryback versus Rusev feud that we were denied last year.


WWE Divas Championship Match - Nikki Bella (c) (w/ Brie Bella) def. Naomi

Going into this match, I wanted Naomi to win, but looking back I figured she would not just for the sole fact of typical WWE booking. Nikki Bella and Naomi haven't shared much time in the ring, nor has WWE spent enough time properly building this feud up to make the fans care about a title change. While I have thoroughly enjoyed this breath of fresh air to Naomi's character, not everyone shares my opinion on the matter.

First things first, I'm SOOOO glad that WWE has decided to give Naomi NEW music. About fucking time. Like how the HELL did Cameron get her own music before Naomi after all of this time?

Secondly, let's talk about the actual competitive aspect of this match. You have to be crazy to not realize that this is one of the better Divas title defenses in quite some time. Naomi was a solid competitor and worthy challenger for Paige when she was reigning Divas Champion in AJ Lee's absence and I'm glad to see WWE has faith in her to try her hand again at challenging Nikki Bella's title reign. Naomi brought a lot of new breath-taking and flashy moves to the table in this match, only to receive a series of near-falls.


I hope this feud doesn't end from here after Brie Bella's interference (with a Chick Kick that JBL referred to as a "Yeti Kick" -- just wow at that shade towards Daniel Bryan...) to assist Nikki to retain the title after a well-placed Rack Attack.

Last Man Standing Match - Roman Reigns def. The Big Show

I think I can safely say that this was the match of the evening and the most "extreme" bout of anything else on tonight's card. Tons of crazy spots here in this match, building up to a climax that destroys the majority of the commentary area - tables and barricades included.


I hope this would make everyone shouting at The Big Show (and Kane) to "Please Retire" to STFU. The Big Show still can put on great matches, such as this one. Kane and Big Show are still valuable assets to WWE's product.


Hell, I want one more Big Show & Kane tag team title reign much like their run around 2005-2006.

After this match, Ryback beat Bo Dallas in a quick squash match if anyone cared. I know I didn't...

Moving on...

Steel Cage Match for WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match - Seth Rollins (c) (w/ J & J Security) def. Randy Orton
** RKO is banned **
** Corporate Kane is acting as "The Gatekeeper" **



Not really a bad nor a great match. It's just another run of the mill steel cage matches. The cage didn't prevent the Authority's goon squad from getting involved, but it's looking like Kane is fed up with both sides at play, namely Seth Rollins and the Authority as a whole. 


Randy Orton using the Pedigree and Seth Rollins retaining with Orton's own RKO finisher were sweet moments in this match, but neither of these Superstars are in better positions prior to this event. It just seems like another day at work where WWE Creative is just running through emotions until Brock Lesnar's next compete date is up on the calendar. If I were to guess, one of those days would be Summerslam for sure. 

Closing Thoughts 

I personally don't understand why WWE does this event to follow-up the aftermath of feuds and rivalries coming out of the fallout of WrestleMania. It would make more sense to do Payback (much like Backlash in the old days) here then do a gimmicky Pay-Per-View event instead. To say WWE is trying to look out for the well-being of their talent, one would think that they would not put their talent into another set of dangerous gimmick matches, especially after WrestleMania's Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship that saw the bulk of the midcard scene in competition. 

I was active on Twitter during this broadcast and found it amusing that people were quick to throw this event underneath the bus tonight. It was far from bad, but to be fair, my expectations weren't high to begin with. As a result, I thoroughly enjoyed this event. Sure, it wasn't WrestleMania but it served it's purpose. The only matches on the card that dragged were the US title and main events, but that was to expected as those were rematches from WrestleMania with little "new" flavor thrown in to keep it fresh.
I just hope WWE doesn't fuck up with the momentum from here after this event. They have a lot of great material to work with here. 
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WWE Fast Lane -- Results & Afterthoughts


WWE Fast Lane serves as WWE's replacement to the Elimination Chamber and serves as WWE's final stop on the road to WrestleMania between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. The main event pits Daniel Bryan against Roman Reigns in a match to decide who will face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

Preshow - MizTV (The Miz & Mizdow) interview with Paul Heyman

Great back and forth here, but I swear, Paul Heyman is WAY too good to be limited to these preshow events. If you're going to fly him out to the PPV, at least give him mic time on the actual card. I think we're going to see Miz and Mizdow dissolve before or at WrestleMania. I'd even bet money on that

The Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, and The Big Show w/ J & J Security) def. Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, and Ryback after Kane held up Ziggler for a mock Superman Punch variation of the WMD by The Big Show. Randy Orton returned post-match to take out J & J Security while Rollins fled the scene.

I understand that they had to give Rollins and the other faces feuding with the Authority something to do, but c'mon. I was expecting a little better than this. I thought Dolph Ziggler would be going places after being the lone survivor of his Survivor Series team versus the Authority, but nope. Ziggler is in the SAME exact position as he was previously. Vanquishing the Authority became an afterthought as John Cena reversed that decision a few weeks later while Sting garnered all of the attention and praise instead of Ziggler.


There's a similar trend with everyone on the opposing team of babyfaces. It's a team of guys who should be in better elevated positions on the roster than this. Erick Rowan should be part of the many teams chasing for the tag titles as the Wyatt Family shouldn't have split up to begin with. Ryback should have been the one in a high-profile feud against Rusev but got the rugged pulled out from underneath him prematurely. Then we have Dolph Ziggler for reasons I mentioned already.

I don't understand the hate for Big Show and Kane. These are two veterans doing their jobs, putting over younger stars. They are damn good at their jobs too - consistent, great work despite being rather stagnant after all of these years. I rather see them putting people over instead of newer guys getting buried before fans have a chance to even garner an opinion about them. I personally wouldn't mind seeing them as a tag team in the tag team division like their domination period from 2005. If they are supposed to be the Authority's "muscle" then let's see it then with a show of force.


As for Orton's return... about damn time I say. Now we know what WWE has lined up for Rollins for WrestleMania to keep him out of the title picture for the time being. To be quite honest, they could have had Orton come out weeks ago and did this but whatever.

Goldust def. Stardust via roll up counter to the Cross Rhodes.

I honestly marked out for Stardust's new gear. He totally stole Batman's gloves though.

Great storytelling here, but pretty average match. I can kinda see why WWE didn't save this one for WrestleMania if that was the effort they were going to put into this.

I'll add this too. I wish some of the younger fans show some respect for Goldust. That guy has come a LONG way to say that he's up in age now and still putting on great matches. If he doesn't get a HOF spot sooner more than later, then I'm going to be pissed.

Jon Stewart (host of the Daily Show) calls out Seth Rollins

Lame... Why even waste anytime on this? Moving on...

That's pretty fucked that WWE allows a celebrity who's not even on the roster shoot a promo when 70% of the active roster don't get that much mic time.

Stardust snaps backstage and assaults Goldust before declaring that he's living in his own shadow now to Dusty Rhodes.

I don't mind THIS Cody Rhodes/Stardust at all. Give us more of this, WWE.

The Brass Ring Club (Tyson Kidd & Cesaro w/ Natalya) def. The Usos (w/ Naomi) for WWE Tag Team Championship

I was really starting to fear for these two teams. If anyone can turn this division around for the better, it's these two teams. Throw in the dynamic between the teams' ladies at ringside and you potentially have a goldmine of a feud here. I was a little disappointed that Naomi and Natalya didn't get involved at all in this match, but I suppose they can save that for the inevitable rematch at WrestleMania. Speaking of the valets, damn BOTH Naomi and Natalya were slaying with those outfits tonight. Meow...

Is it just me or the BRC showing a few shades of the Beatdown Clan from Impact Wrestling? That's EXACTLY what I was thinking during their segment that was recapped before the match started.

As for the match itself, I could watch these two teams fight each other all day. Great chemistry between these two teams. If they want to get the Lucha Dragons and the Ascension involved and do tag team turmoil at WrestleMania then I'm all for it.

If I had any complaint about this match it was the finish, just like with 80% of the matches on this card. Why did Kidd finish it with a Swinging Fisherman's Suplex? I thought the BRC would've pulled off that double team move that they have been showing off lately.

Triple H confronts Sting in the ring

I guess I'm the only wrestling fan who isn't giddy as a girl with a new vibrator (thank you Jim Cornette for that phrase...) off Sting in WWE and facing Triple H at WrestleMania. Seeing Sting in HD is jarring enough and shows that he looks WORSE than his final days during his run in Impact Wrestling. I understand that it's a dream for a lot of his fans to see him in a WWE ring, but the novelty has ran its course for me. WWE, just give us Sting vs. The Undertaker and allow these guys to ride off into the sunset for good.

I see no benefit for Triple H facing an "ancient" Stinger other than stroking his ego.


Don't get me wrong. The moment where Sting shoved his baseball bat into Triple H's face and forced him to drop the sledgehammer was iconic. Even more magic was added to this moment as Sting didn't say a WORD. He maintains his aura of mystery for new fans.

I couldn't stop laughing at that convenient "STANG" sing in the crowd and the fact that Triple H keeps calling himself the "lifeblood" of WWE - while dressed up in his 2002 return attire. Bitch please. The lifeblood of WWE is the Undertaker - always has been if we're going that route from the Monday Night Wars.

If I wrote this segment I would've had Sting about to be assaulted by HHH and do the same turnaround then have the lights go out once Sting had Triple H cornered. The lights come back on and The Undertaker is behind Sting. Sting releases Triple H and faces Taker. Both icons stare down until Triple H tries to get in the way. Both men hit their finishers on Triple H then look up at the WrestleMania sign in unison. There, you've sold the PPV off this one segment ALONE.

Bad News Barrett def. Dean Ambrose via DQ to retain the Intercontinental Championship

While I personally find ALL of Dean Ambrose's matches to be at a snail pace that drag along, I thought Ambrose deserved a win here. It was rather pointless to end this match with another loss for Ambrose. That guy can't ever cut a break at PPVs. Dean Ambrose is already over with fans, so why can't WWE get behind this guy?

Nikki Bella (w/ Brie Bella) def. Paige to retain the WWE Divas Championship

Good Lord, there was enough people butthurt after that match.


Listen, I love Paige as much as everyone else and I want to see her succeed, but I rather see this feud continue into WrestleMania instead of a meaningless title change prior to the big event that they will more likely flip around or reverse by then. To these Divas' credit, this match wasn't bad at all outside of the lackluster finish.

Nikki is doing a good job of integrating some power moves into her arsenal, especially the Alabama Slam and Rolling Powerbomb from the corner. I have to applaud her for having answers to not one but ALL of Paige's finishers (RamPaige, Paige Turner, and PTO) as well. I don't want to discredit Paige here either as she is becoming an even better worker.

Bray Wyatt openly challenges The Undertaker at WrestleMania


I'm on both sides of the fence on this one as I personally feel like it's going to be lose/lose for both Superstars. Don't get me wrong - the match itself along with the build will be full of all kinds of win for the fans, but let's look at this from a long-time standpoint.

The Undertaker HAS to win to shake off that stench of failure after losing to Lesnar last year and show that he's still "got it". Bray Wyatt HAS to win to show that he's ready to be a main event player in the future WWE landscape. The guy has been in WWE for roughly two years now and hasn't even been considered for ANY championship of any kind. Hell, even his former followers in the Wyatt Family, Luke Harper (former Intercontinental champion) and Erick Rowan have had more title opportunities than him.

I'm just wondering what is going to be the payoff for both Superstars (outside of fan service) for this match. I guess this is going to be WWE's way of stalling and saving The Undertaker vs. Sting for next year in Texas.

Rusev (w/ Lana) def. John Cena to retain the United States Championship

A great back and forth contest between these two and I was relieved to see Cena give Rusev the rub instead of going over as the first Superstar to beat Rusev. Now I hope the marks can quit saying that John Cena buries everyone who steps in the ring with him. 



Extra credit props goes to Lana for playing the job of the manager/valet flawlessly here. Just watch her facial expressions throughout this match. Less means more. She only got involved at the most vital point of the match and did enough to help Rusev win. I thought that the low blow was a tad bit overkill as Cena already was out. 

Roman Reigns def. Daniel Bryan to defend his #1 Contender spot for headlining WrestleMania versus Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship


To say that people were booing Roman Reigns out of the arena last month at Royal Rumble during the conclusion of that event, it's easy to say that Reigns and Bryan threw down tonight in this main event. Great action from bell to bell. If that doesn't convince the haters and remove all doubt that Roman Reigns can and deserves a fair shot against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, then something's wrong. Daniel Bryan was the perfect person to serve as the measuring stick to see if he was ready for Brock Lesnar. 


I only fear if WWE can continue to carry this momentum for the next five weeks going into WrestleMania. 

Closing Thoughts

Here's the thing I can't stand when going into these events that follow one of NXT's Takeover live specials. Everyone goes in either with the (extremely high) optimism that it's going to rival that event or go in shitting on the show before it even starts. Hello, people - we should ALL know that these PPVs aren't going to live up to those extremely high-expectations and high standards that the NXT specials have set the standard for, so we need to stop tormenting ourselves trying to expect the same from these PPVs on the main roster. 

That being said, this event wasn't that much better than your average run of the mill episode of Monday Night RAW or Friday Thursday Night SmackDown! but it did serve it's purpose as the last stop on the road to WrestleMania. It managed to set the stage appropriately for what is yet to come on the grandest stage of them all.

At the end of the day, Jesse Collings of Wrestling Inc. hit the nail on the head when he called the show a "glorified episode of Raw", adding that "there were a few highlights, but there was not a single thing that took place on this show that couldn't have been done on an episode of Raw."
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