Category: Review

AEW Double or Nothing 2021: Every Match Ranked

Another Pay-Per-View is behind us. Some got double, some got nothing (I don’t understand this metaphor), but generally, it was a pretty good night of wrestling. I don’t think it ranks among AEW’s best, but that’s a pretty high bar, and I still found the show entertaining. Let’s just talk about the matches.

10 – Cody Rhodes def. Antony Ogogo

As much as I had a strong disliking toward the story of this match, I thought the action itself could still be good. I was wrong.

It wasn’t necessarily bad; it just felt a bit heartless compared to everything else on the show. It only went 10 minutes, and nothing memorable happened during it. Ogogo came out of the gate with a bit of fire, Cody mounted a comeback, they traded momentum for a bit, and that was that. The commentators were desperately selling it as some huge moment and tough triumph for Cody, but it’s just not.

I’ve often defended Cody when people talk about him having too much of an ego, but with every pointless and heatless major win like this, I’m starting to come around to that way of thinking. What was the benefit of this? The crowd were noticeably quieter during this match than most of the show, save for some half-arsed USA chants. Cody didn’t beat a particularly strong opponent, and Ogogo looks pathetic in defeat. What was the point? Other than an ego wank from Cody with a chance to be America’s “hero”.

9 – Jungle Boy Wins The Casino Battle Royale
(Winner Receives A Future AEW World Championship Match)

I mentioned in my predictions that this battle royal format was a little awkward. Although I said that, I have by and large enjoyed all of them up until now. However, watching this one on Sunday, it made all of this format’s flaws really obvious.

Competitors entering five at a time just flat-out does not work. It’s awkwardly paced as each person has to get their own music, but it means that none of them get to have a chance to shine on their own as they come in the ring. People don’t get to come into the match full of steam and clean house to look good. They just immediately fade into the background. On top of that, so much time is spent on entrances that the pacing of the match feels disjointed. Eliminations get missed, spots get overlooked, and it can be hard to tell who’s even in the match sometimes.

When the match got good was towards the end. The Joker entrant, Lio Rush (who I’m pleased to see), got a great moment to shine in their entrance, and they got in the ring. Then, once the field had cleared, the story with Matt Hardy & Private Party got to take the forefront, and things were more compelling. The final sequence with Christian & Jungle Boy was great too, and I’m pleasantly surprised by the winner.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You’re never going to beat the Royal Rumble, so stop trying to be the Royal Rumble because all it does is make me wish I was watching the Royal Rumble.

8 – Sting & Darby Allin def. Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page

I don’t have a great deal to say about this one. It was good, but nothing particularly special. It’s nice to see Sting wrestle again, and it’s clear he’s still got some left in the tank, which is always good.

I just want to see both him & Allin used differently now. I’d rather see Sting mentoring Allin in a singles capacity at this point rather than random tag matches that damage the credibility of mid-card heels.

7 – The Inner Circle def. The Pinnacle
(Stadium Stampede)

I promise this is the last match I’m going to moan about, but this match didn’t really click with me.

For context, I loved last year’s Stadium Stampede match. It had tonnes of memorable moments and gripped me for the entirety of its 30-minute runtime. This one was not even remotely like that, and it was a huge detriment to the match’s quality.

The intensity of this feud was through the roof, and they tried to play the Stadium Stampede match a lot more seriously because of it, and that is where this match fell short. The entire concept is inherently silly, so you’ve got to play up to that fact. Rather than a long string of memorable and entertaining spots, this match was just people wandering around, punching and occasionally hitting each other with things.

Just off the top of my head, I could give you a laundry list of memorable moments from last year’s Stadium Stampede. The charge at the start. The Northern Lights suplex across the field. One of the Young Bucks Moonsaulting off of the goal post. Page wandering around on a horse. The Omega & Page bar fight and several others that I’m leaving out, so this doesn’t go on too long.

Compare that to this year, what are people going to remember in a year’s time? The Inner Circle’s entrance, absolutely, that was brilliant, but in the actual match? Not a lot. The “disco” fight was pretty memorable, I guess, but I’d be hard-pressed to think of anything else. The motorbike/golf cart chasing Shaun Spears was good, but even that was just a callback to last year’s match.

At the end of the day, it was fine and still held my attention throughout. I just don’t think it justified the 30 minutes it had this time around.

6 – Miro(c) def. Lance Archer
(TNT Championship)

Yup, thumbs up for this one.

It was pretty short, clocking in at just under 10 minutes, but the intensity that both men brought to it felt like it justified the shorter runtime. Miro is finally unleashed in his full potential, and it’s as glorious as we all knew it would be. Naturally, Archer responded to his style of offence in kind, and the match held the feeling of two men really trying to crush each other.

It worked somewhat slowly throughout the middle, but the hard-hitting style both wrestlers brought made up for it, and the flurries of fast stuff mixed in there wrapped it all together nicely.

I’m not the biggest fan of Archer taking yet another major loss like this, but I can understand that it’s probably worth it for the sake of building Miro up as a monster. I’m excited to see where this title reign goes, Miro has shown throughout his career that he can work against both big & small guys, so there’s some interesting dynamics to play around with throughout his reign.

5 – Serena Deeb(c) def. Riho
(NWA World Women’s Championship)
(Buy-In)

A pretty simple but very engaging match. Maybe it’s because WWE has conditioned my expectation of pre-show matches to be so low, but I was surprised at how much these two were able to get in.

Serena was great at getting the crowd to turn on her from the get-go. I didn’t realise that she’d become a heel on NWA programming, but the in-ring storytelling quickly clued me in and adjusted my expectations accordingly. Riho responded to it in the right way too. Her general presentation presents her as quite the underdog, and she knows how to play up to it.

The champion retained, but it was still a fantastic feature for both women.

4 – Hangman Adam Page def. Brian Cage

Another simple but great singles match here. They played this one very balanced in terms of momentum, which kept it interesting throughout. 12 minutes was the perfect length of time for what this match was, and the pacing flowed perfectly from start to finish. Cage’s powerful offence gave him this force-of-nature aura, but Page handled it well and told the story of learning from their first encounter.

Team Taz getting involved at the end was an interesting wrinkle. I find it interesting that almost all of the attempts at match interference on this show went wrong in one way or another. Cage’s desire to do it alone added an extra layer to the story and justified what would’ve otherwise been fairly stupid decision-making on his part.

I’m interested to see where they take his character following this. While I think he could’ve gotten more out of his run with Team Taz, at this point, I think it might be best to let it go and change his status quo. You don’t even need to turn him face. Just breaking away from Team Taz would be enough of a change to let him start fresh. As for Hangman Page, him winning was the right decision, and I’m looking forward to seeing his rise continue.

3 – Britt Baker def. Hikaru Shida(c)
(AEW Women’s World Championship)

A worthy end to Shida’s title reign.

I didn’t realise they’d given her a new title belt, but I like it. The only real problem with the original belt was how pitifully tiny it was, and this fixed that. Now it looks like a throwback belt with a modern style, and I like it.

The match itself had a lot to love. Not as quickly paced as I would’ve liked, but most other aspects of the match made up for that shortcoming. The momentum shifted gradually between each woman, and that combined with the ramping up in intensity for a compelling contest. The styles between these two meshed in the way I had hoped, and it brought the shine out of both of them.

The story elements were great too. Despite the crowd largely being pro-Britt, she stayed true to her character and did everything in her power to turn them against her. Admittedly, it didn’t work, but I still enjoyed watching it. Rebel’s interference going wrong was a great dramatic moment, although I’m glad it was only a false finish. I’m sure something will come of that in the long term.

The finish made both women look pretty good too. Shida wasn’t soundly out-wrestled, but she made a mistake and got caught by a competitor on her level who knew how to make the most of it. With Britt at the top, I’m confident AEW’s women’s division will reach the status it deserves at last.

2 – The Young Bucks(c) def. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston
(AEW World Tag Team Championship)

This was definitely the most fun match of the evening.

The story between these two teams focusing on a pair of shoes was an odd choice. I know it was symbolistic of the wider conflict, but still, especially considering how little bearing they ended up having on the match. Also, before I get into the match properly, did The Young Bucks pay off that referee or something? Both Bucks were in the ring for almost the entire match, and the referee didn’t even try to count them out, but he still had a go at Kingston for even thinking about it.

The action was fantastic throughout this match. With how dominant of a champion he was, it’s easy to forget how great Moxley is at taking a beating. He got his clock cleaned by the Bucks at almost every opportunity but still came out of that gate swinging in the way only he can. Kingston got to be the controlling factor for his team, but the Bucks still found a weakness to exploit. That was a great device to turn momentum back the Bucks whenever it was needed.

Towards the end, when things got more chaotic was when things hit their peak. The kickout at one was nice, although I feel like that’s becoming a bit of an overused trope, especially considering we basically never saw it a couple of years ago. Things went off with a bang in the final sequence, with the exception of the actual finish, which felt like more of a whimper. However, it couldn’t take away from what was a fantastically entertaining bout.

1 – Kenny Omega(c) def. Orange Cassidy & Pac
(AEW World Championship)

Triple threat matches are just the most entertaining things.

The balance of power between all three guys was really interesting. I said in my predictions that Orange Cassidy would serve as more of an exclamation point on the match, and I think that was more or less the role he filled. While the crowd loved all three guys, it was clear they were fully behind Cassidy, and whenever he popped back in the ring for a few quick punches, it was a joyous occasion.

Pac & Omega trying to out-wrestle each other helped carry the bulk of the action and gave things the technical flavour we love to see. Both men are very familiar with each other by this point, and it shows, as the ebb and flow of the match never faltered. The tropes of triple threat matches are very well established by this point, but I feel like this match didn’t lean on them too heavily. While there was some amount of powdering out, I feel like all three men were a featured part of the action for more of the match than not.

Things got a bit convoluted towards the end but in the right kind of way. Kenny using all four of his belts to clobber Pac was a cool twist on an established spot, and the ridiculous amount of false finishes were a lot of fun. The final one was especially great and does everything it needed to for Orange Cassidy. He almost caught Omega on several occasions and only lost because of some quick thinking on Kenny’s part. Both Cassidy & Pac can be waiting in the wings now and can be pushed back into the title picture whenever they’re needed.

WWE Backlash 2021: Every Match Ranked

Our first post-Wrestlemania PPV is in the books, and it was pretty good. It suffered from a lack of stakes, as every show around this time of year does, but there were plenty of good-to-great matches on offer and only one baffling creative decision, which is pretty good for WWE.

7 – Damian Priest def. The Miz
(Lumberjack Match)

I’d love to comment about how well these two men matched up in the ring, but I cannot remember a single beat of in-ring action because of…well…the zombies.

I get it was just a giant advert, but the whole thing makes absolutely no sense to me. In kayfabe, were these supposed to be real zombies? Or people dressed as zombies? Because neither makes any sense. If they’re real zombies, why are they observing the rules of the lumberjack match, and why does no one else on the show care? If they’re just actors, The Miz shouldn’t give a shit because he could easily beat them all up at a moment’s notice.

I mean, it was certainly more interesting than the match I was envisioning, so I guess well done? It was still crap.

6 – Sheamus def. Ricochet
(Kickoff Show)

Not much to say here, a quick match with good action but a weird finish. I assume Sheamus just didn’t have enough room to get his foot up for the Brogue Kick. Don’t get me wrong, it was a brutal-looking knee-strike, just made for a very abrupt finish to the match.

5 – Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio def. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode(c)
(Smackdown Tag Team Championships)

They really did their damndest to stack the odds, didn’t they?

I joke, but I think it made for a much more dramatic match, with more compelling stakes. Rey’s always been great at taking a beating and then fighting back from underneath, so he got to show his full arsenal in this match. Ziggler & Roode pulled out their fair share of innovative tag offence too. It’s nice to see them gel as a team just in time to lose the titles.

I thought the pacing was good for the most part, but each section dragged on just a bit too long. This match ended up being the second-longest on the show, and it really didn’t need to be. We knew Dominik would show up eventually, but they dragged it out for a bit too long. Then, even once he did show up, the dynamic of the match didn’t change; the Mysterios were still fighting from underneath the whole way.

That said, the action was still really good, and the story was compelling. On top of that, we got a nice moment with Rey & Dominik winning the tag titles, in what will hopefully inject a bit more life into the tag division on Smackdown.

4 – Rhea Ripley(c) def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
(Raw Women’s Championship)

This was definitely an improvement on the Wrestlemania match. I still enjoyed the Wrestlemania match between Rhea & Asuka, but it was clear their chemistry wasn’t the best. Thankfully, adding Charlotte into the mix made up for that deposit, and her presence brought the best out of Rhea & Asuka. Rhea felt like the Rhea we saw in NXT for the first time since coming to Raw, while Asuka got to show more of the edge she’d been lacking since last summer.

The action was fast-paced and fun to watch from start to finish, which is exactly what I was hoping for. It didn’t fire off at the incredible pace of the triple threat for Takeover: In Your House last year, but they still pulled a lot of tricks out of the bag to bring up the energy. Towards the finish, they really put their foot on the accelerator, and it ramped up the excitement perfectly.

My only complaint was the awkwardness of the finish. After Charlotte kicked Asuka, it seemed like she was in a prime position to break up the pin, but the camera later showed she’d fallen to the floor for…no reason? It seems like this was more on production than anything else. Either the cameraman wasn’t in the correct position, or the director didn’t cut to the shot, but it made for a bit of confusion on the finish. Rhea winning was the right call, though, and hopefully, Charlotte will get sidelined with Alexa Bliss sooner rather than later, so we can stop worrying about WWE screwed Ripley out of the title.

3 – Bianca Belair(c) def. Bayley
(Smackdown Women’s Championship)

I said in my predictions that I thought Bayley was the perfect first opponent for Belair, and I think this match proved my statement to be entirely accurate.

Bayley’s slightly more deranged attitude came through perfectly in this match and is yet another testament to how incredible she is at character work. It gave this match an extra layer of intensity and made Bianca’s ability to overcome it feel more earned. I thought the story of the hair being a key factor in the match was well done. They set it up like a Chekov’s Gun towards the start of the match, and it paid off in a great way that presented Bianca in an intelligent light.

The action throughout the match was really enjoyable and kept me engaged from start to finish. Bayley dominated the majority of the match, but her intermittent use of dirty tactics made it feel believable and didn’t cast anything bad on Bianca. Bianca’s flurries of offence were a lot more enjoyable because of it, and she was great at making me feel the effort she was going to in order to get back on top.

As I’ve said, the finish showcased Bianca’s intelligence and ‘veteran instincts’ but has also left the door open for a rematch if that’s the direction they want to go in. Personally, I think a Triple Threat between Bianca, Sasha & Bayley would be the best move going forward, but we’ll see.

2 – Roman Reigns(c) def. Cesaro
(Universal Championship)

I was amazed that this match got almost half an hour, but it was definitely worth it.

If you don’t think Cesaro is a main eventer after watching this match, then I honestly don’t know what to tell you because he knocked it out of the park. The match took a slower pace, but it was filled with powerful moves and technical back-and-forth action. Cesaro getting the upper hand early on and forcing Reigns to reset himself was a simple and effective way to establish Cesaro as someone who could hang with Reigns.

As things moved towards the middle, it dragged a little, but the action picked up and eased off at a good pace that kept pulling me back into it. Reigns established his dominance well, never drowning Cesaro out. Then, Cesaro got close with Reigns a few times towards the finish, although it never felt like he genuinely had Reigns beat. At least not in the same way Kevin Owens or Daniel Bryan did. Cesaro showed plenty of heart and resiliency by powering out of the Guillotine a couple of times but eventually succumbing to it in a strong performance that benefitted both men.

The stuff after the match is interesting. I think Cesaro vs Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell is the direction they’re going with this one, which is not what I would’ve done, but it’s alright. I suppose they could put Seth in with Roman & Cesaro for a triple threat, but it looks more to me like Reigns will be facing Jimmy Uso at the next PPV instead.

1 – Bobby Lashley(c) def. Drew McIntyre & Braun Strowman
(WWE Championship)

Three big beefy boys doing big beefy boy things.

This match was a hoss-fest full of chaos, and it was absolutely brilliant. Despite the fact that everyone knew he was never going to win, Strowman worked his ass off in this match and felt like the biggest threat of the thing. The moment where Lashley & Drew decide to team up take him output over his threat level more than anything did in the build. Drew & Bobby pulled their weight, too, and it created this brilliant feeling of all three men going all-out for the title.

Drew hitting Braun with the Claymore to send him over the barricade was great, and Bobby going through the LED board was a brilliant climactic spot to send us into the final act of the match. Momentum never stayed with one wrestler for very long, and that kept the pace going for an extremely brisk-feeling 16 minutes.

The finish gave Bobby a strong title retention but left the door open for both Drew & Braun to get a rematch if they wanted. Based on Raw last night, it looks like Bobby vs Drew is most likely for Hell in a Cell, which should hopefully be a killer end to their feud.

Wrestlemania 37: Every Match Ranked

And finally, we have reached the end of this week of wrestling. I thought it was a bloody good one. I don’t think this Wrestlemania will go down as one of the all-time greats, but there was undoubtedly a lot more good than bad across both nights, and that’s good enough for me.

No point rambling up here, let’s talk about the matches.

14 – Randy Orton def. The Fiend

This match had interesting implications, but as a match in and of itself, it was crap.

Firstly, The Fiend was literally burned alive, and that didn’t stop him or keep him down, but a single RKO is enough to keep him down for three? That can piss right off. The little action we did get wasn’t particularly exciting either, just the standard stuff we’ve come to expect from both of these guys.

The stuff with Alexa Bliss potentially rebelling against The Fiend has tonnes of potential, and I’m interested to see where it goes, but it didn’t make for a good match here. It was such a weird one to open the show with too, the crowd just didn’t know how to react to any of it, and I don’t blame them.

13 – Natalya & Tamina def. Lana & Naomi, Billie Kay & Carmella, The Riott Squad, Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose
(Winner gets a Women’s Tag Team Championship match on Night 2)
(Tag Team Turmoil)

I’d hoped that this one would be better than I was expecting, but unfortunately, I don’t think this clicked at all. It may have been due to the chaos around the weather throwing them off their game, and I sympathise if that’s the case, but I didn’t enjoy what I saw in the ring.

Almost none of these teams have any natural chemistry, and it showed in this match. The Riott Squad are the only team that I’d say actually worked well together, and that’s no surprise when you see how long they’ve been paired up for. WWE think they can just throw whoever the fuck together and expect them to wrestle decent tag matches, but it just doesn’t work that way. Even outside of gelling with your partner, there are so many different aspects to the psychology of tag matches that you can’t expect someone without experience in that field to do well at it.

On top of that, it didn’t help that each stage of the gauntlet way maybe 5 minutes, if that. I get why there wasn’t time for five full-length matches, but maybe just build a proper tag division, and that won’t be a problem? For all the progress WWE has made in recent years at booking the main-event level of their women’s divisions, the mid-card is still treated terribly. If you’re not the four horsewomen or a select other few, you just get treated like a nobody, and it leads to situations like this where we don’t care about any of these people, despite most of them being great.

Also, Natalya & Tamina was completely the wrong choice to win. I would’ve preferred any other team as I think all of them would’ve worked better with Jax & Baszler.

12 – Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler(c) def. Natalya & Tamina
(Women’s Tag Team Championships)

Case in point…

Again, this match wasn’t terrible, and it showed pretensions of being something greater in places; I just didn’t click with it on a level I consider to be anything meaningful. I can be a bit harsh about it at times, but the truth is I don’t like Jax, Tamina or Natalya in the ring. I think they’re slow, clunky, and their movements are awkward. Conversely, I love Shayna Baszler, but she can’t make this match great on her own.

There were good spots. Towards the end, things got interesting, and there were a few good false finishes. I can’t call this a bad match; I just think it doesn’t compare to much else on the card. I also have no idea where the women’s tag titles go from here. All of these thrown together teams have been beaten, so unless they’re going to go back and fight one of them, there’s pretty much no one. Unless this is what WWE has Becky do straight out of her return, maybe she teams up with Charlotte or Asuka. I think that’d be a bit crap, though.

11 – Braun Strowman def. Shane McMahon
(Steel Cage)

Well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. However, when you have to say something like that about a match, something’s already gone very wrong.

There wasn’t anything functionally wrong with this match. As stupid as it is to see Shane hold his own against Strowman, the match was worked well and told a decent story in the ring. I just had absolutely zero investment because the story leading up to this match was terrible. The pre-match attack gave a bit of justification to Braun not immediately crushing Shane’s skull in his palms, but when Shane started doing his weak-ass jabs, and commentary started putting over how he’s some elite striker, I just rolled my eyes and lost interest. Apparently, when Shane returned in 2016, everyone in creative forgot that Shane’s character’s whole point back in the attitude era was that, while he won championships, he couldn’t actually wrestle all that well and needed TONNES of help to get wins.

It wasn’t all bad, as there were some cool moments. When Braun did get to look dominant, it felt like the Braun of old, which I want back so very badly. Him ripping open the side of the cage was a cool spot that I don’t think we’ve ever seen before, so big thumbs up for that one. Then, of course, who doesn’t love seeing Shane get thrown off of something tall?

As I said, nothing exactly wrong with it, I just didn’t get on with it that well.

10 – AJ Styles & Omos def. The New Day(c)
(Raw Tag Team Championships)

Despite the relatively low placement of this one, I do think it was a really fun one.

The way the roles played out in this one was interesting. Traditionally, it’s the heels who cut off the ring and prevent the hot tag, but in this case, it was actually the New Day who got to do it. The justification for this was brilliant and played up to the idea that tag team specialists are much better at tag team wrestling. A crazy idea, I know, but it works. Styles was the MVP of this match, and the way he mixed it up with both Woods and Kingston was super fun to watch. The narrative thread of him trying to get the tag to Omos was precisely what this match needed to be compelling too.

Eventually, Omos did get in the ring and…yeah, he was alright. He didn’t do that much, but at this early stage, it’s unclear whether he was just booked that way, or that’s genuinely all he can do; that’s something we’ll get to in the future, though. In this match, it was the perfect way to bring the story to a conclusion. New Day did a fantastic job of making Omos look invincible, not just in their selling of the moves, but in how they reacted to just about everything he did.

I’m 100% behind the switching of the titles, and I look forward to hopefully seeing Omos grow throughout this reign.

9 – Bad Bunny & Damian Priest def. The Miz & John Morrison

I know, a celebrity match ranked higher than an AJ Styles match. Blasphemy, but I think this was a hell of a lot of fun.

In my predictions, I was cautiously optimistic about what Bad Bunny could do in the ring, and I’m pleased to say that my optimism was not misplaced because he really pulled it out of the bag. Obviously, he lacked the polish of a proper wrestler and couldn’t carry the sections between the moves very well, but that’s ok; no one expected him to. Instead, he impressed me with the vast array of moves he busted out and the fire with which he delivered them.

Miz was the perfect person to be on the receiving end of most of this, as his reactions to everything were priceless. He also added the necessary story beats to the match, as he got frustrated that he was getting his arse kicked by this tiny celebrity. The highlight of the match was, of course, Bad Bunny busting out a Canadian Destroyer out of nowhere and no one in the ring quite knowing how to deal with it. As much as it was a bit over the top, and I think the Canadian Destroyer is a dumb move, that moment was just beautiful.

What’s great is that Damian Priest didn’t feel overshadowed either. While Bad Bunny held his own, Priest was always presented as the one who could get in there and finish the match. Once he did get in, it was pretty much a done deal. He kicked out of everything Miz & Morrison threw his way and laid them out in short order.

Was it some wrestling masterpiece? No, but for what it was, I thought it was super enjoyable.

8 – Apollo Crews def. Big E(c)
(Intercontinental Championship)

This was a fun sprint of a match that ended in unexpected fashion.

Weirdly, I think the fact that this match only got 7 minutes was a bit of a boon to this match. I meant that neither men had to worry too much about conserving their energy for the long haul or blowing their big spots too early, they just went for broke right from the word go, and it was a bit of fun to watch. Both men got to show the intensity I wanted from them, and the match moved at a brisk pace through each of the spots.

My personal favourite was right at the beginning when they were wailing on each other with kendo sticks, but there was plenty to enjoy; the gong around the place, the fighting around the stairs and of course, Apollo’s beautiful frog splash through a table. I did not see the ending coming, but I am quite happy with it. Dabba Kato coming in and being Apollo’s heavy out of nowhere works for me. As much as I wanted Big E to retain, I’m thrilled Apollo is getting an IC title run with this great character, and I’m glad Big E didn’t have to lose clean.

The fact that it was so short and did end with interference means I can’t rank it TOO high, but I did enjoy this one from start to finish.

7 – Bobby Lashley(c) def. Drew McIntyre
(WWE Championship)

After the weather delayed the show by about half an hour, it felt like the wind had been taken out of the show’s sails a bit. The impromptu promos from everyone were really good, but given that both men had to keep themselves pumped up and ready to go at a moments notice, I think this opening match really put the show back on track.

It was a world away from their singles match at Backlash last year, and it just goes to show just how far both men have come over the past year. Lashley felt so renewed as a performer and like an absolute force of nature, while Drew’s hunger upped the intensity and led to a match that moved quite quickly. The thread of Drew constantly trying to avoid the Full Nelson made for some pretty dramatic moments, and it was mixed in with a lot of varied offence.

The finish wasn’t the best, but I don’t think it dragged the match down. Drew essentially losing cos MVP just shouted out, “I’m a distraction!” was a bit dumb, but I think it was a decent way to avoid Drew losing clean. On top of that, there’s the fact that he was in the Full Nelson for ages. Normally, it’s an instant pass-out for people who are in it but Drew fought back a couple times and almost broke it at the end. If WWE wants to keep this feud going past Wrestlemania, then this finish definitely gives them grounds to do so.

As for Lashley winning, I’m disappointed in the right way. I don’t think it was a bad decision, I’m just disappointed because the good guy I wanted to win didn’t win. Lashley has easily been doing the best work of his WWE career, and I have absolutely no issue with him getting to continue his reign.

6 – Rhea Ripley def. Asuka(c)
(Raw Women’s Championship)

It was Rhea’s brutality, and it was fairly brutal.

I had trouble ranking one because it was really good, but it did undershoot my expectations a little. It was a different kind of match to what I was expecting. I thought we would get something along the same lines as Rhea & Charlotte last year: an in-depth & balanced technical contest. What we got was more methodical, though, which is often a bad thing, but I think they did a good job of working the slower pace.

Rhea got to look quite dominant in places, which is absolutely what she needed, and Asuka settled into the underdog role really well. The balance of offence was interesting because Rhea had the advantage more often than not, but Asuka got on top sporadically throughout, making it feel more even than it was. With how quickly Rhea rose as a face in NXT, it’s easy to forget that she was a heel for the entirety of her run in NXT UK, and you can see how comfortably she fit into that role in this match.

The ending sequence was a bit quicker and more back-and-forth, with a bunch of exciting counters. Rhea hitting the Riptide out of nowhere was a lot of fun for the final spot, and it left me feeling satisfied with the match, even if it was different from what I was hoping for. Rhea was absolutely the right choice to win. Now WWE just has to avoid instantly giving the title to Charlotte…

5 – Kevin Owens def. Sami Zayn

As expected, these two put on a great match.

Naturally, it touched on a few spots from their previous matches in WWE (of which there have been a few). The classic spot where they just wail on each other was in there at one point, along with teasing the powerbomb onto the apron. With the Pop-Up Powerbomb right at the start, followed immediately by the apron Brainbuster, it feels like the match skipped to the middle and just went from there. Given that they only had 10 minutes, I actually think it was quite a good way to deal with the time constraints.

Sami got to look a lot better than I thought he would, and I’m glad that WWE is remembering that Sami is actually a brilliant wrestler, not just a comedy guy. This felt like the right place for Owens to be following his feud with Reigns, where he lost at every juncture. Not just because he got the win, but because it’s something that felt meaningful to him, he still got to stand up for something and be challenged, only to come out on top in the end.

The post-match stuff was fairly predictable, but I’ll always be pleased with a cunt like Logan Paul getting Stunnered.

4 – Sheamus def. Riddle(c)
(United States Championship)

I did not expect this one to be this good, but I am thrilled we got to see it because it blew my expectations out of the water.

Despite Sheamus putting on some great singles matches so far this year, the concept I had of him from the early 2010s still lingered in my mind. The idea that he was just this boring guy who was alright sometimes but didn’t deserve anything too major. I realised during this match that I was completely wrong to hold onto that vision for so long.

This was a case where two guys just clicked in the ring and led each other to one hell of a match. It was medium-paced but played with a lot of hard-hitting offence that kept the level of intensity bubbling away, only releasing the pressure in a select few high spots. Things like the belly-to-belly off the top, the wide array of counters, and of course, the finishing spot were all brilliant. In almost any other match on the card, a significant botch like the one they had would’ve risked killing it, but it barely felt like a blip on the radar because of how much I was into the match by that point.

The finish was the highlight, with Sheamus kneeing Riddle in the face while Riddle was upside-down attempting a Moonsault. Yes, it wasn’t as good as when Adam Cole & Ricochet did it, but who cares? It still looked brutal and bloody awesome. I would’ve preferred Riddle to win, but after this match, I have absolutely no complaints with Sheamus holding the US title for a while.

3 – Cesaro def. Seth Rollins

As expected, two great wrestlers put on one incredible match.

This one was fast and fun from the word go. It felt extremely balanced, and no man ever stayed on offence for that long at once. Rollins worked to slow the match in places, but it never lasted too long and gave us the rest we needed before the next extended flurry of fun moves. The main story beat here was that this was Cesaro’s first singles match at Wrestlemania, and he made it clear he should’ve been getting them for years before this as he pulled out all the stops.

There were a bunch of really inventive counters too. Rollins managed to turn a Neutraliser into a Powerbomb and then into Pedigree, which absolutely blew my mind because it happened in the space of about 2 seconds. Cesaro busted out a bunch, too, turning a Stomp attempt into a European Uppercut – a move that always looks brutal and impressive. Listing the great spots is all I can do because this match was just full of brilliant action.

Cesaro getting the win is fantastic too. I’m still not super optimistic about whether WWE will turn this into a sustained push, but he has this moment of triumph at Wrestlemania now, and no one will ever be able to take that away from him.

2 – Bianca Belair def. Sasha Banks(c)
(Smackdown Women’s Championship)

This match was tied with the Universal Championship match in terms of what I was most excited for going into the show, and BOY did it deliver. It was everything I’d hoped it would be.

This match was the culmination of Bianca Belair’s rise. Not just from the past year, but from the start of her run in NXT. In the space of about three years, she went from a wrestler who was kind of green but had potential into a fully formed main event star ready to claim her crown. Just looking at her previous major matches in NXT and you can see how incredibly far she’s come, and it’s such a joy to see her reach the spot we’d all hoped she would.

The moment at the very start of the match where Bianca took everything and had to hold back the tears was so precious and heartwarming. It told you everything you need to know about how important this match was to her and how hard she’d worked to get there. When the action kicked off, she was all business and – to the surprise of no one – these two had incredible chemistry from the word go.

Sasha has had a great run as a face, but she’s such a natural heel performer, and that was obvious in this match, where she took the role as the defacto heel, despite not explicitly being a bad guy. Sasha used her experience and confidence to press down on Bianca as much as possible, which was perfect for Bianca to fight back against. Every move felt so significant and carefully crafted to build everything to a brilliant conclusion.

Sasha locked in the Bank Statement surprisingly early, and from then on, Bianca did not let her get it a second time no matter what, which was a brilliant touch. The finish was also fantastic, with Sasha repeatedly finding ways to slip out of the K.O.D until Bianca caught her with no escape, made for such a tense sequence with a cathartic payoff when she hit it and got the win.

It was a beautiful match that steadily built to the perfect climax and gave us the heartwarming win we wanted. Easily one of main roster WWE’s best matches so far this year.

1 – Roman Reigns(c) def. Edge & Daniel Bryan
(Universal Championship)

Say what you like about the rest of the card, but you can’t deny that WWE nailed booking their main event scenes for this show.

By the time all three men made their entrances, I was ludicrously hyped for this one, and it did not disappoint. It didn’t move too fast, instead giving us a more tensely paced match that felt like it could end at any moment. The opening was the fastest section, where all three men just wanted to beat each other up. We then brought the element of Jey Uso in to give Roman the advantage before removing him from the equation for the bulk of the match.

From there, it was all the trimmings that make triple threat matches great. All three men cycled round, coming in and out of the match at certain intervals to ensure that the dynamic never got stuck on one path for too long. Things were constantly shifting and evolving, which not only made it more interesting to watch but kept that tense atmosphere bubbling, with any man potentially coming in and picking up the win at any moment.

The highlights include Edge locking in the Yes Lock, with the aid of a steel bar, only for Bryan to suddenly show up and ALSO lock in the Yes Lock on Roman Reigns before both men proceeded to headbutt the shit out of each other. My personal favourite moment was when Bryan pulled the referee out of the ring on Edge’s pin because I genuinely bought that as the finish before it was snatched away from me.

The finish was really good too. The Con-Chair-To is a brutal looking move at the best of times, but that doubles when done to Daniel Bryan. Edge’s choice to do it slowly gave Roman the opening to turn the tables and end it for Edge, and the way he pinned both men at once was just beautiful. If this was a year ago, the internet would’ve exploded with rage at the sight of Reigns doing something like that, but it was just perfect for his character. It makes Reigns seem truly invincible, and whoever finally beats him (I hope Big E, but it could be anyone at this point) is going to become an instant star.

This match lived up to the hype and will absolutely go down as one of the best main events in Wrestlemania history.

And there you have it! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and all my posts over the last week. Let me know what you thought of Wrestlemania either in the comments below or on Twitter @SStyleSmark. Finally, make sure to come back here this time on Saturday, where we go back to the world of video games and I talk about the characters that mean the most to me!

NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver: Every Match Ranked

NXT is back bay-bay!

This was easily the best show NXT has put on in over a year and is definitely up there with some of the all-time great Takeover shows. Everyone brought their A-game over the past couple of nights, which feels like the start of a new era for NXT. Both in a metaphorical sense with the rejuvenated roster and quality shows and in a literal sense with new champions crowned across the board.

I’ve got nothing else to say, so let the gushing commence!

12 – Killian Dain & Drake Maverick def. Breezango
(Pre-show)

There was nothing wrong with this match, it just doesn’t stand out on an incredible card like this.

Dain & Maverick have really entertaining chemistry. I enjoy the fact that Dain just gets tired of Maverick’s shit sometimes and does things like powerbomb him onto the opponents. It’s a shame Breezango didn’t get to make much of their tag title reign, but I think they’re great for spots like this when we just want to see a good match and some friendly faces.

There’s no way Dain & Maverick are winning the tag titles, but I can’t wait to see them try.

11 – Zoey Stark def. Toni Storm
(Pre-show)

This was in no way a bad match, it’s just this is such a stacked show, even a really good match like this isn’t going to get very high up the list.

It’s clear that the people behind the scenes at NXT are really high on Zoey Stark, and this win will no doubt do wonders for her. I’m a little sad that Toni Storm has had to eat so many losses as of late, but I don’t mind that much since this is just helping an already stacked division get another prominent star. Not much more to say about this one; it was a good match with a nice pace and a surprising but satisfying conclusion. Thumbs up.

10 – Johnny Gargano(c) def. Bronson Reed
(North American Championship)

Takeover lists are always difficult to write because I have to stress that even though I’ve ranked this as the “worst” match on the main show, it was still really good. However, I’ve got to rank something at the bottom, even if I like it.

To me, what made this match fall to the bottom of the pile was that it just lacked that something special I expect from Takeover matches. Functionally, there was nothing wrong with it. I admit, I’m not as big on Bronson Reed as most other people seem to be, but this match still had plenty of upside. A good flow, an enjoyable back-and-forth style that let both men look great in their own ways.

However, when you look at the matches I’ve ranked above this one, there’s just something about them that ‘clicks’ more to me. It elevates them to be something worthy of a show like this, where NXT showcases the best of what they have to offer. I enjoyed this match. I just enjoyed the rest a lot more.

9 – Bronson Reed def. Leon Ruff, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis & LA Knight
(Winner gets a North American Championship match on Night 2)
(Gauntlet)

There was a lot about this match that I really didn’t see coming.

For one thing, it wasn’t the style of gauntlet match I thought it was going to be. However, I’d argue it was better. This way kept it to a more manageable time for the show and gave us much more interesting action when the ring filled up with guys, rather than being left with a bunch of slightly too short one on one matches.

The different phases this match moved through kept the action solid throughout. The dynamic between Ruff & Scott early on felt like the kind of match I want to see a lot more of down the line, and as people kept getting added, chaos reigned, and things got fun. Lumis didn’t have nearly as prominent a role as I would’ve thought. However, it looks like his next major feud is ready to go as LA Knight, despite getting the short end of the stick here, got over as much as he needed to on this show.

This left us with a final three of Grimes, Scott & Reed, which was way better than I thought it would’ve been. They generally avoided any man powdering out, keeping all three of them in the action for the entire time until Grimes was eliminated. Once Reed won, I began to doubt my statement that Gargano would lose the title on night 2, but I still think him winning this match was great for someone who I thought wouldn’t get a shot until later in the year.

8 – Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart(c) def. The Way
(NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships)

These women’s tag titles are essentially going to be used as a mid-card title for NXT’s women’s division, and I am totally down for that if matches like this are the result.

This one was a very gradual builder, but that made the heights it reached toward the end feel earned. The bulk of the match is the solid tag action that you’d expect from any match like this. The Way did a good job with the divide-and-conquer style of tag work, and the hot tag felt worth the relative slowness that proceeded them.

As always in tag matches, the best stuff came towards the end when things broke down, and people were jumping in from all over the place. It definitely felt like the women involved just let loose and did whatever they felt like in this last section, and it made for a lot of great moments. I’m glad the champs retained and that it was such a solid match because it definitely gives the feeling that NXT will be treating these titles a lot better than Raw & Smackdown have done.

7 – Pete Dunne def. Kushida

I’ll be frank, picking Kushida here was a bloody stupid pick. In hindsight, of course, Pete Dunne was going to win.

My stupidity aside, I really enjoyed this match. I think it would’ve been better with a more meaningful story, but there’s no denying the incredible technical prowess both men had on display. Kushida keeps impressing with his matches despite the fact that he keeps losing, and it’s these kinds of performances that’ll keep him bubbling away until he can finally start winning again.

Dunne, meanwhile, met Kushida’s quick offence with a range of counters, the likes of which you’ve never seen. Dunne worked to turn everything Kushida did against him, and as balanced as the match was in places, it definitely felt like Kushida never really stood a chance of winning. Dunne was able to decelerate and accelerate the match at his whim and had an answer for just about everything Kushida could throw his way.

I don’t know what they’re going to do with Dunne next, but I hope it’s something meaningful because matches like this make it so clear he’ll be able to run with whatever he’s given.

6 – Karrion Kross(c) def. Finn Balor
(NXT Championship)

Is this good enough for you? People who hate Karrion Kross for reasons I still don’t understand.

I’d say this is the point in the list where the matches reach that higher tier of quality that we always hope to get out of Takeovers. Both men played their roles in this match to perfection. Balor’s strategy of getting in Kross’ head early on was something we haven’t seen in quite that way for a long time, and I loved it. The way Balor painted the cross over his heart and then laughed in Kross’ face every time he’d get chucked across the ring was so good.

The action wasn’t the main attraction of this match because the storytelling carried it better than the action ever could. Balor looked so clever with the game plan he came in with, and for the first section of the match, he actually looked quite dominant over Kross. This time, Kross’s presentation has been different from the indestructible monster we saw last year, and I prefer it this way. Monsters should look beatable but still manage to win anyway.

When Kross took over and put the beatdown on Balor, things got more intense, and the dynamic evened out a lot more. The part of the storytelling I love most is how drastically Balor changed his style once he broke free of Kross’ beatdown. Gone was the slow, deliberate technician, and in its place was a quick and deadly striker, and that looked to end the match as quick as possible. The final portion of the match was far more back-and-forth, and it brought everything together nicely.

Kross winning was absolutely the best choice. Balor’s title reign has been fantastic – better than his first – but it’s Kross’ time. It’s been a long time since we had a true monster at the top of NXT, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with the belt.

5 – Raquel Gonzalez def. Io Shirai(c)
(NXT Women’s Championship)

Honestly, when so many of these matches are so good, it becomes difficult to find different ways to talk about how good they are.

This match was a very clear clash of styles that they executed to a fantastic degree. Gonzalez’s ability in singles matches is understated, and I think that’s because her style is more muted than what we’re used to from the women’s division. I don’t mean that as an insult, to be clear, her movements are affectionately fluid, and she understands exactly how to work against her flashier opponents. Her power game is something to be envied, and she manages to mix it in with just enough fast-paced strikes and technical manoeuvres that she comes across as an extremely well-rounded performer.

This match wasn’t all about Gonzalez, though, as Io made sure that no one could forget her. She certainly had the most memorable moments of the match, with a Moonsault to the outside followed by a brilliant looking dive off of the skull (Speaking of, the set for this show looked really great). She understood exactly the kind of wrestler she was up against and adjusted her style to include a lot more of the muted but excellent technical stylings that Gonzalez is good at, and of course, got thrown around like a sack of potatoes at every opportunity.

This was a worthy send-off for Io Shirai’s fantastic title reign and crowned a new champion in spectacular fashion. Long may she reign.

4 – Santos Escobar(c) def. Jordan Devlin(c)
(Undisputed Cruiserweight Championship)
(Ladder)

I was unsure how these two would mesh their styles. As it turns out, the answer was bloody brilliantly.

I loved how they waited to get the ladders involved in the match. We got a solid 5 minutes of the match before either of them picked up a ladder for the first time. It gave the match a great sense of rising tension. It served the story as well, both men want to prove they’re worthy of heading up the Cruiserweight division, so they started out with some classic cruiserweight action.

Things kept building nicely once the ladders got involved. They still moved very quickly and incorporated the ladders into their offence in fun ways. It may not have been anything we haven’t seen in ladder matches before, but it didn’t need to be. The various leaps & falls off of ladders were the kind of spectacle we couldn’t see anywhere else on this show, and it helped this match stand out amongst an incredible lineup of matches.

As the match reached its climax, I bought into a lot of the false finishes. Which was helped by the fact that I really had no idea who was going to win. Ultimately, while I wanted Devlin to win, Escobar is probably the better choice. He’s been on a roll like few others since winning the interim title, and hopefully, Devlin can set his sights on a certain champion over in the UK…

3 – MSK def. Grizzled Young Veterans & Legada Del Fantasma
(NXT Tag Team Championships)

Chaos, that’s what this match was. Pure, non-stop chaos. What more could you possibly want?

It’s no secret that, in general, I like my wrestling fast and crazy, so this match was always going to tick all of my boxes. Having three amazing teams like these in the ring was a recipe for success from the word go, and they still managed to exceed my expectations. Every person in all three teams seemed to be in the perfect place at the perfect time to hit the perfect move. There was barely a moment to catch your breath in this one with how well it cycled between the active participants, and no one was underrepresented.

It felt like the bulk of the story was between MSK & GYV, with Legada Del Fantasma playing spoiler to that dynamic, getting involved when both of those teams got too mixed up with each other. It was a really interesting dynamic. It only got touched on in a few moments, but it added just that little extra bit of emotional investment I needed to become totally absorbed in the match. I really bought into a lot of the false finishes here, and with each one, I fell in love with the match more. It was the kind of match that built to what I thought was the climax and then managed to build even further.

MSK isn’t who I would’ve gone with to win, purely because there aren’t many people for them to face right now. However, it is absolutely deserved. They are clearly a fantastic tag team destined for great things in NXT. Maybe they’ll hot-potato the titles once or twice, but I have no complaints about them winning the titles.

2 – WALTER(c) def. Tommaso Ciampa
(United Kingdom Championship)

WALTER really is just one of the best wrestlers in the world. His style is so unique, but it’s almost intangibly great. He can work hard, fast, monstrous or technical depending on what the situation calls for, and he’s a brilliant judge of which style is needed for what opponent.

In my predictions, I said this match would have a bit of all WALTER’s best title defences so far, and I think I was pretty spot-on with that statement. The primary baseline of the match was the technical prowess of both men. When the two of them got tussling in that technical style, it was a thing of beauty. There was a bunch of brutality in there too. WALTER’s chops could win a title independently, but Ciampa wasn’t afraid to chop back just as hard. The striking segments felt like they carried this match a lot better than it should’ve been able to, and it added that brutal feel we were hoping for from this match.

What’s brilliant thought was how it pulled in the underdog vs monster dynamic. The truth is, I don’t think WALTER actually ever looked that dominant over Ciampa in the match, and yet Ciampa’s performance still made him feel like the incredible underdog you just had to root for. As soon as the weakness in WALTER’s right hand opened up, Ciampa desperately tried to do all he could with it.

It was a mechanically flawless match with an emotionally resonant story that filled the match at every opportunity. I will honestly be shocked if this match isn’t in my top 3 when I come to make my match of the year list this year.

At the end of night 1, I really thought nothing could top this match, but man… there was something on the horizon I couldn’t have seen coming.

1 – Kyle O’Reilly def. Adam Cole
(Unsanctioned)

What an epic match.

To address some of the criticisms I’ve seen. Yes, it was a bit long. It probably could’ve been 30 minutes instead of 40 and not missed out on much. However, it really didn’t seem 40 minutes long to me when I was watching it. It gripped me so completely that how long it was taking didn’t even enter my mind until it was over. The other major one I saw was too many kickouts, which I disagree with, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

As expected from a 40-minute match, it was a slow builder but a gripping slow builder. Things started out thick and fast, as you’d expect, with a feud as intense as this one, but the pace slowed very soon in, and the brutality slowly ramped up from there. The two men managed to balance the hard-hitting action with an intense set of technical wrestling moves for a lot of it, which kept the action ticking over and kept me interested for when the bigger spots started coming.

The segment centred around the chain, I thought, was particularly good without how they kept bringing it back into the match in unexpected ways. It’s that kind of style that wins me over with weapons matches, where the weapons are used as exclamation points on the action, no the sole focal point on it.

Where this match went from “bloody great” to “match of the year” was in the back half, though, when things were a lot slower, but every move became really meaningful. The various Last Shot attempts & dodges, the fall through the stage, it all elevated the match into that “epic” style few matches can reach. The kickouts, though, the kickouts. People said there were too many, I disagree. The thing is, if you look at the match, Cole only really kicked out of one big move towards the end – the Last Shot from O’Reilly. O’Reilly, meanwhile, kicked out of loads, and that is precisely the point of the story. O’Reilly keeps coming back despite being utterly dead on his feet. One of the last kickouts, where O’Reilly barely gets his shoulder a few inches off the ground, was so powerful to that end.

O’Reilly had to win this to become a star in NXT, which is exactly what he’s done. That long shot of him walking away from the fight, utterly battered, is the look of a hero. I don’t know where or when, but he’s our next NXT Champion, and no one can deny him.

And there you have it! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. Please, let me know what you thought of the show, either in the comments below or on Twitter @SStyleSmark. Finally, make sure you come back here this time tomorrow for my Wrestlemania predictions!

WWE Fastlane 2021: Every Match Ranked

I must admit it was a show that surpassed my expectations. However, those expectations were quite low. I still think most of this could’ve been achieved on weekly TV (and, to be honest, probably would’ve given it a boost in quality), but it was a fine way to kick us into full gear towards Wrestlemania. The show as a whole really hit the whole spectrum in terms of quality, so we’ve got a lot to break down as I rank the matches.

8 – Braun Strowman def. Elias

I don’t care. I just don’t.

The story between Shane & Braun has been terrible for a multitude of reasons. For one thing, I have no idea what Shane wants out of this. Is he just being a dick for the sake of it? That’s certainly what it feels like. Secondly, it’s cut the balls off of Strowman. Once upon a time, he would tear apart Heaven and Earth to get his hands on someone who humiliated him like Shane did. Now he’s just been bitching and whining about it, asking for an apology and not actively seeking out Shane in the slightest. Finally, they’re doing stupid shit like pouring slime on each other, which is dumb.

This match wasn’t worth talking about, and I’m not looking forward to whatever form this feud takes at Wrestlemania.

7 – Big E(c) def. Apollo Crews
(Intercontinental Championship)

This is the match I was most disappointed by because I was really excited about seeing this one.

The bulk of the match was good. I liked Big E bringing the intensity early on and Apollo matching him as things progressed. I’m just so annoyed by the awful finish. I was hyped for this match. Apollo’s feels fresher than ever, the video package really sold me on the intensity of the feud, and then it just…ended like this. It wasn’t very well executed either. It seemed like a botch at first. WWE really need to clue in their commentators as to when stuff like this is happening so they can explain it to us. Having them confusedly ponder over what the hell just happened is a massive hindrance to the story.

The potential upside here is that they get a much grander match at Wrestlemania. I’m not entirely confident about that, I think it will probably turn into some sort of multi-man, but I’m hoping these guys get another go. I’m absolutely willing to see more of this feud and another one on one match as long as WWE is willing to do it properly.

6 – Riddle(c) def. Mustafa Ali
(United States Championship)
(Kickoff Show)

I don’t have much to say about this. It was a good but short match with some fun action, but no real consequences and a predictable outcome.

Seems like Retribution is on its last legs, and I’m certainly not mourning. I like everyone in that group, but they’ve been booked like absolute trash since the moment they debuted. They could’ve been something really special, but instead, they’ve been made to look like ineffective losers every time they’ve been on TV. It’s a real shame, but it’s time to abandon ship and let these guys loose. Break up the group, leave them off TV for a month or two, then bring them back as their old selves. Dominik Dijakovic and Mia Yim will be welcomed onto their respective divisions with open arms by the fanbase, so let them go there.

Riddle, meanwhile, is excellent as always, but I’m not enjoying his stupid backstage segments. I’m sure Vince thinks they’re hilarious, but I think they’re dumb and very unfunny. It’s the lowest common denominator style of ‘stoner’ humour that hasn’t been funny since Cheech & Chong did it.

Match was alright though.

5 – Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler(c) def. Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair
(Women’s Tag Team Championships)

Again, it was a perfectly fine match, I just wasn’t overly interested. I still don’t understand why this feud had to last a second month. It’s not achieved anything.

Jax & Baszler teased some tension at the start of the match but then completely forgot about it after the first incident. Banks & Belair looked to be a pretty solid team early on but then fell apart towards the end over basically nothing. Now, all that’s happened is that both the challenger and champion for one of your biggest Wrestlemania matches have lost twice on PPV to women who WWE don’t think are good enough for singles titles, so now no-one has any momentum.

That said, functionally, I enjoyed the match. Things weren’t fantastically paced, but it held my interest the entire way through, and it never felt like there was too much of a lull in the action. I’d just really like to get on with this Banks/Belair feud already because I think it’s going to be brilliant.

4 – Alexa Bliss def. Randy Orton

So this a bit weird, kinda cool and did what it set out to do well.

This is one of those stories that has been simmering for so long, I’d forgotten that it could actually get really interesting when it wanted to. The black goop thing was a good starting point, and I like how it escalated from there. The fireball was a bit goofy, but they framed the shot well. I really liked the light fixture falling; that’s the kind of thing we don’t see very often, and it made for a surprising and tense moment.

It climaxed, as we all knew it would, with the return of The Fiend. Again, this was really well done. The canvas breaking slowly with the light pouring through, then the burst of flame followed by the hand rising up. Proper horror movie stuff and a lot of fun to watch. I’m glad he’s not just The Fiend as we knew him either. He’s now burned and deformed, let’s keep that as much as possible going forward.

Ultimately, it was all just set-up for Wrestlemania, but it made for a cool segment.

3 – Seth Rollins def. Shinsuke Nakamura

There’s honestly nothing complicated about this one. WWE took two very experienced wrestlers who wrestle similar flashy & technical styles, gave them 12 minutes and let them have a match. There was no way a match like that could be bad, and it delivered. Was it a match of the year contender? No, but not everything needs to be.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Seth, and since he returned, he’s mostly just been talking rather than wrestling. This was the opportunity we needed to remind ourselves of what he can do in the ring and why he’s something worth being excited about. I’ve criticised his character for not evolving recently, but he doesn’t necessarily need to when he’s putting on matches like this. Similarly, Nakamura knows what he’s doing and responded well to what Rollins threw his way.

It wasn’t the most spectacular match ever, but I don’t have any significant criticisms, and I enjoyed what I watched.

2 – Drew McIntyre def. Sheamus
(No Holds Barred)

My main worry going into this match was that it was going to feel very similar to their excellent match on Raw a few weeks ago. Thankfully, they didn’t fall into that trap and made something that felt very different. As we’ve seen between these two, a slower and heavier pace works wonders for them. Against other men, I find this style boring from Sheamus, but when he’s in there against someone like Drew who can match him, he seems to up his game; his various matches with Cesaro over the years are further proof of that.

I liked the stuff in and around the ring are the best. Those sections served as good bookends to the match, and I think were when things were at their most intense. It seemed like neither man could get an edge on the other during those segments, which is what I want. These two absolutely should feel evenly matched, just by looking at them. The higher spots out in the crowd aren’t my cup of tea, but I can appreciate the spectacle. Sheamus going through some of the screens was a surprising moment, and I feel like they took the piss out of AEW a bit with those sparks.

The result was the right one. I saw some people arguing that Sheamus should’ve won since Drew’s got the Mania match anyway, but I’m not on board with that logic. Yes, it would’ve been a nice boost for Sheamus, but Lashley is being presented as a world-beater right now and having Drew go into Mania on a loss would’ve been a terrible decision. The way things are looking now, I’m excited for Lashley vs Drew at Mania, which is what WWE want.

1 – Roman Reigns(c) def. Daniel Bryan
(Universal Championship)

I was very pessimistic about the direction of this feud. I thought this match would be all we got. However, they have 100% proved me wrong. The tension between Bryan & Edge in the build was great to watch, but I thought it was all a tease; however, with the booking in this match (and confirmation from Meltzer), it looks like a triple threat is on the cards for Wrestlemania. I am overjoyed that that’s the case, and I officially withdraw all of the complaining I’ve been doing recently about the timing of this feud.

I loved the way this match was structured. The extended period at the beginning, where they locked up over and over was wonderful. Bryan was undoubtedly going into this match as an underdog, but that opening section showed that Bryan is no underdog. He is evenly matched with Reigns, and Reigns knows it. They played it really well with Reigns having a clear power advantage, but Bryan could tie him up in knots at a moments notice. I loved how, even in the sections where Reigns was dominant, Bryan could lock in some kind of hold on Reigns.

The finish was a bit convoluted, but given that we’re building to a Wrestlemania world title match, why not be a bit extra? It’s set up both Bryan & Edge to be shades of grey in terms of their alignment over the coming weeks, which should make for engrossing storytelling. On top of that, I’m now not so confident that Reigns will retain his title. If it was just Reigns vs Edge, I’d be sure Reigns would retain, but with a triple threat, I now think all three men have a pretty equal chance of coming out as champion.

It was a brilliant way to set the stage for Wrestlemania and an enjoyable match to boot.

And there you have it! Those are my thoughts on Fastlane! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. Please, let me know what you thought of the show, either in the comments below or on Twitter @SStyleSmark. Finally, make sure to come back here this time on Saturday, where I’ll be ranking all of the rivals from the Pokemon games!