I haven’t been reviewing much of WWE outside of their PLEs and SNMEs. This one had all championships and looked decent on paper with at least one guaranteed title change. At this stage, I only casually follow the stories but in all honesty most of what’s going on is super dry and few things interest me with the product because it’s predictable. So it’s become quite a chore to watch the main TV programs especially as endless commercials, little action, terrible backstage interactions and bad promos have become the norm again for content.
Cody Rhodes vs Drew McIntyre
After the red hot feud with CM Punk and once Cody won WM, I thought this could’ve been the big program. Drew is great as a heel. He’s doing the “real American Dream” and should keep that going for a while regardless of the opponent just because it’s a great little thing for him to focus on in his promos. Cody as the supposed main champion feels like a side character. I’ve stated that Cody pretty much is over because he’s got a great entrance and song. Once that music ends, it’s done for him. Match was forgettable to me. Nothing offensive nor truly memorable for both these guys. Drew not winning makes him look more like a chump because of the stipulation. Quite frankly, they should’ve let Drew win because Cody is really bland right now. Either way, the stipulation was pointless.
Tiffany Stratton vs Jade Cargill
This was the match I was most (morbidly) curious about since these two have some chemistry and probably gave each other their best matches. That said, this match was practically a squash match for Jade. They did some stupid backstage skit where Tiffany begged to continue (or bitched) and she’s just horribly unconvincing when she talks because she’s been placed in the role as a babyface but is awful at it. She’s far better off as a snooty athletic Barbie Doll type that pouts and lifts her nose haughtily at everyone.
At any rate, Jade dominated the bulk of this match. Tiffany sold and made Jade look great here. Tiffany works like a babyface but can’t coalesce her promos with her presentation. At least with Jade turning “heel”, she can bring together what she always should have been from the start: a domineering monster heel. She certainly doesn’t talk like a babyface and she can’t work like one. But Jade is best when she’s just tossing smaller opponents around. I’ve stated before that Jade is the female equivalent of Sid Vicious/Justice. Sid was awful as a babyface in the WWE (even if the crowd loved him) because he couldn’t cut a good babyface promo. And his best matches were all the squashes against jobbers.
Either way, Jade won in convincing fashion and got the title. Now, I am willing to bet that at some point Bianca will face her. Possibly Wrestlemania if they planned it all out for a major comeback. I think Charlotte could still have a singles match with Jade but at this stage, the main match will be Jade vs Bianca in singles. Bianca is better suited in a babyface role and they still need to resolve the story with Jade, Bianca and Naomi. At least, with Jade turning heel, Bianca can eventually return and admit that she was wrong and Naomi was right. So there’s a natural story there. Charlotte would be the interesting match to see if Charlotte can get something out of Jade but Charlotte has gone in a completely different direction in partnering with Alexis Bliss. The other match I couldn’t mind seeing is Becky vs Jade because I can buy a heel Jade beating a babyface Becky (not the other way around). At least, that would give Becky something to work with that’s different rather than trying to put over Lyra or that goof girl.
Dominik Mysterio vs Penta vs Rusev
This was the match of the night for me. I hate three ways of multi-person matches but Dominik is great. The stuff he and Rusev have been doing is fun. I’m still not convinced of Penta as he can still show some sloppiness. But there was only one moment that didn’t look great here. What I enjoy about Dominik matches is that they’re different. He’s adopted Eddie Guerrero’s Cheat, Steal and Lie tactics but it’s not the same thing each time. They did a clever spot where Dominik tried to get DQ’d by handing Rusev the chair to Rusev but since this was a three way, there was no DQ. In turn, Rusev got a sadistic look indicating “you fucked up!” So this is a case where the lack of rules in a three way actually made a LOT of sense for once. Also, when Rusev went to pin Penta at one point, Dominik rang the bell which caused confusion on Rusev’s part. I mean, this stuff is fun for me because they can get creative in terms of how Dominik plays this sneaky bastard and it really works. This is almost Wile E Coyote vs the Road Runner or Elmer Fudd vs Bugs Bunny but it’s different each time and makes you pay attention because you have something different to see each time. Lastly, it paints Dominik as this guy who’s been growing on his own (without Liv Morgan and the Judgment Day).
CM Punk vs Jey Uso
This was a guaranteed title change so that made this match have intrigue. I think it wouldn’t have mattered who would win here but in seeing the bigger picture, it made sense for Punk to get the victory. That said, this match wasn’t bad just no heat until the final moments for me. Jey isn’t an interesting wrestler to me so Punk doesn’t have a lot to work with here. Jey is the modern equivalent of the Junkyard Dog. Great entrance, over personality, talent ain’t there in the ring. And being compared to JYD isn’t a bad thing since he pretty much was the #2 most popular guy in the WWF behind Hogan back in the day. But JYD was limited (and had his vices) so you didn’t see him with a title. He was more around for the kids just like Jey and that’s fine.
Punk winning though gives Punk a final title run (assuming that’s what this will be) and he’s either going to put over Gunther or Bron Brekker for Wrestlemania. I think if they rush to have Bron challenge Punk, it’ll be too soon. That said, having Punk as the world title holder makes a lot of sense because whoever beats him is going to get a lot of credibility (and Punk should hold this at least until Wrestlemania).
Final Thoughts
The WWE is in a really odd position when it comes to the card because a lot of their plans seemed to have evaporated especially with Seth Rollins’ injury. Apparently, he’s going to be out for around 6 months which puts him after Wrestlemania in terms of making a comeback. I don’t know if Tiffany is really injured or just going to take a break/vacation soon. But the way that match against Jade looked made it seem as though she’s going to be off TV for a while and regroup. Cody continues to be the muted token champion but the real main event is now CM Punk. They did mention having a battle royal to choose John Cena’s final opponent. Given the way things work, I’m guessing either Gunther makes his return there to beat Cena and really push Gunther to the stratosphere, leading to either a CM Punk or Cody Rhodes Wrestlemania main event title match or Bron Brekker gets that spot. Gunther is the most logical choice if I were a betting person since he’s been off TV and could get mega heat for squashing Cena.
Dominik is quickly becoming the guy to watch. I’ve said the four next big people to be in the main event by next year are Gunther, Bron Brekker, Jacob Fatu and Dominik. Jacob apparently is out with an injury or sidelined so he’s going to wait another year to catch up. Bron could be that person but I think it’s too soon. That leaves Gunther and Dominik. Even if Dominik might not be the guy taken seriously at this stage, he might be more like the Rock where he suddenly becomes super over. The only thing is that Dominik doesn’t have size so he’s going to struggle at the top. But he has the psychology as seen with how he dealt with Rusev.
That said, if I were planning this out, I’d have Bron and Bronson Reed go after the tag titles and just squash everyone until Wrestlemania. With Seth gone, that does leave the door open for Brock Lesner to fill in the main leader role. But Brock doesn’t show up enough where it really is worth much. Gunther could be the guy that takes over for Seth but Gunther probably is best off on his own. I read the other day that Austin Theory was supposed to be another member but they’d have to change his character fast because he’s been too goofy and used as a jobber for a while. I could see Heyman rehabilitating Theory’s character in the group because he would fit in with this kind of young lions concept.
Not sure where they’re going with Jey Uso though. More than likely, we’ll see more of him and Roman with Jimmy getting alienated. Either that or Jimmy gets back with the OG Bloodline. However, is that just going to be the case of the sitcom that where the main characters never get out of their constant issue? Like the Bundy’s from Married with Children never finding money and happiness? If Roman were around more consistently, this could kind of work but Roman barely is around so there’s no real point of reforming the Bloodline if their day has passed. More than likely though, he’ll turn heel or go berserk and possibly blame Jimmy for not interfering (and he was there getting a cameo apparently).
Then what to do about Drew McIntyre? Poor guy is going to bounced between Cody and Punk. At least with Jacob, there could’ve been something different. But Cody doesn’t really bring out the best from people nor are they letting him for a person in that position. So he might be in limbo again unless suddenly he turns his attention to someone like Dominik.
At any rate, kinda meh overall. Not really feeling any of this.
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