Night of Champions X - 5/27/2023

[Norwegian Rudo]

What is going on with none of the women on the main roster being able to take Zoey Stark's finisher? I can't remember anybody in NXT having any problems with it at all.

[Infinit]

Does this mean they can no longer call Roman the "Undisputed Champion"?

[HumanChessgame]

The show overdelivered as far as I was concerned.

Styles/Rollins was good though Rollins is a completely uninteresting choice as champ.

Didn't pay much attention to Becky/Trish

Bianca/Asuka was great and Asuka going over was the right choice. The lack of a clean win makes me assume rematch at the next PPV.

I knew Ali and Gunther could have a good big man/little man match but was worried it would end up being an extended squash. Ali got a lot of stuff in and looked great.

After Cody's injury angle last Monday I assumed this would be a pretty quick victory by Brock, but we got what I thought was one of the better Lesnar matches in years. Cody going full Lex Luger with the Titanium Cast was a nice touch and I was halfway expecting Lesnar to get juice again. Cody's selling got a bit inconsistent towards the end but maybe because it's that my standards for Brock matches are so low, but I really enjoyed this one.

The main event was more of an angle than a match, but the actual wrestling was totally fine. Bloodline stuff has been a channel changer for me after Mania but this gives me a little more interest.

 

[EVA]

Yeah the logic of the cast was too inconsistent for me. One moment, it offers Cody no protection and the slightest jarring is intensely painful, the next moment he can use it to hit Brock full force with no ill effects, and back and forth.

In general, I think passing out in any submission hold that isn’t a choke or isn’t exacerbated by blood loss is a super lame finish.

[DreamBroken]

Becky/Trish was my showstealer match of the night. Loved this, got a good amount of time, thought Trish looked excellent and loved the finish too. Huge fan of Zoey so pairing her with Trish felt brilliant and I look forward to seeing more.

Seth does nothing for me at all so no interest there. The 'make Cody just another guy' Mania campaign is complete. Predictable main event, over all that.

Thought Bianca/Asuka was really good again. Love Asuka, so great for her, but am definitely sad to see Bianca's run finally come to an end, was a big fan of her whole reign. If anyone had to do it, at least Asuka was best choice.

[The Natural]

What a moment.

[The Natural]

 

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

Gunther's dropkick is probably the best of all time. It looks like it kills a motherfucker dead. Totally bought that as a secondary finish. 

+1 on not liking the set up of the Cody/Brock match. Just all over the place. Made Brock look stupid, having a kimura lock in for what seemed like a week, while Cody sort of sold it with an already broken arm. Story should have been about Cody avoiding the kimura, a few false finishes, and the second it was applied, an instant tap out, Brock not being satisfied with the victory and wanting a rubber match. Last Man Standing/Texas Death match where the stipulation now matters.

I don't think it made Cody look that tough or any more legitimate to anyone who already saw HIAC. It just stretched the suspension of disbelief.

Enjoyed the two womens matches (and Natalya getting squashed). 

Good show.

[ChrisM]

Great show. Seth is just killing it on every level imaginable.

[AverageKong]

Seth vs Aj was good. Hate seeing Styles come back and be put into a situation where he doesn't continue looking strong, but a good match nonetheless. 

I thought Becky vs Trish struggled. Not as technically sound as it could have been. If it wasn't for the crowd being into Trishs heel work I don't think there would have been any saving grace for me.

Bianca vs Asuka 2 was ok. I think the match focused on Asukas underhanded tactics, but the crowd didn't really feed into it and give her the heat she needed. Seems like the crowd didn't want to boo her, but couldn't bring themselves to pop for her heel work either. The ending worked well. I imagine they can draw Asukas reign out with another victory or a DQ loss vs Bianca. 

I want Cody to be the People's Champ, but I don't need to see him keep working these matches hurt and defying the odds.

[Ramo2653]

On 5/27/2023 at 3:40 PM, Kevin Wilson said:

As a big fan of Asuka I am happy she won, but something with that entire match didn't click. The crowd was the quietest for this match than any other on the card which didn't help, I am not sure if they were just buzzing down after the Ali match or fans worldwide were getting a little tired of Bianca's title reign. But the ending felt anti-climatic for ending such a long reign, it just all felt a little off.

I think it was a combo of the quick build so most people didn't think Asuka would win and the crowd not going for the match which might have been thinking the same thing.

[The Natural]

Edited May 30, 2023 by The Natural

[Sex Machine Gun]

That entrance and self-intro were goddamn magic. When's the last time someone cut promos/did intros in two non-English languages fashion within ninety days? 

[Dolfan in NYC]

Watched the show last night.  Though I knew the results, everything was pretty good - though you can definitely see the ring rust on Trish. 

And man, I've seen "I'm jobbing" face before, but Bianca had the first "I'm jobbing" braid I've ever seen.

You can literally see where in making the extensions, she was told the finish.  lol

 

[The Natural]

Before it gets taken down.

[The Natural]

Superkicks heard round the world.

[The Natural]

Sami Zayn:

Quote

I'm Arabic, I'm Muslim, all this stuff and that's my part of the world. I understand those people, those are my people.

When I went there, I got to go to Mecca, which was just a surreal, surreal experience. And then I also saw my Uncles that I hadn't seen in 25 years, I had cousins I hadn't seen in 25 years. I met my Great Uncle I didn't even know who existed. 

So, it was pretty heavy in a lot of ways, it had a lot of weight. And then the actual event itself and the reception from the audience, it's kind of what I've been waiting for for a while in a way because, again, I always felt I would have been the natural representative for those shows and I just wasn't. So, it was good to finally be put in that position.