In Your House

[Brian Fowler]

It's scary to me how much better I remember the shows from 1997 than from 2016.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Money in the Bank 2016.

The Golden Truth Vs Breezango (kickoff match): This was a comedy match. The premise was that the Golden Truth had locked Breezango in a tanning booth, so they were both sunburnt. Fine for what it is, with Golden Truth picking up their first ever win as a team.

The Dudley Boyz Vs Lucha Dragons (kickoff match): I don't want to see the Dudleys ever again. Standard pre-show stuff, with the faces going over.

The New Day Vs Enzo and Cass Vs The Vaudevillains Vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson: Nothing really memorable about this one, although it was fine. More of a standard defense for the New Day. I enjoyed seeing the Vaudevillains again. I love their entrance.

Baron Corbin Vs Dolph Ziggler: This is, what, the third show in succession that these two have wrestled. I enjoyed the first two matches enough, but I don't really need to see another one. Another fine match, but this show isn't exactly setting the world on fire thus far.

Charlotte and Dana Brooke Vs Natalya and Becky Lynch: It says something when Dana Brooke is the standout performer in a match. Becky doesn't get much chance to shine, Natalya is shit, and Charlotte is very dull. At least Dana, who I don't rate at all, brings a bit of character to proceedings. Charlotte beats Natalya yet again, and after the match Nattie snaps and beats down poor Becky. The heel turn was well executed. Nattie looked so much better just cutting loose and beating the shit out of Becky.

Apollo Crews Vs Sheamus: I think I sighed in disappointment when Crews was announced as Sheamus's opponent. I was expecting Cesaro. To be fair, they work a decent little match, but it's hard to care. Crews picks up the upset win.

AJ Styles Vs John Cena: Okay, here we go. Big match atmosphere like only Cena can provide. Very pro-AJ crowd, as you'd expect. They get lots of time and have a good match. I'd never seen this one before. I hated the other two big matches they had, but thought this one was good. A lot more restrained. A lot more feeling each other out and showing their respective strengths, rather than just running through signature stuff. More character work, I guess. The finish is a big letdown of course, but it's to build the rivalry and storyline, so I can forgive it.

Dean Ambrose Vs Kevin Owens Vs Chris Jericho Vs Alberto Del Rio Vs Cesaro Vs Sami Zayn: This is a good ladder match. Maybe it's that 6 is just the right number of people for these things, and you can let things breathe a bit more. They certainly went all out with more emphasis on hard-hitting stuff than elaborate stunts. Owens in particular took a couple of crazy bumps, including one of a ladder that was lying on its side, which looked really cool and painful. Cesaro was my man of the match. The sequence where he was destroying everyone was really fun. Ambrose picks up the feel good win.

Rusev Vs Titus O'Neill: This starts off awesome with Rusev talking trash to Titus's kids who are at ringside, and then a big double clothesline on the outside. It kinda settled into a bit of a routine after that. Rusev looks great as always, and this kind of short bombfest is right in his wheelhouse. O'Neill is fine, but you just get the impression that he's always been raw, untapped potential, and never really developed beyond that. I enjoyed this match though.

Roman Reigns Vs Seth Rollins: This was a decent match, but it's really weird that Rollins was wrestling as a complete babyface here. Like, not in a 'Rollins doesn't know how to work heel' kind of way, but he's totally getting all the shine, and being made to look good in all the exchanges. And his win is really framed as a total feel-good moment. Just weird considering he's still a heel here, and also with what followed.

Dean Ambrose Vs Seth Rollins: Which is this cash-in. I enjoyed this a lot. First, because fuck Seth Rollins. But also because this was such a good poetic justice moment. Like when Punk cashed in on Edge. The crowd erupted and Ambrose really sold it with his intensity. Really good way to finish the show.

Match of the night: Cena/AJ- 3 1/2 stars. The ladder match gets 3 stars, and I'll give Reigns/Rollins 3 stars too.

Show rating: A show of two halves really. The first half of the show, up to the Cena/Styles match is, while not bad, very forgettable, and a lot of filler. When you get to the main matches, things pick up, and I'd say they all deliver to some degree. I'd go maybe 3 1/2 stars for the show.

[Captain Kronos]

On 2/9/2018 at 8:01 PM, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

WWE Extreme Rules 2015.

Roman Reigns Vs The Big Show: Last Man Standing Match. I'm not typically a fan of last man standings, but this one hits all the right notes for me. Every now and then Show just nails a great big man performance, looking like an absolute beast, but being vulnerable at the right times. Reigns is great working from underneath, and I loved his 'gimmick' during this time of taking lots of abuse but not staying down. It seemed way more believable than your typical main event face getting beat up all match but overcoming the odds (not talking about anyone in particular there, honest guv). The big spots, like Reigns being chokeslammed through tables, and the old spear through the barricade, all looked good, and the counts didn't hinder the flow of the match, or seem like too much of a way to contrive a sense of drama. One gripe: the big spear through the announce table should have been the match-ender. Roman overturning the table onto Show, while it looked quite nasty, was unnecessary in my opinion, and the referee shouldn't count when Reigns was standing on top of the table anyway.

 

Just watched this one based on your writeup, and I am now wondering if this is my favorite Show match ever. Both dudes did just about everything perfectly. I really dug the swerve with the SAT being broken unexpectedly, and I appreciate how they set everything up for that spot earlier in the match with Show's using the steps and scaring off the announcers. 

I liked the extra table at the end. It looked cool, and it out over the fact that it took a superhuman effort to put Show down. I agree about the counting, but it didn't ruin it for me. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Battleground 2016.

The Usos Vs Breezango (kickoff match): This is a fun little match. The Usos are definitely a stale act by this point, though they can still produce in the ring. Breezango are a good lower-card act. Fast paced action but only a short match, with Breezango picking up the upset win.

Bayley and Sasha Banks Vs Charlotte and Dana Brooke: It's so cool to see Bayley get such a big reaction for her debut. I'm not a big fan of hers, but I think it's a shame the way she has been used on the main roster. The same goes for Sasha, who I am a big fan of, and who also gets a big reaction here. This hits all the right spots, giving Bayley plenty of shine on her debut, and giving Banks the win to further her feud with Charlotte. Good stuff.

Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan Vs The New Day: I was at the Raw where they showed the fight between the Wyatts and the New Day at the Wyatt compound. It was not good. This match is fun though. I don't think the storyline of Xavier being afraid of the Wyatts really worked. Or it wasn't really well-developed. Great moment when he finally snaps and goes after Bray though. Strowman is starting to come into his own as a monster, and we get some good strength spots from Big E, throwing around Rowan. All in all this is a hit with me. Billed as the last time the Wyatts will team as they have been split up in the draft, and they get the win.

Rusev Vs Zack Ryder: In a way, this is the perfect Rusev match. He has someone he can throw around and dominate, but who can also get the crowd behind him. The match is pretty short. And it features a couple of memorable spots, which you always seem to get in a Rusev match. Here you have Ryder hitting a missile dropkick off the barricade, which looks like a great desperation move. And then you have Rusev with the Matchka kick to the back of Ryder's head, which looked really vicious. Another good match.

Sami Zayn Vs Kevin Owens: Famously billed as the last match between the two, this earned the honour of being JBL's offical 'Call the police, these boys just stole the show' match of the night. These guys work really hard, and manage to up the ante on their previous matches, conveying the stakes (of which there aren't really any, but you know what I mean) and the hate. It definitely has an indie feel to it, with an emphasis on big moves and nearfalls, but I felt they really managed to go beyond just two guys doing moves, to weave their characters and history into the match. I find a lot of Owens' character-work kinda cringey, mostly when he shouts at his opponents as he's beating them down ("is this what you wanted?", "you made me do this", etc), but Zayn's babyface charisma evens that out. I also liked the finality of the finish, with Zayn taking everything Owens can throw at him, and then beating him definitively. Good stuff.

Natalya Vs Becky Lynch: This is the first kind-of-miss of the night. I mean, not particularly bad, but not really good either. Just kind of there. Not a fan of having Becky tap out either.

The Miz Vs Darren Young: I can see what they were trying to do with this match, but I don't think it really worked. This was kind of Miz taking his opponent lightly, getting his ass beat, and trying to escape with the belt. It's Flair defending the belt against the local guy and making him look good. But Miz isn't really cut out for that role- he isn't a dynamic enough bumper, or just interesting enough in general to make it work. And Young is a solid hand, but isn't really cut out to be the aggressor in a singles match. Young is really a tag guy, and if the company knew what they were doing, they never would have split the Prime Time Players, because that was the perfect spot for both of those guys. They do some stuff with Backlund and Maryse here to play into the finish. I know Backlund gets a lot of love from this board, but I mostly just see him as kind of a joke (unless it's 1994 psycho heel Bob, which was a great character). 

John Cena, Enzo Amore and Big Cass Vs AJ Styles and the Club: Really weird promo work from the babyfaces pre-match. I don't really have a problem with Enzo's promo work in general. The catchphrases are what they are (crazy over), and I usually think he's quite good at spinning off from that and telling a story with his mic work. I'm not really a fan of his shtick, but I think he's talented. However, here he cuts a really crappy promo which, not only has the fans lapping it up, but also has Cena and Big Cass figuratively sucking his dick over how good he is on the mic. I found it really weird, because all I was thinking during the promo was that he was shitting the bed a bit. On another note, it's interesting how different Cass looks and comes across here compared to shitty third-rate Edge Cass that we saw get his ass fired recently. He comes off totally like a star and you can see why someone thought he was worth a push. The match itself is a bit of a disappointment. Although maybe not really since Enzo and Cass aren't exactly known for their strong ring-work, and I don't care for Gallows and Anderson either. Cena picks up the win over AJ, and those two have the only exchanges that are really worth remembering.

As this show starts to lose steam, the last thing we need is the Highlight Reel with guest, Randy Orton. Orton is making his big comeback from whatever injury he had this time. Despite this, the fans don't seem to give much of a shit about him. he talks about his upcoming match with Brock Lesnar, makes fun of Jericho a bit, and then hits an RKO to end the segment. Orton is as bad as it gets.

Dean Ambrose Vs Roman Reigns Vs Seth Rollins: This is really slow to get going, and I didn't care for the finish at all, but from the moment Ambrose and Rollins decide their best shot is to team up and take out the Big Dog this is pretty damn fun. So the finish is Roman no-selling a buckle bomb in order to hit a Superman Punch and follow up with a spear, only for Ambrose to come in and hit Dirty Deeds on Reigns to pick up the win and retain the title. It was the no-sell that annoyed me. Rollins and Ambrose both hitting dives on Reigns, and then powerbombing him through a table was cool, and the more kind of out of control the match was, the better it was, which is pretty much always the rule for these things. We were all fantasy booking Shield triple threats during this time-frame, and while this probably didn't live up to the fantasy, I did enjoy the match.

Match of the night: I think I have to give it to Owens and Zayn. On a night of strong matches, there's probably stood out as the most meaningful. 3 1/2 stars. 3 stars for the women's tag, the Wyatts match, Rusev/Ryder and the main event.

Show rating: A sneaky great show. Lots of fun stuff, a slight lull at the back end, but then a fun main event to end on a high note. I really enjoyed this one. 3 3/4 stars.

[John from Cincinnati]

The Shield triple threat was very good. But I feel like they missed the hottest time to run it by at least a year. 

Though I’m sure I’ll love the sequel in the near future.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

On 5/31/2018 at 1:49 AM, Brian Fowler said:

It's scary to me how much better I remember the shows from 1997 than from 2016.

You're not alone. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Backlash 2016.

This is the point at which I started watching all of the pay-per-views regularly again. I really liked this show at the time, so let's see if that still holds true.

Baron Corbin Vs Apollo Crews (kickoff match): I'm gonna say it; Baron Corbin is good, and should, at the least, be an established main eventer by now. I can't really remember him looking shit at any point, at that goes for here too, as this is a fun little match. I really like End of Days as a finisher too. Crews looks promising here too. Very generic though.

Becky Lynch Vs Alexa Bliss Vs Carmella Vs Naomi Vs Natalya Vs Nikki Bella: This has some good action, and I'd say is a match worthy of crowning the first SDL women's champ, in that the crowd were into it and the girls acquitted themselves well. And the right person won, which always helps. That doesn't mean I thought it was a good match, as I find these multi-person affairs inherently flawed most of the time. But it was satisfying in many ways. Interesting to see Alexa as the first to be eliminated, and her and Carmella as basically the two 'making up the numbers' girls in this (even though Carmella made it to the end). The Nikki/Carmella feud was a feature of the match, and I enjoyed Carmella eliminating Nikki. And the crowd was really into Becky for the finish, which was also nice to see.

The Usos Vs The Hype Bros: This is a lot of fun. The Hype Bros look a decent team, and it's nice to see someone so different (Mojo) on the show. Him with the running shoulderblock sending both Usos into the barricade was a cool visual. The Usos are different level though. Loved them as the ruthless heels who weren't going to play around anymore. I wish they'd have stayed in this mode, taking out dudes' legs, for longer. The Usos advance to a match with Slater and Rhyno for the tag straps.

The Miz Vs Dolph Ziggler: IC title match, that feels like quite a big deal, despite some nebulous stakes ("Ziggler has put a lot of pressure on himself", but they don't really tell us what that entails). Good match. I still think Ziggler can bring it in the ring at this point, and don't really get the about turn people did on him. The Miz has definitely stepped his in-ring game up, although I still don't feel he wrestles enough like the cowardly heel he should be. This probably went a bit longer than would be ideal, but they took the fans for a ride, and I liked the finish of Maryse spraying something in Ziggler's eyes to allow Miz to get the win, and to keep the feud going. A success.

Bray Wyatt Vs Kane: Was supposed to be Bray Vs Orton, but a Bray attack in the back spared us that atrocity. For now. Instead we get this. I'll take anyone over Orton, but Kane isn't exactly... wait for it... setting the world on fire at this point. This is no holds barred, and is actually okay. Orton runs in with the RKO to help Kane pick up the win.

Heath Slater and Rhyno Vs The Usos: A rare example of WWE striking while the iron is hot on an over act, and giving the fans a cool feel-good moment. Slater and Rhyno had an entertaining chemistry, and I was glad they got the win here. Good match too, as the Usos continue on their roll. Slater was really made to be a goofy underdog babyface, and Rhyno is a good clean-up man.

Dean Ambrose Vs AJ Styles: Cracking match. AJ feels like the guy who should be carrying this brand, although I would have liked to see Ambrose hold onto the belt a bit longer. Funny that the build-up to this match was based around dueling nut shots. Maybe that's just AJ's thing. Crowd was probably split 50/50 for this one. What I liked about this match is that just as you felt they were peaking, they would ramp it up another notch. And not just through hitting bigger moves, but through elevating the sense of urgency and desperation, and through selling the effects of the battle. Both guys had some strong selling moments, particularly Ambrose. This is probably as good as Ambrose has looked in-ring for a good while actually. 

Match of the night: This show saved the best until last with the main event. I'd give that 3 1/2 stars. 3 stars for Corbin/Crews, Usos/Hype Bros, Miz/Ziggler and Slater and Rhyno vs the Usos.

Show rating: This definitely held up a couple of years later. To me, a great show isn't just about match quality. It's about delivering on angles, it about having the right booking decisions, and it's about cultivating some sense of hope or good will for the future. That last one is one that WWE consistently misses on. But this show had all of those things. I would say every result was the correct one, or at least not a bad one, with Becky and Slater/Rhyno's title wins standing out as WWE delivering feel-good moments at the right time (as opposed to waiting until the fan interest had died down). Everything (save the Wyatt stuff, which consequently stood out even moreso) felt fresh and exciting. And, maybe most importantly, the show didn't feel like a slog to get through. A big thumbs up. 4 stars.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Clash of Champions 2016.

Nia Jax Vs Alicia Fox (kickoff match): Alicia starts a house-a-fire, but soon gets overpowered and beat by Jax. I've not got any time for either of these two.

The New Day Vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson: Tag title match. Speaking of people I have no time for, throw Gallows and Anderson on the list. Bang average. This was kept pretty short, with Xavier interfering with a trombone shot to set up the win for the New Day. I think I was done with New Day by this point in real time. It seemed like we'd reached that point where they were just holding the belts to break the record.

TJ Perkins Vs The Brian Kendrick: This was a solid enough match, but these really weren't the guys at this point to be showcasing the new cruiserweight division. I do like Kendrick though, so I'm glad he got another run. And I did like the headbutt after the bell to continue the feud.

Cesaro Vs Sheamus: This is the final match in the best of 7 series, which would of course lead to these two teaming. It's also the first really good match of the night. These two always go hard in their matches against each other, and this is no different. But this time they were busting out some new shit, like Sheamus converting a High Cross powerbomb into a nasty back breaker. Cesaro nearly kills himself with a suicide dive reminiscent of the Lita one against Trish Stratus. I believe that's the incident that led to him swearing off performing the move. A wise choice. He has so much great looking offence in his arsenal, he really doesn't need to be taking such risks. I remember at the time people were disappointed with the double countout finish, but it didn't bother me. I think these two worked hard enough and went through enough that the finish felt earnt. Not the most satisfying finish, sure, but I was okay with it.

Chris Jericho Vs Sami Zayn: Jericho is garbage. I feel bad for Zayn having to work with him here. He noticeably botches at least two of Sami's signature moves, and just generally looks bad. And of course he goes over. I guess Jericho has his place on the roster. I just don't think this is it.

Charlotte Vs Sasha Banks Vs Bayley: The work in this was pretty good, but I don't like when WWE structures these matches to have the heel basically dominate the 2 babyfaces in a handicap match-type situation. So this was much more interesting when it was Bayley Vs Sasha. If New Day's title run needed to end, Charlotte's surely did by this point.

Roman Reigns Vs Rusev: For Rusev's US title. This was a real good match. More of a Reigns-style match than a Rusev-style match, but Rusev is good enough to step up in this situation. Reigns takes the US title with a spear. This is a good feud.

Kevin Owens Vs Seth Rollins: This is a total snoozefest, and one of the most depressing world title matches I can remember seeing for a long time, maybe since the days of Orton Vs Miz. These two just should not be main eventing pay-per-views in my opinion. Or at least not against each other. There was a ref bump and a Jericho run-in to try to spice things up, and of course Steph had to get her mug out there. But this was a lame duck main event, just like Owens was a lame duck champion.

Match of the night: There's really only two contenders; Sheamus/Cesaro and Reigns/Rusev. I give the nod to the former for its more hard-hitting style. 3 3/4 stars for that one, and 3 1/2 for the US title match.

Show rating: This fell a long way short of Smackdown's first show, and it's amazing how much more fresh that show seemed even with a smaller roster. This wasn't really all that bad for the most part, but just felt very stale. 2 stars.

[John from Cincinnati]

On 7/25/2018 at 12:19 PM, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

Roman Reigns Vs Rusev: For Rusev's US title. This was a real good match. More of a Reigns-style match than a Rusev-style match, but Rusev is good enough to step up in this situation. Reigns takes the US title with a spear. This is a good feud.

I enjoyed the matches a lot. But this was also the height of contrived "Roman is the heel here, his opponent is the face" hot takes. That stuff got old fast.

I was lucky enough to see these two main event a house show once. They're never not good together. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Yeah, I should have specified that it was a good in-ring feud.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE No Mercy 2016.

The Hype Brothers and American Alpha Vs The Ascension and The Vaudevillains: This is a fun 8-man match, with lots of fast action. The Smackdown tag scene was looking pretty vibrant at this point. It's a shame how badly they fucked up with American Alpha. Even the Hype Brothers probably should have been more than they were. The babyfaces win in an exciting start to the show.

AJ Styles Vs Dean Ambrose Vs John Cena: I have no memory of them starting the show with the main event, and they never really explained why they did this. I assume it was just to try something different. I'm still not convinced that I'd seen this show before, but I do seem to remember this match. And how shit it is. Seriously, this is everything I hate about triple threat matches. It's just spot-spot-spot with no sense of story. They do the spot where two guys apply a sub at the same time, and the one guy on the receiving end (Styles in this case) taps out, but the match has to continue because the ref can't decide which one made him tap out. Which is a spot I hate, because you think by now there'd be a rule in place for this eventuality. Like maybe just have the guy who tapped out be eliminated. Anyway, Styles ended up retaining the belt by pinning Cena after a chair shot to the back. Which seemed a bit anticlimactic after all they'd been through, but I was just happy it was over.

Nikki Bella Vs Carmella: This is a fair match. I'm wondering if Carmella has regressed as a worker. I certainly don't think she's got much better if at all. But I always enjoyed her for what she was anyway. Just a shit-talking midcard heel. Nikki gets the win.

Heath Slater and Rhyno Vs The Usos: I'm loving Slater being treated like an actual competent wrestler. This is another fun match between these two teams. Although these are not high end for Usos matches. Slater and Rhyno retain after a gore.

Jack Swagger Vs Baron Corbin: I had no idea Swagger was still employed by this point. Seems like he could have been better utilised on Smackdown's somewhat thin roster, but I guess they'd pretty much given up on him. Still, he has a decent match here with Mr Consistency Corbin. Lots of hard-hitting and Corbin gets a good win with an impressive End of Days.

Dolph Ziggler Vs The Miz: IC title Vs career. Now this is a hell of a match. I think Miz may have been in better matches before (I'm thinking vs Bryan and vs Morrison), but I don't think I've ever seen a better individual performance from him. He's great with his heeling here, and really does well controlling the match not by looking dominant, but by being a complete shit. Dolph for his part puts in a strong babyface performance. And the crowd is super into it, biting on all the nearfalls. I was actually very impressed with all aspects of this. They maybe overbooked the finish a bit. The call back to the last show with Maryse spraying Dolph in the face was fine, and led to a really good nearfall. Not sure we needed the Spirit Squad run-in though. But Dolph overcoming the odds for the big win felt like a really cool, genuine moment that the fans really popped for. Quality stuff.

Alexa Bliss Vs Naomi: So this was supposed to be Alexa challenging Becky for the women's title, but Becky was injured. I can't remember what happened to her. So Alexa gets this match against a mystery opponent, who turns out to be Naomi. Man, this is a bad match. Very divas era. No evidence here that Alexa was deserving of this spot. Certainly seems like she was just an easy first defense for Becky. I almost wonder if that was supposed to be the case, but Becky getting injured and having to miss the show pissed someone off. Naomi doesn't look much better here either, for the record. She pinned Alexa in what almost seemed to be a mistake.

Bray Wyatt Vs Randy Orton: The downside of opening the show with your main event is that you need something else big to end on. This wasn't it. Very cold match, very boring. They really should have gone with the IC title in hindsight to end on. Not even in hindsight. Anyone could have told them that before the show. The only cool thing about this was the return of Luke Harper, which gave Bray the win. 

Match of the night: Definitely the Miz/Ziggler match, which had some great wrestling, big stakes and a hot crowd. 4 stars. I'd give 3 stars to that 8-man tag.

Show rating: This is certainly a big step down from Backlash, even if the roster does still feel fresh and interesting. They just didn't have the right matches on the night. Still one excellent match and 2 or 3 that were good, enjoyable or perfectly fine. 2 3/4 stars.

[John from Cincinnati]

2 hours ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

AJ Styles Vs Dean Ambrose Vs John Cena: I have no memory of them starting the show with the main event, and they never really explained why they did this. I assume it was just to try something different.

The second Trump-Clinton debate was being held about an hour into the show. So they ran the main event early to wring some social media buzz out of the show before the world turned its eyes to the circus. 

IIRC, Swagger had a decent match with Corbin on a Main Event earlier that year. Totally forgot about that till just now. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Thanks for the info. That makes sense. 

 

[tbarrie]

My problem with that triple-threat match was that it exposed how stupid the "no DQs in a triple-threat match" rule is. Why did they spend twenty minutes fighting unarmed if they had carte blanche to use weapons? Made Cena and Ambrose look like giant idiots, and Styles like only slightly less of an idiot for taking so long to figure it out.

[John from Cincinnati]

When they went with the double submission, I thought for a brief moment at the time that maybe they'll do something interesting and book Cena vs Ambrose for the belt at the end of the night to get some eyes back after the debate.

Couldn't be worse than what they went with. 

[Just Dave]

Iirc, hype bros were being set up to play the American alpha “underdog” spot for the Wyatt’s and then Ryder’s knee exploded in that battle royal he won. Might’ve been his last real shot...

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Hell in a Cell 2016.

Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado and Sin Cara Vs Tony Nese, Drew Gulak and Ariya Daivari (kickoff match): This is okay. It's kind of a mid-range Nitro lucha match. Sin Cara seems a bit heavy for this division. I like Alexander and especially Gulak. But it's kind of a situation where no-one has a reason to care much about these guys, and they're not really allowed to do anything too crazy to steal the show like the Nitro guys were. Babyfaces go over.

Roman Reigns Vs Rusev: We start we the first of what is billed as a triple main event. It's for the US title and it's in the cell. This started off kinda slow, and I was thinking it was a bit of a let-down, but it warmed up nicely. I still think their straight match last time out was better, and don't think they really needed the cell here. I mean, they did use it a bit, but most of the best bits of the match were just the two of them throwing bombs at each other. Rusev locking on the Accolade with a chain was a great visual, and I would have been fine (delighted actually) with that being the finish. But of course, Reigns won the match, with a spear off the steel steps, which was cool in its own right. I'd be so down for these to have another big programme together. Imagine this but with Reigns as a heel and Rusev as a babyface. I can but dream.

Bayley Vs Dana Brooke: Women in a piss break spot unfortunately. I liked Bayley but she's wildly inconsistent. Dana really has no business being in a singles match on ppv. It is what it is.

Enzo and Big Cass Vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson: Man, say what you want about Enzo, and I'm no fan of his, but he sure does know how to have the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. And it isn't just catchphrases that the crowd can sing-along to either, as some people like to say. He cuts a long promo here tailored to his opponents and full of word play and creativity. And say what you will about Cass, and I'm no fan of his, but he didn't look out of place in this setting at all. His own promo here is decent stuff too, and unlike his singles run where he just looked like a skinnier Edge, he actually looked big and intimidating here. This is a pretty short, standard match, with the heels going over. Things being what they are, it's obvious why Enzo and Cass never got a run with the tag belts, or a bigger run in general, but if you didn't know any of that stuff, it sure does seem baffling.

Kevin Owens Vs Seth Rollins: Our second cell match of the night. This needed to be a cell match even less than the US title match. I think I've said it before about Rollins that just because you can do something, it doesn't mean that you should. There's a spot here that encapsulates that perfectly. Owens sets up two tables on the outside. In the ring, Rollins gets the advantage and is going for a powerbomb. Now, bear in mind that the story of the match is Rollins coming into the match with an injured back, a back that Owens had been working on all match. I would have been okay with Rollins digging deep and powerbombing Owens through those two tables. But what happened is Rollins got him up, lost it, so that he's now holding Owens in like a Styles Clash position, but holds on and like dead lifts KO back into the powerbomb position and puts him through the tables. It was a seriously freaky strength spot from Owens, but not something he should have been pulling off in the context of this match. He could have dropped him back down, sold the back some, and then tried the spot again, which actually would have been an effective way to get over the injury, and his 'fighting spirit'. But this was just too much. This match also featured the spot where they trade superkicks and other big strikes like they're nothing, which I know I've seen show up as a gif on the board before. It sucked. The crowd chanted 'this is awesome'. This match had some really good stuff in it- mostly Owens' heeling. But shit like that ruins it. Chris Jericho ended up getting into the cell, turning the match into essentially a handicap match, and allowing Owens to retain the belt. This feud is hopefully over.

TJ Perkins Vs The Brian Kendrick: So, Kendrick is like a mini Drew McIntyre or a maxi Peter Dinklage. This is kinda like the last match they had. Solid, but not what was needed to get this division over. If anyone wanted this division to get over. And really, though I've always liked him, Kendrick should not have got the strap. They should have stuck with TJP until they could really build up a challenger the fans would get behind. This match didn't need the goofy "I need you to let me win" shit either, nor the finish that made TJP look like a gullible idiot.

The New Day Vs Cesaro and Sheamus: I was super-hyped for this, but that was tempered when I realised this wasn't New Day Vs The Bar, this was New Day Vs bickering partners Cesaro and Sheamus. It was still good, but you just always think of the Bar being Bar, and it's disappointing when you get something else. New Day are starting to get turned on a bit by the crowd. Definitely not as over as they were. I think they were getting a bit fatigued by this title reign. Good on New Day for turning it back around and becoming even more over after this. It was E and Woods for the New Day, which is my favourite combo, and Cesaro and Sheamus picked up the win by DQ. Really it was just to continue the Cesaro/Sheamus storyline.

Sasha Banks Vs Charlotte: For those keeping score, both Banks and Charlotte got a 'star' entrance, Charlotte carried to the ring on a throne, and Banks coming out in a car. This is a really great match. Easily the best of the night. They do a much better job both incorporating the cell into the match, and making it seem like there's a reason they're in the cell in the first place. The major flaw is how long it takes to get the match started after the powerbomb through the table. I love the pre-match brawl and the table spot itself looked great, but then it seemed to take an age for Sasha to finally get into the cell to start the match. Once in there she gives a great fiery babyface performance, bumping around and making great comebacks, all while selling the back. The monkey flip from Charlotte that sends her into the cell is another great, crazy Sasha bump, and the spot where she delivers the double knees from the side of the cell is a great hope spot. Charlotte is very good here too, but this is the Sasha show. I know some people have a real problem with the finish, and I get that. I think we've become so accustomed to one, or several finishers, ending a match, that Charlotte pinning Sasha with her secondary finisher seemed very anti-climactic. Charlotte pinning Sasha at all was very anti-climactic actually. But what I like about the way the women are booked is that they're not afraid to buck convention, and I think this worked fine as a case of accumulated damage doing Sasha in. In the context of another time or another company it probably would have come off better. But it didn't really detract from what was a fantastic match for me.

Match of the night: I give the main event 4 1/4 stars. 3 1/4 for Reigns/Rusev and 3 stars for the tag title match.

Show rating: Quite an enjoyable show over, bookended by 2 very good matches. 3 stars. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2016.

Apollo Crews, American Alpha and The Hype Bros Vs Curt Hawkins, The Ascension and The Vaudevillains: It looks like Smackdown was hurting for lower-card heels at the time, because that is a total jobber team. This had some fun moments, but you'd generally expect more from a big 10-man tag like this. Not the worst way to start the show though.

Heath Slater and Rhyno Vs Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton: Interesting to see how they worked this match, seeing as Wyatt and Orton are main event guys, and the tag champs, Slater specifically, had always been treated as jobbers until they got themselves over and got this run. Well, it was pretty much just a competitive squash, with new champs crowned. The more fun stuff involved the relationship between Orton and Harper, with Harper sacrificing himself to help the family pick up the win. I liked this angle until it became one of the worst angles ever.

Nikki Bella Vs Carmella: No holds barred match to blow off this feud. Pretty decent action. Carmella impresses again as a trash-talking heel. In the end, Nikki empties a fire extinguisher on her and picks up the win. After the match, Carmella announces that it was Natalya who attacked Bella at Survivor Series. Da da DUH!

The Miz Vs Dolph Ziggler: Ladder match. Miz is the IC champ again by this point. Yeah, I wasn't really feeling this one. I just don't think they worked it very smartly, and I have to put the blame on Miz for that. He just wrestles too dominant. Too comfortable in his surroundings. This shouldn't be a Shawn/Razor-type ladder match. It should be Miz trying to survive by being sneaky and nasty. This is a problem with Miz pretty much his whole career actually, and why I can't get on board with him as a top-tier talent. The booking in general does Ziggler no favours here. The spot with him tapping out to the figure four makes him look really bad. And then Miz just wins anyway. A bad end to a good feud for me.

Baron Corbin Vs Kalisto: Chair match. Now this is a good gimmick match, worked perfectly, with Corbin dominating and Kalisto using his athleticism to forge opportunities for himself. This has to be the best chairs match I've seen, and once again Big Match Baron delivers on ppv.

Becky Lynch Vs Alexa Bliss: Tables match. Now this is dire. It's kinda embarrassing that Raw has a ppv main evented by a great Charlotte/Sasha match, and Smackdown has this. The decision to take the women's title off Becky this early into her run was a really bad one, let alone to put it on such a poor worker. In fact, putting these two in a tables match to begin with was a bad idea, since Alexa can't even lift the tables up. The worst sin they commit here is just being boring. This misses the mark all round. Becky deserved better.

AJ Styles Vs Dean Ambrose: TLC match. Apart from the James Ellsworth silliness at the finish, this is a really strong main event with lots of exciting action and big bumps. Ambrose performs well here, but this is really the Styles show, as it is his bumping and athleticism that really carries the match. The highlight of the match is undoubtedly the springboard 450 through the ladder on the outside. Just an insane spot. Then the finish took the shine off things a bit. Why did Ellsworth come out to distract Styles if he was only going to end up turning on Dean and costing him the match? It was a shame because Styles and Ambrose put on a great match before then.

Match of the night: I think overall I have to give the edge to the chairs match, as a more satisfying all-round match. I would have both that and the TLC match at 3 1/4 stars. 

Show rating: This is a very hit or miss show in terms of living up to expectations, but I would say that the only actively bad match is the women's title match. 3 stars. 

[The Natural]

Reigns vs. Styles at Payback 2016 and Extreme Rules 2016, not only two of the best matches that year but two of the best in either man's careers. THAT Phenomenal Forearm driving Styles and Reigns through the announcers table at Payback 2016 and Reigns drilling the shit outta Styles in mid air with the spear from the Phenomenal Forearm attempt in Extreme Rules 2016. I await the time when they get it on in a singles match again.

[The Natural]

6 minutes ago, The Natural said:

Reigns vs. Styles at Payback 2016 and Extreme Rules 2016, not only two of the best matches that year but two of the best in either man's careers. THAT Phenomenal Forearm driving Styles and Reigns through the announcers table at Payback 2016 and Reigns drilling the shit outta Styles in mid air with the spear from the Phenomenal Forearm attempt in Extreme Rules 2016. I await the time when they get it on in a singles match again.

[The Natural]

6 minutes ago, The Natural said:

Reigns vs. Styles at Payback 2016 and Extreme Rules 2016, not only two of the best matches that year but two of the best in either man's careers. THAT Phenomenal Forearm driving Styles and Reigns through the announcers table at Payback 2016 and Reigns drilling the shit outta Styles in mid air with the spear from the Phenomenal Forearm attempt in Extreme Rules 2016. I await the time when they get it on in a singles match again.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Roadblock: End of the Line

Rusev Vs Big Cass (kickoff match): This is really weird. Weird that this match was even happening. This feud was a big step down for Rusev after the Reigns feud. Was Enzo injured at this point, or were they just trying out Cass as a singles more? Enzo and Cass get their long intro spiel, which actually turns out to be longer than the match, which is a quick countout win for Rusev. Probably the worst Rusev match I've ever seen actually.

Cesaro and Sheamus Vs The New Day: Kingston and E for the tag champs. Now, this is how you start a show right. Excellent fast-paced match with the New Day defending the tag belts shortly after breaking the record for the longest reign. And Cesaro and Sheamus are working properly as a team here, which is great. Man, they go balls to the wall here, and Cesaro puts in a heck of an offensive display. The highlight is Kofi small packaging him, Cesaro rolling through and standing up out of it, still holding onto Kofi in like a fisherman's suplex position, deadlifting him up into a vertical suplex, dropping him, catching him in like a powerbomb position, and hitting the Neutraliser. Seriously insane spot. And he follows that up with a corkscrew plancha to Big E on the floor. Great finish to this one to, with Sheamus and Cesaro doing a 'phantom tag', that is not actually making the tag, but with all eyes on Cesaro who they thought was the legal man, Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick on Kofi to win the match and the belts. A fitting end to the New Day's impressive reign. I loved the celebration from the new champs afterwards too.

Braun Strowman Vs Sami Zayn: I think this was a good idea for an angle, but that Zayn was miscast in this role. Like, why would Foley be trying so hard to protect him? The match itself is pretty well-worked though. You can see how much Braun has improved just in a short space of time since his Wyatt Family days. I don't think this ultimately did a lot for either guy, like I said.

Chris Jericho Vs Seth Rollins: Ugh, this is pretty dismal. I do appreciate at this point that Jericho is not trying to out-workrate Rollins, and is rather doing a lot of veteran stuff, and stalling. But still, it does not make for a good match at all. Owens tries to help Jericho but it backfires and allows Rollins to win.

Rich Swann Vs The Brian Kendrick Vs TJ Perkins: Not to beat a dead horse, but this cruiserweight division relaunch really was botched from the very beginning. Not a good match here, unfortunately. You do get the Neville return and beatdown after the match though, which is really cool and really well-received. Okay, the "Thank you Neville" chants probably weren't what they were going for, but any reaction for the cruiserweights is a plus at this point.

Sasha Banks Vs Charlotte Flair: 30-minute iron man for Sasha's women's championship. Hoo boy, this is not a good time for me to be watching this match. For anyone reading this in the future (which I guess is everyone, but you know what I mean), I'm watching this show right after Becky's "heel turn" on Charlotte. Time will tell how that turns out, but I do know I'm not in the mood for Charlotte winning another match that she should be losing. Man, watching this again pissed me off. The story was so obvious. Sasha finally ends Charlotte's ppv streak, winning the feud and moving on to something new. I mean, who has a fucking babyface tap out with 2 seconds left on the clock. And even after that, even after that, in the event of a tie, the champion retains, right? This is the second time I've seen one of my favourites screwed out of a title by an overtime ruling being sprung upon them. You'd think they'd fucking put something in the contract about that. That referee totally overstepped his boundaries. But mostly, fuck Charlotte and her stupid stranglehold on the women's belt. As for the match itself, it was predictably good, as these two always had good matches against one another. Funny how Charlotte never looked more the part than when in there with Banks. Banks put in another really good selling performance, which deserved to be rewarded with the victory and some fresh challengers to her belt. Oh well, we've still got that feud with Bayley to look forward to, right?

Kevin Owens Vs Roman Reigns: So, I'm not really an Owens fan, but I do appreciate that he at least tries to get heat in his matches. It's not terribly compelling seeing him stall and slap on chinlocks, but the effort is there. The story is Owens not being sure he can win without Jericho's help, and it turns out that he can't, as Jericho comes out and Codebreakers him to give him the DQ win. Rollins then comes out to help fend off Jericho, and both Jericho and Owens take powerbombs through announce tables. Owens sure has been booked like an incompetent goof during his title reign. Not a bad match, but they took a long time to get to a DQ finish.

Match of the night: It's certainly a two-horse race between the tag titles and the women's title. I think I'd have them both at 3 1/2 stars, but give the advantage to the tag title match based on the result being the right one, and not an affront to all wrestling fans.

Show rating: A steady show throughout, with two standout matches and other enjoyable stuff scattered in. Maybe not one you're going to remember, but not a waste of time either. 2 3/4 stars.

[The Natural]

Well said re: Banks vs. Flair.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

So, it's fitting that that show is called End of the Line, because this is the end of the line for this project for me. I'd like to thank everyone who read along, and offered comments, corrections, compliments and insights. You really enhanced the experience for me. Maybe I'll come back to this in 10 years or something, picking up where I left off. For now I have a new project that I'll be starting soon.

Here's the final tally for those 3 star+ matches:

Chris Jericho: 43
John Cena: 38
Edge: 36
Rey Mysterio: 35
Christian: 30
The Undertaker: 29
CM Punk: 28
Triple H: 27
Kane: 27
Sheamus: 26
Dean Ambrose: 25
Roman Reigns: 25
Dolph Ziggler: 24
Randy Orton: 23
Matt Hardy: 22
Chris Benoit: 22
Cesaro: 22
Jeff Hardy: 21
Shawn Michaels: 20
The Big Show: 20
Seth Rollins: 20

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

And for additional content, if you restrict it to 4 star+ matches, the list looks like this:

Bret Hart: 5
Steve Austin: 5
Triple H: 5
John Cena: 5
Mick Foley: 4
The Undertaker: 4
The Rock: 4
Edge: 4
Daniel Bryan: 4
Roman Reigns: 4
Christian: 3
Chris Jericho: 3
Brock Lesnar: 3
Rey Mysterio: 3
CM Punk: 3
Sheamus: 3