If you blinked, you might have missed it. Three title changes, and expected feuds will continue to roll on. The matches were short. Most of them. Some of the promos were longer than the matches themselves. Lesnar reminded us all what consecutive suplexes looked like while Cena took them like a…, well, an ex-champ.
In the pre-show match Rob Van Dam defeated Cesaro. I like both these guys, but it seems they are the new jobber fodder, and seeing them against each other just felt like you wanted to pity them. At least one of them got a victory.
The pay-per-view kicked off with a Hulk Hogan promo for the WWE Network. $9.99 folks!
Our first match was a solid bout between the Miz and Dolph Ziggler. The star of The Marine 4, came out in what appeared to be a tablecloth. Ziggler came out to a huge pop. Thank god. I say it was a solid match, because they stuck to a game plan and rolled with it. No big high risk moves, just a slow-paced mat match which surprisingly only lasted about five or six minutes. The real surprise were the “you can’t wrestle chants” directed toward Miz, I felt he performed well in the match, but I will admit, he just does not have the ‘IT’ which originally garnered so much heat from the crowd. Dolph kicks out of a Skull Crushing Finale to score the Zig Zag to win his second Intercontinental Championship.
Okay, we have the announce team, the Spanish announce team, and now… A German announce team? Four commentators? Holy crap.
In another short-yet-shocker, Paige defeated AJ Lee for the Divas Title. I do like this title trading bit here, haven’t seen anything like that in years. Good match, AJ and Paige seem to complement each other very well in the ring.
Alexander Rusev defeated Jack Swagger in a Flag Match. Now, I originally thought the way to win a “flag match” was to grab your flag from a corner, as it was originally done. Turns out, this was just a regular match, with the winner getting glory rights to respect their nationality. Swagger came out strong in this one, however it was the brute force and unrelenting power of Rusev which proved to be the decisive factor. Swagger, did not tap out, but passed out from being held in the Accolade Clutch for so long, the referee stopped the match. What transpired after was the real shocker, as Lana ordered Rusev to then attack Zeb Colter. Wow.
In the “get as many wrestlers a paycheck” match, otherwise known as a Lumberjack Match, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose stole the show. The match spilled to the floor, and despite the lumberjacks around ringside, the fight went through the crowd. Ambrose appeared to have the match in hand even hitting Rollins’ own curb stomp finisher. However Corporate Kane prevented Ambrose from winning, and amidst the confusion Rollins was able to clobber his former partner with the briefcase behind the ref, earning a pinfall victory.
Bray Wyatt defeated Chris Jericho in a good match. Not a great match, but a good one. This one was more about watching Wyatt constantly kick out and never quit. Jericho pulled out some good moves, but Wyatt put on the creep show which pushed the focus of the match on how it was more of a cerebral contest. Jericho wound up eating a Sister Abigail on the outside, then again in the ring. Wyatt rejoiced in his win, and clearly this feud is not over yet.
Stephanie McMahon defeated Brie Bella, when Nikki Bella turned on her sister, because someone in WWE Creative thought no one remembered the last seven times this happened. The match itself was slow and uninteresting. The only interesting part was Steph’s S&M looking ring gear.
In a match where the announce team had no material left, so they just repeated clichés involving Superman and Kryptonite over and over, Roman Reigns defeated Randy Orton. Good match, Orton brought his game with him for this one. Usually he sleepwalks through matches he is scripted to lose, but this time around he put on a very convincing show and worked very well with Reigns. Lots of counters, and each one had clear domination of the match for a decent amount of time. Reigns won following a reversal of Orton’s Punt, mauling him with a spear. Hard to say if this feud is over, or whether it will continue to Night of Champions.
I did say three titles changed hands, so that does mean Brock Lesnar defeated John Cena to win the WWE World Championship. This was a really good match, where Lesnar must have thrown Cena with about 20 or so German suplexes, a few of those parking the now former champion on his head. Cena had very little offense, getting one Attitude Adjustment and one STF in the match. Those were the moments you sit there and wonder if this is the part where Super Cena wins the match. This time, it was Brock who simply ravaged his opponent and scored the title win with a huge F5. Nice mocking of the Undertaker during the match, and I want to see another meme of Paul Heyman shouting Oh My God, this time with Brock holding both belts. Interesting notes: Brock Lesnar sweats WAY too much. It was pretty nasty, there were pools of fluid all over the ring.
Quick Recap:
RVD defeated Cesaro
Dolph Ziggler defeated The Miz to win the Intercontinental Championship
Paige defeated AJ Lee to win the Divas Championship
Rusev defeated Swagger in the Flag Match
Rollins over Ambrose in the Lumberjack Match
Bray Wyatt pinned Chris Jericho
Stephanie McMahon pinned Brie Bella after Nikki interfered
Reigns defeated Orton
Brock Lesnar destroyed John Cena to win the WWE World Championship
