A recap of last week's saga between Seth Rollins & Kane airs to start the show. Ever since Team Hell No, I've grown to really appreciate Kane and while he's not one of my favorites, he doesn't have that "ugh" stigma to him like he and many others did in 2008-2010.
TONIGHT: Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
We go live and John Cena is headed to the ring with his United States Championship and it's time for the open challenge! Or so, it seems. He teases it happening tonight, then says, right now. So glad this segment is back. I was expecting Heath Slater due to the social media banter, but no IT'S NEW DAY! This is so perfect. After some back & forth, they end things with the line "You're about to get lost in the Woods!"
1) John Cena (c) vs. Xavier Woods - United States Championship Match
Cena floors Xavier with a clothesline right off the bat. We've got serious Cena here and it's awesome. I forgot to mention that during the opening promo, Cena's response to New Day was that if they didn't get serious, he'd beat all of their asses. OOOOOHHHH. Anyway, the ref ends up throwing out Big E & Kofi as we go to commerical. We come back and Cena & Woods basically trade big moves & counters for a few minutes until Cena locks in the STF. This leads to Big E & Kofi running down which causes a DQ. They start beating down Cena when PYRO HITS! THE DUDLEYS RUN DOWN FOR THE SAVE! We've got a staredown! New Day and The Dudleys & Cena! I smell a six man tag as we go to commercial.
2) John Cena & The Dudley Boys vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods)
This trios contest is underway when we return. Dudleys & Cena are working over Kofi then New Day gets their control seg which as said before is the best in the business at the time. It's even better when they're working over someone like Cena. Big E hits his huge splash on the US Champ and goes for it again, but misses. This leads to the hot tag for Kofi & Devon. It gets pretty chaotic at this point. A near fall or two. Big E runs in and charges, Devon moves, BIG E SPEARS JOHN CENA THROUGH THE ROPES OFF THE APRON! I love that spot so much! The Dudleys nail the whazzaaap on Kofi then set up for the 3D. Xavier pulls Bubba's legs out from under him which allows Kofi to hit Devon with the Trouble In Paradise Enziguri Kick and get the three count.
Match rating - ***
Backstage, Kane is introduced to someone who will evaluate him tonight. Rollins comes in and says it sounds like a lot of pressure. Kane responds with the line of "Don't worry, Seth, I can handle the heat." Kane gets fired up, no pun intended, before immediately settling down into his Director of Operations persona and walking off happily with the lady who's going to evaluate him.
Ambrose & Reigns are backstage. Tensions look to be building and they do as Randy Orton walks in. Ambrose wants to help Reigns on his own. Reigns shrugs him off, slightly, but indirectly agrees to Dean backing him up. Reigns says if Ambrose needs help, Orton would be glad to help. Ambrose acts like he doesn't need any help and voices that by telling Orton he doesn't want any outsiders coming in to save the day. This was the first segment involving these guys that really sparked some interest in quite some time. It looks like Ambrose might be going to the dark side soon and he's such a compelling character that I'm already hooked to see what he does next.
3) The Big Show vs. Mark Henry
Finally, someone to job to Big Show that isn't a young rising star. Show talks a bunch of trash as he slams around Mark Henry. "I'm a damn giant!", he shrieks. I'm kind of thinking Brock will arrive at this point, but he's not advertised so probably not. The straps come down and Show lines Henry up for the KO punch. He hits it and this one is over.
Miz is out for to host MizTV with Charlotte & Becky Lynch. It isn't long before he gets kicked to the curb and we get some decent promo work from all the Divas involved in this story. The Bellas, Paige, and Charlotte & Becky. A brawl breaks out which leads to another trios match.
4) Charlotte, Becky Lynch & Paige vs. The Bellas & Alicia Fox
Another step up from all the other Divas Revolution matches. How/why? It has some build & heat behind it. Before, The "Revolution" felt forced therefore the fans still didn't care about the matches. Now, some stories and characters are really being made thus it feels more interesting all around. The in-ring action delivered and there was drama so this was quite good. Paige walks out and is confronted by Natalya who tries to substitue for her only to be pulled off the apron. This provides a distraction for Team Bella and Nikki pins Charlotte for the victory.
Match rating - **3/4
5) Prime Time Players vs. Luke Harper & Braun Strowman
Titus & Harper in the same ring? YEAHHHHH BOY! I love the idea of the Harper/Strowman team because 1) it gets Harper back in action weekly and 2) Strowman is just as good or better than Rowan and Harper carried him to multiple awesome matches so this a great addition to the tag divison. The outcome was pretty obvious here, but they went about it in the best way they possibly could. Titus got a hot tag after Darren was worked over. He had his chance to look strong before striking Strowman and he didn't move. They completely eliminate Darren then take out Titus, thus keeping him looking fairly good while also pushing forward Strowman & Harper.
Match rating - **1/2
The results of Kane's observation test or whatever are about to be revealed. Rollins comes out and shows a video about Demon Kane. Kane returns the favor with a video compilation of all the times Rollins has demeaned him or beat him down. The lady ends up concluding that Kane is basically an awesome individual. I agree. Rollins snaps and pedigrees him then beats him down with a chair. They stretcher Kane out and into an ambulance. Rollins is still rambling when cameras go back to the ambulance. It turns red inside, the doors open, smoke pours out, and IT'S THE BIG RED MONSTER BAH GAWD! He shakes off the leg pain which was a nice touch and starts marching toward the ring. He gets in the ring and cleans house. The crowd is pretty receptive to Kane here which was cool. He hits one of his KILLER upperthrust cuts in the corner before chokeslamming the WWE Champion. Crowd chants for Tombstone and Kane obliges only for Rollins to slip out. Saving it for the PPV, lads! This was pretty entertainig as a whole.
6) Randy Orton vs. Bo Dallas
They plug the Buffalo Bills who are at ringside. That leads into this match where Bo mocks the fact they've never won a SuperBowl. Randy comes down and makes pretty short work of him, much to the delight of the WWE Universe in Buffalo, as well as the Bills' players. Orton with the RKO for the win.
7) Kevin Owens vs. Rusev
Owens has left Rusev out to dry in several tags so here we are. They throw bombs early and head to the outside where OWENS TOSSES RUSEV INTO RYBACK! This turns into a pretty damn great affair. Owens & Rusev team up again and throw Ryback into the steel steps. They toss him in the ring and before they can do too much damage, Ziggler runs down for the save and RUSEV HOPS OUT TO MEET HIM! Ziggler ducks a clothesline and SUPERKICK! Owens flees as Ziggler hits the ring and Ryback gets to his feet.
8) Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns
This was a great match/angle. Both of these guys hit extremely hard and Wyatt's facial expressions & things are top notch. Just as the bout was getting good, around the 15 minute mark, I'd say, they both get counted out while brawling around ringside. This escalates into a fight in the crowd and a series of AMAZING spots. Wyatt side swips Reigns through the barricade into the time keeper's area and stands on the announcers table to celebrate. Meanwhile, Reigns recovers and knocks Wyatt FLAT THROUGH THE TABLE! Crowd chants "This is awesome!" and I agree. I'm interested in this for the first time, arguably ever and I am REALLY looking forward to the blow off now.
Match rating - ***1/2
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Twitter: @ThePWTruth ; @EthanPWT
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