wrestling / TV Reports
Csonka’s WWE MITB 2015 Review
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As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. As always, I encourage discussion and even disagreement, just do so in a respectful manner. I will be doing the review for Raw and most PPVs and iPPVs going forward.
WWE Money in the Bank 2015
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Money in the Bank Match: Sheamus won Money in the Bank @ 20:39 [***½]
– WWE Divas Title Match: Champion Nikki Bella defeated Paige @ 11:17 via pin [**½]
– WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Big Show defeated Champion Ryback @ 5:30 via DQ [*]
– John Cena defeated Kevin Owens @ 19:23 via pin [****½]
– WWE Tag Team Title Match: Prime Time Players defeated Champions New Day @ 5:59 via pin to become the NEW Tag Team Champions [**¼]
– WWE World Heavyweight Title Ladder Match: Champion Seth Rollins defeated Dean Ambrose @ 35:50 [***¾]
Money in the Bank Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Neville vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus vs. Kane: The opening stretch was a lot of fun as they brawled quickly, and then in rapid succession tried and failed climbing the ladder to end this thing in the first two minutes. The feel of desperately wanting the briefcase was appreciated. I really enjoyed the flow and pacing of this match, it felt that they largely had the right guys in at the ring times during the match, and never felt as if it was going long. Kofi and Neville had some fun back and forth, reigns killing guys with powerbombs was fun; Orton hitting RKOs (including a cool one on Neville) were all well placed and timed. Sheamus’ power stuff worked well, Ziggler’s speed and “out of nowhere” climb also worked because it came at the ring time. That’s the thing for me, a lot of times in a multi-man gimmick match, you get cool spots and guy working hard, but it can be front loaded or all happen down the stretch so that the match drags and feels long. To keep it simple, this was a match with guys doing the right things at the right times in front of a crowd that wanted to react to them. One criticism I have is the fact that it felt as if they held out Reigns way too long. Everyone took their nap to allow the others to work, but Reigns felt like he was gone forever until he returned to hit his big dive. That’s a knock on the layout, not Reigns himself. Big E and Woods came out late to help Kofi, but Reigns put a stop to that and powerbombed Kofi to the floor into the pile of bodies. Reigns was about to win, and then Bray Wyatt’s gimmick hit and after the lights out, he appeared and knocked Reigns off the ladder and then hit Sister Abigail. Sheamus then tried to rip out Neville’s eye and won the match. I just don’t get the booking here. First of all, why is Wyatt going after Reigns? He last went against Ryback; beat him and then what forgot about him? Ryback won the IC Title, shouldn’t he in theory want to go after him since he knows he can beat him? Also, Reigns with MITB allows for more directions to go, not only tonight but also going forward. Wyatt is a guy that for no real reason attacks a guy to start a feud and then tends to kill the momentum of the other guy, like in the Dean Ambrose feud. I enjoyed the match, but I highly question the booking.
WWE Divas Title Match: Champion Nikki Bella vs. Paige: We got to see the rest of the division watching on one TV backstage. One of the biggest issues for the division is the fact that there are no real defined faces and heels, due to the rapid changes in personalities. The worst part is that commentary didn’t help here, noting that “Nikki seems to care about herself and Paige turned on everyone in the back,” great work guys. Nikki Bella having a full conversation with Paige during the match was also really annoying; I guess that’s what she learned from dating John Cena. They worked really hard, and got a great near fall when Paige escaped the rack attack and hit ram-Paige for 2. They climbed to the top late, and did the double down spot to the floor. The Bellas did twin magic, but Paige countered the rollup for the win. But then Brie unstuffed her top to reveal that she was in fact not Nikki (or you know, we used our eyes), allowing Nikki to return and retain the title. The fact that the match continued actually made no sense, and should have been a DQ in my opinion. The match was overall solid, but I felt as if the finish took away from the work.
* Two matches in and we have two shenanigan filled finishes.
WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Champion Ryback vs. Big Show: The Miz came out to talk. He’s also sitting ringside for the match. They worked a few minutes, it was fine and then the Miz got involved to cause the DQ. This was a total bullshit TV finish to setup a three way, instead they did it on PPV to set up the next PPV. It may have meant something of the two previous matches didn’t have shenanigan filled finishes.
John Cena vs. Kevin Owens: They worked a really basic, but good opening stretch. It was just basic wrestling, Owens had the advantage and then Cena started to do his trademark comeback but was cut off. Owens then ran through the shoulder blocks and proto-bomb, leading to him doing the five-knuckle shuffle to mock Cena. They then went into a series of near falls for Cena, where he was constantly showing disbelief and frustration when he couldn’t pin Owens. Cena actually appearing to care about the win and actually arguing with the official was a nice touch that a lot of his matches lack. For this to work Cena has to show desperation when his trademark stuff doesn’t work. Cena got a near fall when Owens missed the Mero-sault, and then connected with an AA for 2. Again I love him actually questioning the official here. At the beginning I was really thinking that this was too soon to comeback for the match, but the longer then went, they really kicked things up big time and I was completely loving the match and was into it just as much as I was for the first match. Cena went for a Yoshi Tonic late, it got a bit fucked, but they recovered and they hit it for a near fall. The story of Cena having to dig deep and do new shit to try and take Owens out is another nice addition to the story of the match. Cena eventually came back with the springboard stunner and then the AA to score the win. They did it again, just another fabulous match. I really don’t think that Cena needed the win here, because it feels too much like his other feuds where he gets the win back too soon. Cena tried to show respect post match, but then they did the right thing here if Owens had to lose, because he gave no fucks and attacked Cena and hit the apron powerbomb. Owens then left with both the NXT and US Title. This feud must and will continue, and I am perfectly fine with this. These men have amazing chemistry together, Cena is stepping up and working very hard and Owens is succeeding way quicker than anyone thought he would on the main roster. I really hope that they give this some time to breathe, and wait until Summerlsam to comeback with match three. After the pretty shit first hour (the lazy booking mostly), this is exactly what this show needed.
* Damn wife is cutting onions again during this Dusty Rhodes tribute video package…
WWE Tag Team Title Match: Champions New Day (Big E and Woods) vs. The Prime Time Players: New Day worked over Young, Titus got his out of control hot tag and then it broke down. The action was good, but it lacked a solid flow and actual build to the finish as Titus hit the clash of the Titus out of nowhere to score the win and the titles. The match was fine, and the finish actually makes sense. Since New Day’s turn, the narrative has been that they can only win via shenanigans and due to having the extra man. With Kofi taken out, they didn’t have that advantage and lost. I personally wouldn’t have done the title change because the New Day act has been really good, but it did make sense in terms of how New Day has been booked.
* Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt is official for WWE Battleground, which takes place in five weeks.
* Rollins looked like dead man walking as Kane mocked him, and then Stephanie said that they supported him but if Ambrose became champion they would blame him. Triple H then told him that this is what he wanted and to show them why he was chosen, that he is the man, that he is the champion. Triple H actually cared with a great motivational speech there. Everyone else is an asshole.
WWE World Heavyweight Title Ladder Match: Champion Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose: They started out with some basic wrestling and then into some brawling before they got the ladder involved and looked to climb. I liked that here because it was the opposite of the first ladder match of the night, and that variety is appreciated. Ambrose controlled the early section of the match until Rollins attacked his legs with a chair as he climbed the ladder. Rollins then focused on the leg on Ambrose, abusing it with the ladder and even a post assisted figure four. In a singles ladder match, this is a simple but effective strategy that makes so much sense. The one thing here that was obvious was the lack of crowd reaction during this, you get the feeling that the crowd is just waiting for the big spots and are almost humoring the guys during this portion of the match. Or maybe the months of Authority filled finishes have conditioned the crowd to wait for that, almost like they are waiting to be disappointed, I am not sure. They brawled in the crowd late, and then set up the ladder bridge between the ring and the announce table. Ambrose escaped the powerbomb and back dropped Rollins into it, and the crowd was finally coming alive during this portion of the match. Ambrose would hit dirty deeds on the Spanish Announce Table late, and then rolled back to the ring to try and climb for the win. Ambrose climbed, but Rollins returned and nailed the knee with a monitor from the announce table to stop him. Rollins hit a pedigree and climbed, but Ambrose somehow was able to fight back and sent Rollins to the floor to tease another climb. Rollins then launched Ambrose into the barricade with a running powerbomb and then did it again, which had to SUCK for Ambrose. If that wasn’t enough, Rollins hit a sit out powerbomb onto a pile of chairs and a ladder and then buried Ambrose underneath the carnage. Rollins would climb, but Ambrose was still alive and tried to stop him and climbed the ladder with him. They fought for the title and fell to the mat together, but Rollins came away with the title and the victory. The finish was a bit much, because Rollins had pretty much killed Ambrose on the floor. I think they could have just had him climb there and win, no need to do the photo finish. It felt like it went a bit too long, cut a few minutes and clean up the finish and the match is a better presentation overall. But Rollins finally won by himself and proved that he could do it. They worked so hard, and despite a soft beginning, worked themselves into a good main event. It lacked the juice and crowd reaction to be great in my opinion, but certainly a good match with no outside bullshit.
* Triple H came out to celebrate with Rollins. JoJo interviewed Rollins post match, and he said that he told us so and that he was the greatest of all time.
* End scene.
* Thanks for reading.
“The man of the hour, the man with the power. I am the hit-maker, the record-breaker. I got style and grace, a pretty face. I’ll make your back crack, your liver quiver. If you ain’t into this match, you’re at the wrong address. Superstar, when the other wrestlers are smilin’ and jokin, The Dream be, WOO!, cookin’ and smokin’.”
