Kevin’s Random Reviews: The Bar – Sheamus and Cesaro Part One

The Bar: Sheamus and Cesaro
WWE Network Collection | Part One

Look! I landed on another WWE Network Collection. As I did for the Trish/Lita and John Cena ones, I’m splitting this into two sections. I didn’t count off full promos and stuff, but I did count matches. There are a whopping 25 in this set, so I’m splitting it into two sections of 12 and 13 matches. I’ll include short promo recaps where needed. This collection tells the story of how Sheamus and Cesaro came to form one of the best tag teams in recent memory, as well as putting focus on what they accomplished together.

Best of Seven Series – Match 1 | SummerSlam | Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York | 8/21/16
Cesaro [0] vs. Sheamus [0]
Shortly after the Draft, these two began a rivalry. Neither guy got a real upper hand, so Mick Foley booked them in a Best of Seven Series that began here. It was the “main event” of the SummerSlam Kickoff Show. When you watch these two, you want a hard hitting battle. That’s just what they delivered to open things. Of course, being on the Kickoff Show meant we got some of the match cut off for commercial, which hurt some of the momentum of enjoying it. Especially when one of the commercials was for Holy Foley. Sheamus grew frustrated that he couldn’t keep Cesaro down, leading to more aggressive stuff from both men down the stretch. That’s when they moved to bigger spots like the deadlift superplex and White Noise for near falls. The memorable moment came when Cesaro stood atop the ring post, not the turnbuckle, for an awesome cross body. Sheamus won a series of counters by hitting the Brogue Kick to take a 1-0 lead after 14:09. Very good start to the series. A G1 Climax style match where it was hard hitting all the way and had a hot closing stretch. [***½]

Best of Seven Series – Match 2 | Raw #1214 | Toyota Center in Houston, Texas | 8/29/16
Cesaro [0] vs. Sheamus [1]
A little over a week after the start of the series, we have match two. Sheamus got interviewed before the match so he could brag about his appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Cesaro came out firing, looking to even the score. Sheamus complained about his left elbow, so Cesaro targeted it like a shark smelling blood. We got a smooth spot where Cesaro dodged the Brogue Kick and delivered a springboard European uppercut. Everything that man does in the ring just looks crisp. He was in control until he took a back body drop outside that sent him back first into the ring post. It’s a spot you don’t ever see. Once inside, Sheamus put on the Cloverleaf and Cesaro immediately tapped at 11:10. I really enjoyed the story of that one. Cesaro had a plan and it was working, but one mistake changed everything. The finish was super creative and Cesaro tapping instantly sold his pain and how he was trying to save stuff for the rest of the series. [***¼]

Best of Seven Series – Match 3 | Raw #1215 | Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri | 9/5/16
Cesaro [0] vs. Sheamus [2]
Even with the bad back, Cesaro came out hot again. Things are desperate because he’s not trying to fall behind 3-0. Sheamus was overwhelmed, but kept finding little openings to attack the back. For example, as he got beat up outside, he slyly shoved Cesaro into the apron. It was subtle, yet enough to further damage the bad back. It costs Cesaro key offensive moves. From there, Sheamus just went all in on a barrage of offense, capped by the Brogue Kick to finish this in 4:05. A smartly worked match. This was where I lost interest in this series. Not because it was bad or anything, but because I hate the 3-0 comeback trope in booking. [**¾]

Best of Seven Series – Match 4 | WWE Live | O2 Arena in London, England | 9/7/16
Cesaro [0] vs. Sheamus [3]
The match I was most excited about in this collection because it’s the one I’d never seen. Before the action, Sheamus cut a promo while entering the arena. He saw a dude covered in bandages and said it was Cesaro. Cesaro got to do one upon arrival and put over how he never gives up. Their entrances were relegated to Snapchat videos, which was kind of cool. Unfortunately, the match is clipped so we don’t get to see it all. That makes it difficult to review, so I won’t be giving it a rating. The finish saw Cesaro awkwardly counter a Cloverleaf into a small package to get his first win. [NR]

Best of Seven Series – Match 5 | Raw #1216 | Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland | 9/12/16
Cesaro [1] vs. Sheamus [3]
Cesaro is alive! There’s a little more confidence in Cesaro this time around. Even if his win was one out of desperation, he’s got momentum. Still, there was a sense of desperation this go around. He hit a big uppercut out of nowhere and kept going to it because it worked. Whatever was working, Cesaro was willing to try. However, now he was having the trouble that Sheamus had in their first match. He couldn’t keep Sheamus down. The rollup from the last match didn’t work and neither did the Sharpshooter, partially because of Cesaro’s bad back. In a fantastic finish, Cesaro used another pinning combination, but put his feet on the ropes to tie things up at 9:59. I adore that finish. He is a man in a position to do anything to win. That finish helps put this about on par with the SummerSlam outing.[***½]

Best of Seven Series – Match 6 | Raw #1217 | FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee | 9/19/16
Cesaro [2] vs. Sheamus [3]
The pressure is suddenly almost completely on Sheamus. Of course, when interviewed, Sheamus said he felt none because Cesaro can’t win big matches. We got a Vince Carter sighting in the front row as Cesaro ran over Sheamus with an uppercut. Sheamus’ answer was to deliver White Noise onto the apron. Somehow, Cesaro survived that. He also survived a wild looking backbreaker. Sheamus smelled blood and was throwing bombs. They put a twist on last week’s finish when Sheamus tried putting his feet on the ropes, only to get caught by the referee. Cesaro rallied and tied things up with the Neutralizer at 9:38. A solid entry, but one that is ultimately the least memorable (other than match 4). [***]

Best of Seven Series – Match 7 | Clash of Champions | Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana | 9/25/16
Cesaro [3] vs. Sheamus [3]
It all came down to this. They seemed to save their best for last. Both guys were busting out big offense early. They both also threw new moves at the other, which I appreciated. If you wrestle seven times in a month, your opponent would logically know what’s coming. For an idea of what I mean, Cesaro pulled out the 619 in this match. There were a lot of near falls, close calls, and callbacks to the rest of the series. The Cloverleaf came into play again, while Cesaro’s back continued to hold him back at times. There was a scary moment as Cesaro went for a tope suicida and spiked himself on the floor outside. It was similar to when Lita folded against Trish in their Raw main event. Following some more hard hitting action in the ring, Sheamus jumped out into a huge uppercut. They fought over the guardrail and into the crowd, but were too hurt to continue so we got a lame draw at 16:37. Considering all the matches and build, having this end this way was a bad move. Sure, it got us to the Bar, which was great, but this still felt like a missed opportunity. It was a great match up to that point, but that finish kept it from the next level. [***¾]

WWE Playback: Sheamus and Cesaro | 12/15/17
This was a cool seven minute interlude of sorts. For those who haven’t seen WWE Playback before, it takes Superstars and sits them down to watch a match and discuss it. Here, Sheamus and Cesaro talked about the seventh match of their series. They don’t discuss anything mind blowing, but it features some fun banter and is especially cool for fans of both men. Cesaro notes that the spot where he landed badly at Clash is why he no longer does dives. A recommended watch.

The Faith of Foley | Raw #1218 | US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio | 9/26/16
Here’s the segment following the Best of Seven Series. Mick Foley introduced Sheamus and Cesaro to discuss this. Sheamus said he was the more physically dominating man, so he should get the championship opportunity. They argued until Foley said they both proved their physical dominance. So, they’re both getting a title opportunity and it’ll be for the Tag Team Titles. Clearly, this didn’t go over well with both Superstars.

A Formidable Team | Raw #1222 | Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota | 10/25/16
Non-Title Match: WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day w/ Xavier Woods vs. Sheamus and Cesaro
Sheamus and Cesaro were granted their title opportunity at Hell in a Cell, yet had a non-title affair here. I hate when WWE does this. Still, tough to be seriously upset about good tag team wrestling. New Day were in the midst of a historic reign, but the new duo was impressive. Despite their differences, they worked well together. They even dominated at points. The match truly picked up down the stretch as the pace quickened. It’s Cesaro’s wheelhouse and he made for a great foil against the champs. Watching him and Kofi trade wild offense was great. It came down to a great spot where Big E launched Kofi outside only to get caught with an uppercut. Sheamus then hit Big E with the Brogue Kick to win in 11:41. Fun match that showcased the skills of the new team and previewed what these teams had in store for us. [***¼]

Raw Dominance | Survivor Series | Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario | 11/20/16
Team Raw (Cesaro & Sheamus, The Colons, The New Day, Enzo Amore & Big Cass, and Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows vs. Team Smackdown (American Alpha, Breezango, Heath Slater & Rhyno, The Hype Bros, and The Usos
Here we have the giant Raw vs. Smackdown tag team Survivor Series match. When someone was pinned, their team had to leave. What made this match work was the personalities. Breezango started by handing out tickets for bad fashion and it caused them to get eliminated in the opening minute. The true surprise came next, as New Day’s celebration of that led to the Usos eliminating them immediately. The dominant, 400+ reigning, captains of the team were gone in under two minutes. It was a beautiful twist that allowed the rest of the division to shine. My goal here isn’t to recap every elimination, so I won’t. The action was great and consistent throughout. One of the keys to a great Survivor Series match is never having any downtime. There are too many moving parts and If you allow that to happen, you’ve failed. This match had no downtime. The highlight of the match was a wild sequence between Sheamus, Cesaro, and American Alpha. Gable hitting Chaos Theory on Cesaro and then getting launched by his partner onto a pile of bodies was phenomenal. I miss them. It ultimately came down to Sheamus and Cesaro against the Usos. They had a dynamite finishing stretch with some unreal near falls. Seriously, if you don’t have time to watch the entire match, at least check out that part. Cesaro turned the Tequila Sunrise into a Sharpshooter. It seemed like Jey would get saved, only for Sheamus to Brogue Kick Jimmy. Jey had no choice but to tap at 18:55. A blast of a match. Everyone contributed and the closing stretch was out of this world. Fantastic pro wrestling.[****]

Error and Miscommunication | Raw #1226 | Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario | 11/21/16
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: The New Day w/ Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
One night after getting the win for Team Raw, Sheamus and Cesaro got another opportunity at the titles. Again, this was the combo of Big E and Kofi Kingston. As you’d expect, Kofi played the face in peril role. He was clearly outmatched in terms of size and strength, so it made sense. However, the crowd was still a little mixed in how to react to the challengers. They love Cesaro but don’t like Sheamus, so it set up an awkward mood. Once Big E got the hot tag, the match picked up. Sheamus and Cesaro were surprisingly close to winning. However, this was when New Day was getting desperate to retain. A distraction from Woods kept Sheamus at bay while Kofi pulled Cesaro into a small package to steal it at 12:06. A fine tag that again showed that these teams had potential together.[***]

Open Bar, Partner | Raw #1227 | Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina | 11/28/16
The Bar at a bar. This segment had beer drinking Sheamus and martini sipping Cesaro hanging out. They were celebrating now having to team anymore. They agreed that they would be a great team if they could actually get along. A group of guys came over to make fun of them for Sheamus’ look and for their loss last week. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to pick fights with those two. The pair teamed up to kick all their asses, including Cesaro throwing a dude through the wall. Cesaro called Sheamus his partner and the team was official. It was an unusual segment, but a fun one to get these guys on the same page. Side note: Tessa Blanchard was one of the girls at the bar.

End of the Line | Roadblock: End of the Line | PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 12/18/16
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: New Day w/ Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
The New Day had just officially set the record for the longest Tag Team Title reign in WWE history. There was a sense of urgency right out of the gate. Cesaro hammered Kofi with a shot that set the tone. The challengers isolated Kofi. They found interesting ways to keep him from reaching Big E. When he did get the tag, he matched Sheamus and Cesaro in power, changing the dynamic of the match. It looked like WWE would go the miscommunication route as Sheamus accidentally hit Cesaro. He got hit with the Big Ending because of it but kicked out in a great near fall. When that failed, Woods had a, “What do we do now?” look on his face. Sheamus took out Big E with a Brogue Kick outside, while Cesaro hit Kofi with the Big Swing. There were more great close calls on the Neutralizer and the Sharpshooter, but New Day’s man advantage kept coming into play. Finally, New Day got outsmarted when they thought Cesaro was the legal man. He ate Trouble in Paradise, sacrificing himself as Sheamus was the true legal man. He rolled up Kofi to end the historic reign at 10:00. What a banger. The way you want to open your show. With more time there could’ve been some added drama and a massive moment, but this still worked wonders. Better than I remember. Post-match, New Day handed the titles over and embraced Cesaro. Ever the heel, Sheamus snatched the title and they had opposite celebrations. [****]

The Stage is Set | WrestleMania Orlando
There’s no specific date for this. It was from a WWE 24 and talked about how Cesaro was getting set for his first ever main card WrestleMania match at WrestleMania 33.

The Climb | WrestleMania 33 | Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida | 4/2/17
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows [c] vs. Cesaro and Sheamus vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. The Hardy Boyz
At the Royal Rumble, Sheamus and Cesaro dropped the titles to Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. They were set for a Triple Threat Ladder Match here, only for the New Day (Mania hosts) to show up with an announcement. It would now be a Fatal Four Way featuring the returning Hardy Boyz. The pop for their return is still insane. Combine the element of surprise and their history in this match type, the Hardys instantly became the favorites. They went into some of their greatest hits right off the bat. That included Jeff taking out Cesaro and Sheamus with a wild Swanton Bomb off a ladder. Following that spot, Matt pulled down the titles to win them at 11:03. I didn’t write a lot about the spots because this match was about more than just that. It was all about the moment. To be fair, there were a handful of fun, creative spots involving the ladders. It was all about the Hardys, though. [***¾]

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

I dug the first half of this collection. There were no bad matches and a lot of fun segments. The Best of Seven Series is a good story to follow, as is the unit’s first official run as a tag team. I also think this was a good place to leave off, as it sets up the Hardys/Bar feud that dominated the spring of 2017. Remembering how good the Bar was in 2017, I’m expecting part two of this to be even better.