Pantoja’s WWE Bash in Berlin Review

WWE Bash in Berlin

August 31^st, 2024 | Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany

This is the first of FOUR shows from today that I must cover. I didn’t order the Grand Prix Finals on PPV so that’ll be in a few days, while Marigold opened their tournament with two events today. I’ll be busy coming up.

Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes [c] vs. Kevin Owens

Cody reps America so hard and is way over. He should run for President. The crowd was, as expected, great for this. KO and Cody shook hands to start and had a nice, respect filled few opening minutes. The first big moment saw Cody miss the Disaster Kick and KO immediately pounce with a BIG BOY SENTON. The intensity picked up from there as things were no longer as friendly, with them coming face to face and starting in with some harder hits. That included a Frog Splash off the apron by KO. The story of Cody’s leg getting hurt on the tour didn’t seem to come into play much though he his ribs being worked on led to him being a bit winded at points. KO seemed to get going in a big way with a German and superkick only for Cody to hit the Cody Cutter from out of nowhere. The Cross Rhodes counter out of the Stunner was great though I never believed this would be over after one finisher. That’s the state of wrestling these days. Things picked up in a big way after KO’s top rope suplex only for KO to pull back instead of going after Cody’s knee when it tweaked. Ah, so it did come into play. He also couldn’t pull the trigger on an apron powerbomb. Cody kicked out of two Stunners and KO survived some Cross Rhodes because finishers mean nothing. The finish was kind of flat though as Cody kind of just caught KO with another Cross Rhodes at the 23:18 mark. A well-built classic that picked up late. I didn’t need all the finisher kickouts and some of the storytelling bits felt a little forced but I liked it. [****]

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn [c] vs. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill

Last time these teams met, Blair Davenport joined up with the champs to help them retain. People have said it before but Jade has crazy aura and star power. I liked how this started with the champs being cunning and finding a way to combat being at a power disadvantage. They messed with the heads of the challengers, isolated Bianca, and used underhanded tricks to do so. I am always here for smartly worked matches rather than ones that are just athletic or who can do the most cool shit. The heat segment on Bianca was well worked and the tag to Jade felt like a big deal. Unlike Clash at the Castle, Jade rocked this hot tag run with impressive power spots. The champs came back and hit their finish on Bianca but the pin got broken up and then Alba survived a big tandem move from Bianca and Jade. Jade saved Bianca from the Swanton Bomb combo and Alba landed on Isla instead. From there, Alba was taken out and Isla was beaten by the DDT/kick/wheelbarrow suplex combo in 12:02. That was very good and well executed. Simple tag formula, a good crowd, and strong efforts from all four. [***¼]

Strap Match: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew jumped Punk when he had his back turned during his entrance, prompting Michael Cole to freak out about him being a hypocrite. Drew’s assault included dropping Punk on the commentary table and whipping him with the strap before putting it on him and getting the bell to ring. Punk rallied and cut off Drew’s first attempt at hitting the four corners but when it was his turn to go for the buckles, he opted to whip Drew more. Punk countered the Future Shock attempt on a table but got busted open from a headbutt soon after. That showed how the intensity had riled up and these two were hitting each other pretty hard. Drew sent Punk over the top and through a table outside, though that did make it difficult to start hitting turnbuckles. I’ve never liked that rule in a Strap Match by the way. He put Punk on his shoulders and started hitting buckles only to not realize that Punk was hitting them too. That led to a struggle for the final corner only for neither to get there. Punk’s next strategy was to ground Drew with a Sharpshooter but that failed. Drew hit the Claymore and then three turnbuckles only to take a GTS. Punk then started hitting turnbuckles and adding in a GTS between each of them to keep Drew down. That let him hit retrieve his precious bracelet and hit the final corner to win after 19:14. The rare Strap Match that I actually really liked. [***¾]

Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley vs. Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan

Rhea Ripley. What a woman. Damian and Dom started and Dom spent the time running and getting in a few shots only to get destroyed by Damian. The same happened when Liv came in and Rhea kicked her ass. So, the heels had to find cheap ways to turn the tide, like Liv distracting Damian and allowing Dom to send him into the steel steps. Dom flexing after doing it was hilarious. Liv kept throwing in cheap shots to help Dom stay in control, while building to the hot tag for Rhea. That makes sense because while Damian is popular, Rhea is next level. When Rhea got that tag, she went all in on Liv, who sold it like she was on the verge of death. It’s the ass kicking Rhea has been on the verge of giving for a while. That also led to Rhea getting to beat on Dominik for a while, which included the corner head scissors she put him in before he joined up with her. Liv used Rhea’s focus being on Dom to get back into this though the Terror Twins didn’t stay in trouble for long. They did stereo Razor’s Edges but Judgment Day ran in and Finn hit Damian with Slingblade. Dom hit 619 and the Frog Splash but only got two. Damian took them out, leaving Liv to take a headbutt from Rhea and fall to Riptide in 14:20. That was so much fun. [***½]

World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther [c] vs. Randy Orton

They brought out Ludwig to a huge pop to do Gunther’s intro. Crowd was way into this, singing at the bell, cheering for Gunther, and causing Orton to crack a smile.  When they got into the meat of the mat, Orton put a focus on Gunther’s arm and sent him into the steel steps with force. Orton kept the pressure on Gunther and dominated at points, which isn’t something we’ve seen from Gunther before. That made sense since it allows the fans to really rally behind Gunther. His hope spots saw his arm hinder him and Orton took advantage with things like his powerslam. Gunther did rally and delivered a powerbomb for a close call. When Orton hit the RKO, that got a great reaction but Gunther was able to kick out. Things spilled outside as this neared the half hour mark and Orton put Gunther through the announce table. He took too long with that and Gunther was able to turn the tide, trapping him in the rear naked choke. Orton passed out at the 34:29 mark, resulting in a successful defense for Gunther, who continued to sell the arm after the bell. That dragged at points and I don’t think it needed to go 35 but for the most part, a lot of what we got was great. Gunther’s selling was on point, some of the close calls were very well done, and the crowd was molten hot for it all. [****]

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

What a time we live in. WWE and AEW consistently deliver in these major shows and this was another one. Five matches, all of which ranged from very good to great, and the show flew by.