Pantoja’s WWE Day 1 Review

WWE Day 1
January 1st, 2022 | State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia

I chose to finish Cobra Kai season 4 instead of watching this live. Of course, since Peacock is a terrible app, even after the show ended it was still listed as playing live and would only let me rewind to the halfway point of the show. So, I had to wait even longer to watch it.

Cesaro and Ricochet vs. Ridge Holland and Sheamus
Kickoff match time! Team BALD HEAD needs to add Apollo Crews and bring back Ahmed Johnson as their mouthpiece. I’d watch those segments all day. I actually really like the idea of Sheamus taking on Ridge Holland as a protégé. Cesaro worked well with Ricochet, likely because he’s one of the greatest tag wrestlers in history. He clicks with everyone, even Jack Swagger. Sheamus had to do the bulk of the work because a shot from Ricochet broke Holland’s nose and the medics ended up taking him to the back. That made this a glorified handicap match and regardless of how good the three people involved are, it’s hard to make handicap matches all that compelling. I will always be down to see Sheamus and Cesaro beat each other up though, and Ricochet can bump with the best of them. Alas, despite the odds being against him, Sheamus rallied and won with a Brogue Kick in 9:47. I’d have called an audible to either have Sheamus lose once Holland went down or have him at least cheat to win. [**½]

Onto the PREMIUM LIVE EVENT. Appreciated Migos being part of the intro.

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day
I know there are obvious complaints about this being a matchup we’ve seen a ton of times. I get that. I also get that these teams ALWAYS deliver together. They started with some good back and forth that reinforced how much they know each other. I legit popped at Pat McAfee shouting ASS TO FACE when Jey did the Umaga corner attack. Kofi took the heat for a while and I really liked the hot tag going to Woods. He has been on a roll lately and it’s not a position he’s often put in. Every exchange between these teams was, as usual, fantastic. They just know how to deliver against each other and most stuff is smooth. Trouble in Paradise got cut off by a superkick and Jimmy added a splash for one of the better near falls of the night. I still don’t like finisher kickouts this early in a show though. New Day fired off offense that nearly ended this but The Usos kept surviving. Both teams threw their usual stuff at each other and when those moves failed, The Usos resorted to hitting 3D to retain in 17:09. As expected, this was a banger and I dug the finish as it was unexpected. [****]

Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss
Okay, who thought this should be on a PPV? Anyway, you may not like Baron Corbin but you have to appreciate the way he throws himself into whatever gimmick he’s given. There wasn’t a lot to this match. Moss held serve for a while which was pretty laughable. He’s also not really good yet so him being in control was boring and Drew selling for him didn’t work. Even as Drew made his comeback, it sucked because the crowd sat on their hands. They have no reason to be interested in any of this. Drew launched him off the top with an overhead belly to belly suplex and then won with the Claymore in 9:32. It happened and nobody cared. [*]

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: RK-Bro [c] vs. The Street Profits
RK-Bro came out with Migos and guided them to the VIP seating section. Our Woke King Randy Orton being with Migos feels right. Early on, this was mostly kept simple though the highlight was probably the Profits mocking Orton’s signature pose. As this wore on, we got to see the Profits get more aggressive. Ford stomped away at Riddle with something extra behind it. Riddle eventually made the hot tag to Orton who came in with a double DDT and called for the RKO but it was cut off. I know Ford gets a lot of the hype (and rightfully so because he was great in this) but I do appreciate the Dawkins just launches his opponents sometimes. He’s a BIG BOI. The Montez/Orton back and forth was short but sweet. I’d like a singles match. The finish was dope as Riddle launched Ford into the sky and Orton caught him with the RKO in 10:17. A good tag match that never quite got to the next level, though that finish was cool. [***]

Backstage, Drew McIntyre got jumped by Corbin and Moss during an interview. Ah, just what we all want, more of this feud.

Edge vs. The Miz
I haven’t followed the feud much because Raw is booty but these are legitimately two of my all-time favorites. Edge is my #1 in history and Miz is top 10, maybe even top 5. As always, Maryse looked incredible. Due to the weird PG bloodbath Miz and Maryse got in the build, Edge came out to the Brood theme, helping to prove that he’s still someone to be feared. On paper this was a good match but with some of the stuff done in the build, it didn’t add up. Given the story, Edge needed to show that he could still be as vicious as ever (the whole storyline is goofy since Edge went far in his rivalry with Seth Rollins but I digress). Instead, this was kind of just a regular match that was given a lot of time. As it is, that was fine and it made for quality wrestling but it lacked what it needed to be really good or great. Edge only showed that next level of fire on a few moves like a DDT outside or by driving Miz’s face into the announce table. As Miz got in real trouble late, Maryse distracted Edge to set up the Skull Crushing Finale. That was just a near fall because finishers aren’t finishers anymore. Beth Phoenix arrived with theme music and everything to chase Maryse off, allowing Edge to win with the Spear in 19:59. That was technically really good, though it lacked the intensity I wanted and it had a tired finish. [***¼]

WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Liv Morgan
This cowardly Becky Lynch act hasn’t really done it for me. Liv was out with 10/10 gear. Liv came out of the gates hot and walloped Becky right at the opening bell, causing the champ to regroup. Even after that, Liv managed to apply the Rings of Saturn that Becky only escaped because she got to the ropes. Liv had the crowd in the palm of her hands as she seemed to have Becky’s number. Of course, being the experienced champion that she is, Becky was able to get an opening and take control, with Liv having to find hope spots to get back into things. Liv’s sunset flip bomb in the corner was honestly the move of the night. I feel like Liv often comes up with stuff like that all the time and people don’t talk about it enough. I loved the fire Liv brought on her tope suicida and the desperation and frustration she showed when Becky would kept escaping her. Liv fired up again and stomped on her arm in the steel steps in a great callback to the feud. Becky got free of the Rings of Saturn again and then countered Oblivion into the Manhandle Slam to retain in 17:14. She tried to use the ropes for leverage but missed. I really liked that. Liv was better than Becky here but the champ was more cunning and survived. They’re telling a good story with Liv but only if it ends with her as champion soon. She can’t lose again. [***½]

Johnny Knoxville confirmed that he’ll be in the 2022 Royal Rumble match. I like the idea. There are so many entrants who have no chance so he’s not really stealing a spot and watching him get his ass kicked by someone will be fun.

WWE Championship: Big E [c] vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
Brock Lesnar was added to this after news broke that Roman Reigns tested positive for COVID. Owens and Rollins jumped him to start but he just started suplexing them around. I love that Lashley’s first time interacting with Brock was him spearing him through the guardrail. It’s an overused spot but I dug it here. KO and Seth were the rare heels to team up in a match like this and actually have it work for a while. Their plan was to take everyone out and fight each other. The issue was that their opponents were all big dudes. Everybody hit big moves and Brock fired off F5s until Lashley Speared him. Big E interrupted the Hurt Lock and hit Lashley with the Big Ending. Brock escaped one of his own before pinning the champ with the F5 in 8:23. Disappointing that it was so short. Though I like short matches, this should’ve gone closer to 15. Anyway, it was wild fun while it lasted. [***¾]

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

It’s another WWE pay-per-view that follows the same formula. The wrestling is mostly really good but the storytelling is questionable and there are head scratching booking decisions. It’s the kind of event that, without knowing the existing storylines or anything like that, is really good since the quality of action worked.