7:55 pm and I'm still fiddling with my cable box to see if it will cooperate. Will all the trouble for this Premium Live Event be worth it? Let's find out...
Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Asuka was just about the perfect opener, with a ton of great Triple Threat moves and truly great performances from all three competitors. Asuka is one of those wrestlers whom I feel never gets her just due, but it an be argued she was the MVP of this particular match. Not mad at Bianca winning at all, but honestly I would have been fine with any of these three as Raw Womens Champion.
Am I crazy, or was MVP's "Fall Mighty" song pretty impressive? It set the tone for a better-than-expected handicap match, with Bobby Lashley taking on MVP and Omos. Although we've seen these three compete seemingly a half-dozen times this year, I would have to say this one of the better contests. Omos is still super-green, but keeping MVP in the mix is a good way to hide some of those weaknesses. I'm not sure how much I loved the finish here (Lashley gets revenge by beating his former manager), but if it allows both parties to move on to something better... fine.
Seriously, Kevin Owens needs to be considered a low-key Wrestler Of The Year candidate already. Not only does he have amazing energy and verbal skills, but the guy literally makes everybody he's in the ring with better. There's no way I would have enjoyed an "Ezekiel" match had anyone else been on the opposite side by Kevin Owens. He's just that good. The match was fine for what it was, and I'm seriously glad to see KO pick up a big win already.
AJ Styles, Finn Balor and Liv Morgan vs. The Judgment Day was the first match n this show I really wasn't looking that forward to. They've told a decent story up until now, but the situation doesn't seem as... heated as it should probably be. The match itself was decent, and I do like how well Edge, Priest and Ripley are gelling together in the ring, but it would nice to have a fourth member for The Judgment Day already. I was kind of hoping it would be AJ, but that story may be saved for another day.
Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin - WHY? Didn't we already see this one last month? Ecccch, whatever. I missed most of this match while typing something else, and whatever I saw was perfectly acceptable. Bit of a brutal ending. Now let's never speak of it again.
Mustafa Ali vs. Theory was a VERY good match; better yet considering I forgot was even on the card tonight. The Chicago crowd was really into their hometown competitor Ali here, so it was a missed opportunity not to give him the gold here (even if it were to be for a short-term reign). Sometimes, you just have to give the people what they want, which I know goes against WWE booking.
I was literally smiling ear-to-ear for the entire main event between Cody Rhodes and Seth Freakin' Rollins. Talk about storytelling! Even before you got to the injury, WWE brought you their entire history, adding insult to injury by Rollins cosplaying as Dusty Rhodes. But then once you brought the gruesome injury into it, it became a much, much bigger deal, and both guys truly delivered here. The use of weapons (when there hadn't really been much of it on the entire show), the impromptu bullrope match, all of it made this Premium Live Event worthy and not just rematch # 3 in a series. In fact, this is so far my top candidate for Match of the Year. Friggin' phenomenal match bell to bell.
Overall, this was a tremendous show that wildly exceeded expectations. Definitely one to watch.