A solid show from top to bottom, but the lack of crowd heat was noticeable. WWE is cooling off. Their booking has been shaky since the Netflix debut, and it might be affecting attendance and crowd enthusiasm.
Must-see moments:
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Ivy Nile
Both women’s matches were particularly good, but this one gets the nod because it had a finish. Rhea and Roxanne ended with a run-in. It is nice to see Vaquer being treated like a star and Roxanne and Giulia being mixed in with Rhea.
Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn
Solid match with an angle afterwards cementing Bron and Seth as heels.
Quick Results:
- Rhea Ripley defeated Roxanne Perez by DQ
- The War Raiders defeated The Judgement Day
- Stephanie Vaquer defeated Ivy Nile
- Bron Breakker defeated Sami Zayn by ref stoppage
Chronological recap:
Michael Cole ran down the lineup for tonight and then reintroduced Pat McAfee who will be interviewed later about the Gunther situation. Then they aired a highlight package of Seth Rollins joining Paul Heyman and Bron Breakker from last week.
Seth Rollins’s music played as they did a drone shot from one side of the arena to the entrance way. Seth’s sunglasses had eyes. He had eyes over his eyes. Then he was wearing a long coat that was made from the curtains of a cheap nail salon.
Rollins did his usual promo intro with the crowd still chanting along. They even cheered when he said he was the winner of WrestleMania. Seth tried provoking CM Punk chants and was met with a spattering of boos and indifference. Odd. Then he did the same for Roman Reigns, which started the “OTC!” chants.
Sami Zayn interrupted the promo and sauntered to the ring. Zayn said he is coming out as a friend. He said what he is doing is a “load of crap.” Sami said Seth ranted about Reigns and Punk and now he has their mentor at his side. He said Rollins was jealous of Punk and Reigns.
Rollins said the future of the industry goes through him. Sami said Seth acted just like Roman during the Bloodline days. Seth said Sami is either on his side or he becomes a target. Rollins made the offer to remove Sami from Raw. He said he could pull some strings and make it happen. Okay, in their world how does that work? Of course, Seth said they need an answer by the end of the night.
It is a good thing to have an overriding storyline throughout the show, but how can Seth make that happen? And why would Sami take the offer? Because he might get beaten up? The guy has been beaten up by dozens of factions. I do not know, I just did not care about this cliffhanger when it seems obvious what will happen.
During the ad break, Hulk Hogan appeared on Mt. Rushmore and tried to sell his Real American beer. What a terrible idea for a commercial.
Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez
They did the full Rhea entrance, but Roxanne Perez’s entrance was not shown. You desperately need new women stars, and a potential one does not get an entrance on your flagship show. Okay.
Roxanne worked Rhea’s leg early on, but she did a dive which Rhea caught and threw Roxanne into the ring barrier. The flow of the match was Roxanne working the leg and Rhea watching her out of the air and hitting a big move. Roxanne looked crafty and Rhea looked powerful. Excellent work here.
Back from break Perez continued to work over Rhea’s leg. She would not let go of the leg until finally Rhea kicked her off. Ripley hit a series of big moves for a two count.
Just as the crowd was getting into this match, Giulia came down. Roxanne used the distraction to take control of the action. Rhea got Roxanne with the Riptide, but Giulia attacked her for the DQ.
Winner: Ripley by DQ
Iyo Sky ran in for the save but was overwhelmed by Roxanne and Giulia.
The Judgement Day was in the back. Again. Finn’s feelings were hurt because JD did not tell him he was returning. Then they were hurt again, because no one told him he had a match. This WWE Backstage Musical. They should all break into song about their angst.
Back from break, Logan Paul was in the ring. He insulted the fans and then turned his attention to Jey Uso, who he said does not look like a champion. Paul said Jey’s days are numbered.
Jey interrupted Logan and came to the ring. Uso called Logan a punk and said he was not just going to hand over his title to some YouTuber. He told Paul if he wanted the title he could come get it. Logan retorted that Jey is going to lose the title and “crash out” like he always does. Jey hit one of the worst superkicks this side of the Young Bucks.
The War Raiders vs. The Judgement Day
The New Day were on commentary. Pat did his lame intro for the War Raiders, which Xavier Woods made fun of. Cole mentioned that JD was injured the last time he was in the ring with the War Raiders. Woods said JD was “doing something stupid” when he was hurt. He is not wrong.
The New Day argued constantly with the announcers. This was a mess on commentary and distracted from the four men in the ring.
A back-and-forth match that was overshadowed by the New Day. The action spilled to ringside where the Raiders threw Finn into The New Day and then splashed all three. Back in the ring JD was setting up on the top rope when Penta showed up and knocked him off the ropes. The War Raiders took advantage for the win.
Winner: The War Raiders
In the back, Paul Heyman talked to Sami Zayn. He mentioned that they are “OG Bloodline.” Heyman said Bron Breakker was demanding a match with Sami. Paul said he has spoken to Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis, and they have approved Zayn being traded to Smackdown and that if Sami does not, he will not have to face Bron Breakker and he will get a title shot against the winner of John Cena versus Randy Orton. Okay, that is a great hook.
After the break, Becky Lynch came out. The announcers said she has some explaining to do after last week. Lynch admitted that she attacked Bayley before WrestleMania. She scolded the crowd for booing her, which they were not doing.
Becky ranted and raved about how everything was Bayley’s fault. There were some smatterings of boos, but the crowd was mostly indifferent. Lynch explained that she attacked Lyra, because Valkyria was friends with Bayley.
Lyra’s music played and she came out. Valkyria said the women in the back warned her about Becky. She said she ignored it, because of her love of Lynch. Becky slipped outside as Lyra said she knew the real Becky Lynch now and challenged her to a match. Lynch said she does not wrestle in places like Kansas City. Valkyria said they could do it at Backlash.
Becky did some more screeching on the mic and finally Lyra dropkicked her at ringside. They fought briefly in the ring and Lynch took off into the crowd. WWE stayed with Lyra as she played to the crowd. As she got to the entranceway, Becky attacked her from behind.
Nick Aldis told Penta that they would have a match with JD next week. Chad Gable then came up and mocked Penta and Fenix losing at WrestleMania. Penta kicked him.
A Rusev video package aired. He said he will hunt the arrogant, the flawed, and those who do not use their talents for good. Good package.
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Ivy Nile
The two women did a series of reversals and pin attempts. It was smooth and well-executed. They teased the Devil’s Kiss, but Ivy reserved it. Then Stephanie tried again and hit the move. The crowd loves that move.
Back from the break, Vaquer hit the Devil’s Kiss again to a big pop. Stephanie covered for the pin, but Gable put Ivy’s foot on the ropes. She went to confront Chad which allowed Nile a chance to sneak attack her.
Vaquer took over again and hit a nasty looking Dragon Screw then her finish for the win.
Winner: Stephanie Vaquer
Nick Aldis was talking to AJ Styles when Liv, Raquel, and Dominik interrupted. Morgan announced she is filming a movie. Dominik got snarky with AJ, but Liv told him they were leaving before the two men could fight. They teased AJ Styles facing Dominik.
Michael Cole recapped Gunther’s attack on McAfee and Cole from last week. Pat got on the table and cut a promo. He said the attack made him remember where he came from.
McAfee said he hopes people remember him for two things. One, working hard. Two, he wants them to say he was a “loyal mother—-er.)” An unnecessary use of language, but okay. He thanked Cole as well and went on and on. Finally, he got to Gunther.
Pat said his family said he should not attack Gunther. McAfee said, “F— that!” He called out Nick Aldis to make a match between Pat and Gunther. McAfee said to lift Gunther’s suspension. Nick said no. Aldis then offered a match between McAfee and Gunther at Backlash.
A video package aired on the history of Randy Orton and John Cena.
Jey Uso talked to Sami backstage and said Sami needs to make the right decision for himself. Out of nowhere Logan Paul punched Jey in the face.
Back from break, Seth Rollins was back in the ring. He called out Sami Zayn to make his decision.
Seth told Sami that he did not want anything to happen to Sami. He said they were friends, so he thought he was coming out to congratulate Rollins on his win. Seth said that he is leading the future of wrestling and Sami does not believe in that, which Seth finds hurtful.
Sami said that they are good friends. Outside of the ring. Inside, Sami said that inside the ring is a different story. He implied Rollins is manipulative. Zayn said he does not run away from challenges. He said he would not be threatened. Then he told Rollins to “go to hell.” Cue Bron Breakker’s music.
They went to a commercial break as Bron was coming out. Back from break, Bron and Sami were in the ring.
Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker
Seth made it sounds like Sami’s life was endangered but turns out he just has to wrestle Bron Breakker who Sami has beaten before. Okay.
Back from break, yes, another one, Sami hit a sunset flip powerbomb from the top rope for a near fall. Meanwhile, the crowd was entertaining itself. The lights were down in the arena, so they used their phones to create the Wyatt Family firefly affect.
Bron hit a BreakkinSteiner and set up a spear, but Sami reserved it. Then Breakker hit the spear. Seth nodded to Bron to hit another spear. As Sami was selling in the corner, Seth told Sami to take the deal, and he would call off Breakker. He said no and Bron hit another spear. Sami rolled to ringside, and the ref called for EMTs. Seth gave the cutthroat signal and Bron ran around ringside and speared Sami again.
The crowd was indifferent to what was going on. In fact, after multiple spears they chanted for Breakker to hit another one. The ref called for the bell to end the match. Zayn was being attended to and the crowd chanted for him to do it again. Instead, Seth hit the curb stomp and stood over a fallen Sami.
Winner: Bron Breakker by ref stoppage
