1) Sting Opens the Show: I think this may be the longest we’ve heard Sting talk since he came to WWE. Seeing Sting credit Triple H and then see Stephanie, in not so many words, agree that Rollins isn’t as good as Triple H will set up the rumored fall from grace for Seth Rollins.
2) Dolph Ziggler v. Rusev: A DQ win due to Summer Rae getting involved ended this match in an anti-climatic way but the match itself was good, giving each man to show his strength (Rusev) and speed (Ziggler). The bit after the match with Summer sneaking into Dolph’s locker room will help set up the story line further.
3) Becky Lynch v. Alicia Fox, Beat the Clock Challenge: This was a great match and allowed the women to take part in the first Diva’s beat the clock match. Becky finished her match at 3 minutes, 21 seconds which was pretty impressive as well. Because of the type of match it was a little rushed and sloppy but not terrible.
4) Ryback v. Big Show for the IC Title: Probably one of the better matches in this pairing’s history there were big moves, near falls and, even those Miz caused the distraction, a win for Ryback didn’t hurt Big Show’s angle of being overlooked, under appreciated and cheated out of his chances.
5) Charlotte v. Brie Bella, Beat the Clock Challenge: Brie running away from Charlotte was an insult to both Divas. While I’m much more of a fan of Charlotte than Brie’s in ring ability to see Brie literally run away from the challenge was insulting and annoying. Charlotte beating Becky’s time at 1 minute 40 seconds was impressive.
6) Cesaro v. Kevin Owens: One of the better matches of the night that ended with Cesaro bashing his ribs into the announce table and being defeated by Owens meant that not only did we see Owens win but that we saw a believable win after Cesaro was injured. Cesaro had been on top most of the match but with that bad spill to the outside we knew the end was near.
7) Dean Ambrose v. Braun Strowman: Okay, we know that the best booking, especially for power/strength guys is to make them look unbeatable. Then, to have someone beat them (i.e. see Rusev’s year of undefeated streaks) is a great way to make a story. It was a good match with Ambrose giving it his all. When provoked Reigns got involved and tried to save his friend but it ended like it has since Strowman’s arrival, with Reigns and Ambrose struggling to stand after being torn to pieces.
8) Paige v. Sasha Banks, Beat the Clock Challenge: Beating the time of 1 minute 40 seconds would be difficult but I hoped for a great Paige moment i.e. the night she won the title in her debut. Instead, we saw a rushed, sloppy showing and Sasha pulled to safety by her friends in a clear, frustrating cop out. I like Charlotte as the contender but, simply put, Paige was screwed.
9) The Dudley Boyz v. The New Day: Okay, the Dudleys are clearly one of the best tag teams in history. If you don’t see it then I don’t know what you’ve been watching for years. Moving on from that the forced humor/ stupidity and annoying habits of the New Day members made me happier than ever to see someone get the 3-D. Seeing the Dudleys win felt good, seeing New Day punished felt better but could we let the New Day be blind heels (what I mean is super positive people that don’t see they’re heels) rather than these annoying, hyperactive, goofy heels? I’d be okay with turning down the goofy levels a bit.
10) Seth Rollins Calls Out Sting: Rollins played his role perfectly. Slimy, whiny and pompous works for him. Seeing Stephanie look pissed off and hearing that tone in her voice you could tell Rollins was on thin ice. Stephanie agreeing with Cena, that Rollins would need to defend his US title and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions was perfect. Closing out with Cena and Sting looking smug, Stephanie with a glare in her eyes and “best for business” smile on was great to. Rollins throwing a tantrum fit right in as well.
