This had the potential to be either really fun or a complete mess. It turned out mostly fun, with a bit of messiness. The opening segments were plagued by the non-sensical isolation stuff present in most triple threats these days. Miz played the coward and ran away for a while, which was nice: if they're going to do the isolation segments, they should set them up by having two guys take out one, and that's what they did. Bryan whiffed on a sliding kick-- it looked like Miz moved away-- which was unfortunate but not a big deal. Morrison busted out a cool tarantula on the ropes; Bryan used his leg lock and cattle mutilation and teased the Lebell lock. The match picked up when Bryan put Miz in a leg lock: they traded boots to the face until Morrison broke it up with maybe the best Starship Pain he's ever hit. He landed right on both dudes' legs and it looked devastating. Then he too Miz out through the crowd, and the rest of the match was a pretty wild brawl with guys coming in and out. Miz was at the focal point most of the time because both babyfaces hated him, which made sense. Everyone looked good during this segment: Morrison did his nifty parkour spots; Miz brought some viciousness and used his surroundings; Bryan took some nasty bumps into barricades and onto steel. Bryan kept going for holds on the Miz, and Miz kept busting out counters, including an awesome one where he kicked Bryan into the barricade to escape a Fujiwara armbar. Really showed some growth on Miz's part as he previously didn't have an answer for any of Bryan's holds. Morrison climbed some stuff and hit a big splash, which was the most contrived spot of the match. He followed it up with a Texas cloverleaf, which I maybe bought into for a second thanks to Miz's selling. Alex Riley's interference was perfectly-timed and created the perfect opportunity for Bryan to win in the right way.
Not as good as a Miz/Bryan singles match would've been, but still a solid bucket of fun. I hope we get one more Miz/Bryan match. On a side note, there was a great commentary moment. Striker was babbling about cattle mutilation, and Lawler called Striker's commentary cattle mutilation, and then Striker threatened to ask Lawler a million questions. I love how they've taken Lawler's legit irritation with Striker and turned it into a running joke. Good stuff.
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus - HIAC
I haven't loved the matches between these two in the past, but I thought this was really good for the most part. Not great-- I don't think these two can have a great match together at this point-- but better than I expected and about as good as it could've been. Sheamus looks good on offense but still works with too limited of a moveset to be really great working offense for an extended period. Orton can sell and bump, but I still don't think he's fully adapted to working babyface. It's a difficult character to work: he's this emotionless killer-type, but he has to make the crowd cheer for him, and it seems he hasn't figured out how to draw major sympathy in that role. Sure, the crowd goes wild when he goes on offense, but they also sit on their hands for long segments of the match when he's getting beaten up. Not sure what the solution is, but his facial expressions were a lot better here, and his selling was great. I'd call Orton a good bumper, but the way he goes limp and slinks to the ground seems like a heel-ish way to bump. I guess I just want to say that Orton isn't a great babyface at this point.
But the match: they went back and forth in the opening stages and Sheamus avoided the cell when he was in danger, but then he rushed to use it when he was in control. When Sheamus went on offense, he targeted the ribs, and he eventually hit an awesome gordbuster outside the ring onto the steel steps. Awesome spot, and from that point forward, Orton's selling was terrific. He timed his comebacks well, and Sheamus always went back to the ribs to cut him off. There was a great moment where they were trading punches to the face and the crowd was boo/yeah-ing in favor of Orton, and Sheamus threw a nasty punch to Orton's gut to stop it. They did some cool stuff with the steel steps and Sheamus took some nasty bumps. Sheamus conveyed desperation and the stuff with the chair was awesome. He really needs a new finisher because his boot won't finish anyone major unless he hits it 5 times, and his lack of finishing potential hurts his matches. But we all knew Orton was retaining here, and the finish was great, and Orton's rib selling was tremendous, and Sheamus was as focused as always, and he busted out some cool spots. Match was probably a tad longer than it should've been, but still really good. Felt ***1/4-ish.
Edge vs. Jack Swagger
I guess Edge is turning face again. I'll try to be optimistic because he looked great breaking a computer last week on Raw, but his last run flopped and he stunk then and now. Pre-match promo started with Del Rio, and then Edge called him stupid, and then Swagger came out and complained about how Edge speared his bird, which was nice because Swagger is great at comedy. Match was a big old nothing for the most part. Swagger looked good on offense at points, but then Edge kicked out of the gutwrench powerbomb for no reason, and then it looked like he hurt his leg, so Swagger locked in the ankle lock. Edge countered and shook it off and then hit a spear, no-selling everything and burying both of Swagger's finishers. Nice.
I can't help but think that this whole angle was intended for Jericho-- they teased a face turn for him several times this year, and he was the first one to bitch about the GM-- and it really would be better with Jericho. He looked great as a pseudo-babyface at SummerSlam and in a couple random tags, and the crowd totally dug him, unlike Edge. But he's gone now, and so Edge gets another random turn, and Swagger takes another step backward, which is unfortunate.
John Cena vs. Wade Barrett - If Cena loses, he joins Nexus; if Barrett loses, Nexus disbands
This was very good thanks to an awesome performance by Cena and surprisingly good booking and a lively crowd. Cena schooled Barrett early, and he's really great in that role, taking dudes to the mat and out-grappling them. He gave Barrett a smile, and he looked to be in complete control. But then Barrett started throwing punches and brawling and Cena was generous in how much he gave and how well he sold. Interesting to see Cena make a rookie look like a million bucks after Edge buried a former world champion. Anyway, Nexus came down to the ring early to provide a distraction. Barrett yelled at them but took advantage of the distraction to control the match. The crowd was totally alive and there was an audible minority on Barrett's side. When Cena first started to roll, Nexus movee in, so a bunch of WWE dudes rushed the ring to clear them out, which means Goldust, Bourne, and Masters all made cameos. Barrett went back on offense and Cena continued to sell his ass off: he made everything look painful, made every bit of Barrett's offense seem like a big deal. Totally awesome stuff. Barrett eventually hit Waste Land after countering an Attitude Adjustment, and I thought it was awesome that Cena let him get his finisher clean. Cena kicked out and popped up with an Attitude Adjustment, and I was totally shocked to see Barrett kick out. Really, I can't stress enough how much Cena was willing to give in this match, and how much his giving nature helped the match. He went for the STF, and then they did a distraction thing and some guy hit Cena in the face with a pipe and Barrett won and Cole nearly cried and then they got a bunch of awesome close-ups of shocked people in the crowd and kids who wanted to cry. Awesome reaction from the crowd. Million stars for how stunned people were. Probably a ***1/4 match or so. Tremendous performance by John Cena.
Michelle McCool vs. Layla - Unified Divas Title
Lawler told LayCool to slip into a coma after the match. Awesome. Wasn't much to the match: LayCool did some distraction stuff, Layla screamed a bunch and provided some great comedy stuff at ringside. The finish was pretty cool as they traded submissions-- Sharpshooter to heel hook and then back-- and then the awesome-est DQ of all time happened when Layla threw her shoes at Natalya. Michelle kicked Layla inadvertently during the match, another hint at a LayCool dissolution, which would stink.
Kane vs. The Undertaker - HIAC
I wasn't even slightly excited about this feud when it started, but their NHB match was fun and better than I expected, so I tentatively looked forward to this. Didn't like it much at all. They made a point of turning Taker back into a monster after the return of Paul Bearer, and he squashed Punk. But then Kane rocked him pretty good early on and for some reason started doing knee work. ??? Yeah, kinda silly. Taker came back from that pretty quickly and then they went back and forth and brawled sluggishly for a pretty long time. They traded bombs, which was what the match should've been from the get-go, but it wasn't nearly as fun as at Night of Champions. Taker sold the leg work, but it felt a bit like an after thought, and this was the worst limb selling I've seen from him all year. Finishing stretch was silly and a bit fun/frustrating. PAUL BEARER HURT UNDERTAKER WITH LIGHT FROM AN URN. Nice.
Overall, I'd call it an ok show. Good opener and two really good matches. But a PPV without Punk in 2010 is stupid.
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus - HIAC
I haven't loved the matches between these two in the past, but I thought this was really good for the most part. Not great-- I don't think these two can have a great match together at this point-- but better than I expected and about as good as it could've been. Sheamus looks good on offense but still works with too limited of a moveset to be really great working offense for an extended period. Orton can sell and bump, but I still don't think he's fully adapted to working babyface. It's a difficult character to work: he's this emotionless killer-type, but he has to make the crowd cheer for him, and it seems he hasn't figured out how to draw major sympathy in that role. Sure, the crowd goes wild when he goes on offense, but they also sit on their hands for long segments of the match when he's getting beaten up. Not sure what the solution is, but his facial expressions were a lot better here, and his selling was great. I'd call Orton a good bumper, but the way he goes limp and slinks to the ground seems like a heel-ish way to bump. I guess I just want to say that Orton isn't a great babyface at this point.
But the match: they went back and forth in the opening stages and Sheamus avoided the cell when he was in danger, but then he rushed to use it when he was in control. When Sheamus went on offense, he targeted the ribs, and he eventually hit an awesome gordbuster outside the ring onto the steel steps. Awesome spot, and from that point forward, Orton's selling was terrific. He timed his comebacks well, and Sheamus always went back to the ribs to cut him off. There was a great moment where they were trading punches to the face and the crowd was boo/yeah-ing in favor of Orton, and Sheamus threw a nasty punch to Orton's gut to stop it. They did some cool stuff with the steel steps and Sheamus took some nasty bumps. Sheamus conveyed desperation and the stuff with the chair was awesome. He really needs a new finisher because his boot won't finish anyone major unless he hits it 5 times, and his lack of finishing potential hurts his matches. But we all knew Orton was retaining here, and the finish was great, and Orton's rib selling was tremendous, and Sheamus was as focused as always, and he busted out some cool spots. Match was probably a tad longer than it should've been, but still really good. Felt ***1/4-ish.
Edge vs. Jack Swagger
I guess Edge is turning face again. I'll try to be optimistic because he looked great breaking a computer last week on Raw, but his last run flopped and he stunk then and now. Pre-match promo started with Del Rio, and then Edge called him stupid, and then Swagger came out and complained about how Edge speared his bird, which was nice because Swagger is great at comedy. Match was a big old nothing for the most part. Swagger looked good on offense at points, but then Edge kicked out of the gutwrench powerbomb for no reason, and then it looked like he hurt his leg, so Swagger locked in the ankle lock. Edge countered and shook it off and then hit a spear, no-selling everything and burying both of Swagger's finishers. Nice.
I can't help but think that this whole angle was intended for Jericho-- they teased a face turn for him several times this year, and he was the first one to bitch about the GM-- and it really would be better with Jericho. He looked great as a pseudo-babyface at SummerSlam and in a couple random tags, and the crowd totally dug him, unlike Edge. But he's gone now, and so Edge gets another random turn, and Swagger takes another step backward, which is unfortunate.
John Cena vs. Wade Barrett - If Cena loses, he joins Nexus; if Barrett loses, Nexus disbands
This was very good thanks to an awesome performance by Cena and surprisingly good booking and a lively crowd. Cena schooled Barrett early, and he's really great in that role, taking dudes to the mat and out-grappling them. He gave Barrett a smile, and he looked to be in complete control. But then Barrett started throwing punches and brawling and Cena was generous in how much he gave and how well he sold. Interesting to see Cena make a rookie look like a million bucks after Edge buried a former world champion. Anyway, Nexus came down to the ring early to provide a distraction. Barrett yelled at them but took advantage of the distraction to control the match. The crowd was totally alive and there was an audible minority on Barrett's side. When Cena first started to roll, Nexus movee in, so a bunch of WWE dudes rushed the ring to clear them out, which means Goldust, Bourne, and Masters all made cameos. Barrett went back on offense and Cena continued to sell his ass off: he made everything look painful, made every bit of Barrett's offense seem like a big deal. Totally awesome stuff. Barrett eventually hit Waste Land after countering an Attitude Adjustment, and I thought it was awesome that Cena let him get his finisher clean. Cena kicked out and popped up with an Attitude Adjustment, and I was totally shocked to see Barrett kick out. Really, I can't stress enough how much Cena was willing to give in this match, and how much his giving nature helped the match. He went for the STF, and then they did a distraction thing and some guy hit Cena in the face with a pipe and Barrett won and Cole nearly cried and then they got a bunch of awesome close-ups of shocked people in the crowd and kids who wanted to cry. Awesome reaction from the crowd. Million stars for how stunned people were. Probably a ***1/4 match or so. Tremendous performance by John Cena.
Michelle McCool vs. Layla - Unified Divas Title
Lawler told LayCool to slip into a coma after the match. Awesome. Wasn't much to the match: LayCool did some distraction stuff, Layla screamed a bunch and provided some great comedy stuff at ringside. The finish was pretty cool as they traded submissions-- Sharpshooter to heel hook and then back-- and then the awesome-est DQ of all time happened when Layla threw her shoes at Natalya. Michelle kicked Layla inadvertently during the match, another hint at a LayCool dissolution, which would stink.
Kane vs. The Undertaker - HIAC
I wasn't even slightly excited about this feud when it started, but their NHB match was fun and better than I expected, so I tentatively looked forward to this. Didn't like it much at all. They made a point of turning Taker back into a monster after the return of Paul Bearer, and he squashed Punk. But then Kane rocked him pretty good early on and for some reason started doing knee work. ??? Yeah, kinda silly. Taker came back from that pretty quickly and then they went back and forth and brawled sluggishly for a pretty long time. They traded bombs, which was what the match should've been from the get-go, but it wasn't nearly as fun as at Night of Champions. Taker sold the leg work, but it felt a bit like an after thought, and this was the worst limb selling I've seen from him all year. Finishing stretch was silly and a bit fun/frustrating. PAUL BEARER HURT UNDERTAKER WITH LIGHT FROM AN URN. Nice.
Overall, I'd call it an ok show. Good opener and two really good matches. But a PPV without Punk in 2010 is stupid.
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