Rhea Ripley (w/ Team NXT) defeated Charlotte Flair (w/ Team Raw) and Sasha Banks (w/ Team Smackdown)
6/10
- "YOU SEE." Why doesn't an agent stop this in every promo?
- Either way, Sasha Banks calls out Team Raw. Both Raw and NXT show up.
- Rhea Ripley makes a Captain's Challenge match.
- Rhea Ripley fits RIGHT IN with these two girls. She could stand to slow down a little bit, but she's way ahead of where she should be at this age.
- Charlotte is doing the majority of the selling, which is a good change of pace.
- There are a lot of good power strikes, and you can see Rhea feeling the pace out more and more as the match goes on.
- Ripley takes one of the best Meteoras in recent memory, and breaks up a pin on Sasha after Natural Selection.
- Ripley eats a Natural Selection and gets to the ropes. Cole says it wouldn't break the count. The rope WILL break a count in a triple threat. It's a no DQ, not a falls count anywhere.
- Charlotte applies a Figure Eight to Sasha, and Ripley crucifixes Charlotte to get the win. This finish RULED.
NEW IC Title
- Sami Zayn comes out and says Corbin won't stand up to him.
- He reveals the new IC Title to Nakamura. INCREDIBLE.
Undisputed Era defeated Heavy Machinery & New Day
6.5/10
- Undisputed Era show up and run off Zayn and Nakamura. New Day come out and bring out Heavy Machinery.
- The crowd is big into this match. Kofi Kingston is selling for a great portion of it and Heavy Machinery doesn't even get in for a while.
- Otis and Big E almost get into it at ringside, and Tucker has to break it up.
- Undisputed Era are the perfect team to bump and feed for Otis' hot tag. He gets a great reaction.
- Tucker with a moonsault!!! What?! This match is insane.
- Kofi is caught with a High Low outside when he misses an attack.
- Strong pins Tucker. This ruled.
- Strong confronts Nakamura at the ramp, but AJ Styles comes out to attack.
- The OC has been ranting, and they get CM Punk chants, but Styles says that he would wipe the floor with Punk. This was weird.
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz
5/10
- Daniel Bryan comes out and throws to a video. He shows the history of he and THE FIEND.
- The lights go out and Bray Wyatt doesn't show up. The Miz does, and we have a match that a lot of people thought would be on a WrestleMania.
- Cole says this feud has been going on well over a decade. It hasn't.
- They go through a lot of the hits, but there's a good noise over the crowd as they do it.
- Daniel Bryan finally gives in to do the YES dropkick, but the lights go out.
- The Fiend shows up and applies the Mandible Claw to Daniel Bryan.
Bayley and Shayna
- Bayley is interviewed backstage and says that she's not backing down from anyone.
- Baszler comes out to the ring and calls Bayley out about an hour later.
- Bayley attacks from behind and Baszler is livid. Bayley does an awesome job playing this up like she barely made it out.
Team Corbin defeated Team Reigns
5.5/10
- We see the Smackdown roster backstage partying or something, not listening to King Corbin, but getting quiet when Roman Reigns stands up.
- Backstage, Corbin drops a line about Ali being from Chicago, which I thought was a great way to remind the live crowd. Zayn shows up and annoys Corbin, Ziggler and Roode, who are plotting to get Roman & co. beat up.
- It is very dumb to have this match before Survivor Series.
- Ali gets a great reaction.
- Chad Gable is double slammed onto the announce table in a great spot.
- Reigns is great in this match and it's weird that they almost never have anything great creatively for him.
- Ali gets a hot tag to a good reception. Corbin has trouble keeping up, but recovers well. Ali is on fire.
- The match breaks down, and King Corbin pins Ali with a Deep Six. Good way to help establish that move.
- For some dumbass reason, Corbin wants to hurt his partners on Sunday even more and goes to attack them, but Reigns takes them out.
- Team Raw comes out.
- The big Rollins vs. Reigns face-off.........and the crowd chants for CM Punk.
- Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Road Dogg leading NXT in via a Jeep.
- A lot of these segments and promos involving Triple H in this NXT invasion have had call-backs to some of his more iconic promos and moments.
- Hoooo boy Keith Lee and Braun go face-to-face
Rating guide
10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor
Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a "star rating," which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive "TV match" lands at a 5. The gap between 5.75-6 is generally the largest, with anything reaching 6 being recommended viewing.
These are opinions, and incredibly inconsistent ones that may change upon a second viewing, or sitting on the match for a period of time. Don't take them too seriously, and have (and share) your own!
Get exclusive pro wrestling content on Fightful Select, our premium news service! Click here to learn more.
