Drew McIntyre defeated Sheamus
8/10
Drew McIntyre says he's going to regain his WWE Championship and headline WrestleMania, but is interrupted by the Miz. Miz has himself introduced and a ton of pyro. Miz is trying to get Drew upset about Lashley getting the title shot, but it doesn't seem to be working. MVP comes out and tells Miz that his match with Lashley starts at 9 PM EST.
"One of the biggest moments in the history of this brand" How long's this list? We going like, top 1500 moments? This is really hard hitting, and I'm a big fan of Sheamus working over the jaw of Drew McIntyre. Drew McIntyre's limited offense in this match is really great, with a throwing suplex onto the announcer's table, and a big superplex. Drew McIntyre uses the White Noise off the top rope, and Sheamus uses Drew's BammaSlamma. If Phillips would have made this comment this deep into the match, it probably would have hit harder, because this became a fantastic one. The finish is unbelievably good. Drew and Sheamus go for their finishes at the same time, and Drew hits first. There's this fantastic look of disdain or respect between Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, and I'm not sure which it is. Drew McIntyre and Sheamus went 24 minutes, and it was a fantastic story, and a great match that was legit PPV caliber. Sirloin Beef Sunsabitches.
Nia Jax (w/ Shayna Baszler) defeated Naomi (w/ Lana)
SQUASH
Nia Jax gets in Naomi's face during the match and crushes her in the opening minutes. This is a one sided drubbing. Nia Jax wins with a good looking Powerbomb/Chokeslam combo that we've seen before in the past. WWE has a naturally cool character and guy in Damian Priest. Getting chinlocked for a solid minute isn't cool
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship
The Hurt Business (c) defeated Adam Pearce and Braun Strowman to retain the titles
SQUASH
Braun Strowman is PISSED OFF at Adam Pearce and Shane McMahon, who come out to the ring. Shane McMahon goads him. Shane McMahon has named Adam Pearce as Braun Strowman's mystery partner. Adam Pearce is surprised and not thrilled by it either. This is for the tag team titles, which doesn't appease Braun any more.
Braun dominates the Hurt Business. Braun powerslams Shelton, but Shane makes Braun tag in Adam Pearce. Shelton cradles Pearce and wins. Braun is pissed.
Damian Priest (w/ Bad Bunny) defeated Elias (w/ Jaxson Ryker)
5/10
This is set up when Bad Bunny rejects and offer from Elias.
I'm surprised WWE is having WWE sell this much, and sit stuck in chinlocks every week. I get that they wanna maximizer Bad Bunny minutes, but Damian Priest is cool, and there aren't many things less cool than sitting. When the action actually goes, it's very good. Priest wins, but it's way too long. There was a fumbled pin spot that required too much cooperation. To me, this should be Damian Priest dominating until Jaxkson Ryker interfered and then he could have got worked over a bit.
Other Stuff
Alexa Bliss interrupts a Randy Orton interview. Five more weeks of this I guess. Randy Orton with a demon voice appears on a screen he's watching. Whatever. I'm done with this. The Firefly Funhouse match will be great, I'm sure.
Charlotte Flair defeated Shayna Baszler (w/ Nia Jax)
5/10
Shayna Baszler: "Charlotte, all this talk about focusing on yourself. What else is new?" Charlotte makes a challenge to Shayna Baszler, and attacks. The tag team champions beat up Charlotte and Nia Jax leg drops her.
They're doing this match still, for some reason. I'm so past this feud. Nia Jax keeps getting involved, but Charlotte Flair deals with her. Charlotte wins with a Natural Selection. This is the seventh match between Charlotte and one of these two since December. At least Charlotte won if they're heating her up for a match with Asuka.
Lucha BROS (Lucha House Party & Matt Riddle) defeated RETRIBUTION (w/ Ali & Reckoning)
SQUASH
Yeah, we're just gonna call them the Lucha Bros. Lucha BROS win really really quickly. This is nothing. Ali yells at Riddle to stay in the ring.
Mustafa Ali (w/ Retribution) defeated Riddle
5/10
Matt Riddle dominates most of this match and has a really good counter. There are a ton of distractions, and Ali wins with a horrifying looking move out of the corner that appeared to be an attempt of a backstabber off the second ropes. Beating champs in non title matches. Another dove cries.
WWE Championship
Lumberjack Match
Bobby Lashley (w/ MVP) defeated The Miz (c) (w/ John Morrison)
SQUASH
At 9 PM EST, Miz is backstage complaining about cramps. Lashley comes and chases him down, and Adam Pearce moves the match to 10 PM EST. At 10 PM EST, Miz tries to get the match pushed back to WrestleMania, but MVP says no. The match starts, and Miz runs out of the ring and gets counted out. Why would The Hurt Business not be out there to prevent such a thing from happening? Lashley should have held the show hostage and repeatedly broke the count
Backstage, MVP and Lashley are LIVID. MVP screams "BULLSHIT!" It's a new day! Shane McMahon says Lashley will be awarded the title if Miz doesn't defend the title. Miz is livid about this.
The third time, both men are in the ring at 10:53 PM EST. They do championship introductions, and Miz yanks the title from the ref. Shane McMahon comes out and makes this a Lumberjack match. Confused as to why Braun Strowman would show up to be one of Shane McMahon's lumberjacks unless he planned on screwing something up
Miz tries to hit Lashley with the title belt, but it doesn't work. Drew Gulak has to toss him back in the ring. Same with Hurt Business. Lashley is crushing The Miz. The Hurt Lock is appplied and Lashley wins the title!! They did well weaving this through the entire show, and having Lashley crush Miz at the end.
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!
