As expected, the crowd in Berlin was red hot pretty much all night and both Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes got huge ovations for their entrances and throughout the contest. This was a babyface/babyface contest built around Cody possibly suffering from a damaged knee and the question of whether or not Kevin Owens would display the "killer instinct" needed to become World Champion again after close to a decade without a singles title. Cody and KO got lots of time, putting together a match that ran close to 30 minutes and featured a bunch of awesome spots and sequences, including several failed attempts at Cody Cutters and Stunners. The final stretch was especially terrific as both Rhodes and Owens showed how to push the emotional storytelling button in a match without going too far into histrionics. By the end, you really got that Owens was conflicted about what he must do to beat Rhodes while Cody sold the heck out of the pain he was suffering before landing a final Cross Rhodes to get the clean W. I'm on the fence about whether this falls in the "very good" or "great" camp because it didn't quite "wow" me at any specific moment, but nearly everything they did in this match was executed perfectly and my only real criticism is that I'm not sure I would've had either guy kick out of the other's finishers. I think this fell just short of "must see" because once KO opted not to attack Cody's knee or hit the powerbomb-into-the-apron, it became even more clear who would be winning. (3.5/5)
The Women's Tag Team Championships were on the line next as Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre took on the former champs, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. This was about exactly what one might've predicted as the heels worked over Belair for at least 85% of the match before Jade got the hot tag and dominated (before tagging out again). Is it me or has Bianca plateaued? Her athleticism and charisma is there, but she telegraphs more than Western Union in the mid-1800s. Towards the end, the match almost fell apart and it was clear that they were re-working sequences to get to the next set-up and then taking some beats before they performed various moves. Still, the majority of this match was quite good and I especially liked the Dawn and Fyre teamwork after not being particularly impressed by them at the last PLE. Not a great match or anything, maybe a touch too long, but passable. (2/5)
CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre in a Strap match followed. This one had a hot opening, but struggled to maintain that level of excitement and creativity as it went on. I'm not as down on strap matches as others, but I'm no fan of the "green light/red light" component, an unnecessary add-on that can be distracting (and was here). While I understood the symbolism behind the match's stipulation - they've been feuding over a bracelet so now they're going to be attached to each other with a strap connected by two bracelets - I still think these two could've done more with a "looser" stipulation like a Non-Sanctioned match or a Last Man Standing, one in which we still could've seen them trade wicked whippings with a strap, but we also could've seen a resolution that was more definitive and traditional. It's not like the finish itself, which saw Punk defeat McIntyre rather definitively after a trio of GTSs, really "protected" McIntyre. In the end, Punk's victory was as complete as a pinfall one would've been, only with the added moment of seeing him retake his coveted friendship bracelet (again, the same thing could've been done at the conclusion of an LMS match just as easily). And while this review may read like a bunch of complaints, Punk and McIntyre's efforts and the hot crowd made this a fun and captivating match despite the inherent drawbacks of the stipulation. (3.5/5)
Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley and Damien Priest followed and if the crowd could be considered "hot" for the previous match, they were molten for this one. Rhea Ripley was incredibly over and Dom and Liv got tremendous heat. This wasn't a match filled with crazy spots or sequences, but it was pitch-perfect, the kind of match that hit every note properly and not only delivered what it needed to, but even went above that with its thrilling final minutes. The babyfaces controlled early and dominated - which is still the right story to tell when it comes to these characters no matter how predictable. I liked that, even when the heels were able to gain the upperhand briefly, the faces were never really in peril as Priest is a former World Champion and Ripley is one of the most decorated and dominant women in modern WWE history. Still, the heels use their craftiness and, eventually, their partners in the Judgment Day to earn some believable nearfalls, putting the finish into question more here than in any other match on the show. This was "textbook," but it was "textbook" done exactly right and was the most enjoyable match on the card up till this point. (4/5)
Main event time - Randy Orton challenging the hometown hero, GUNTHER, for GUNTHER's World Heavyweight Championship. As expected, GUNTHER was the babyface, though Orton had his fair share of fans as well. These two had a solid match at King of the Ring not too long ago, but the stakes were obviously even higher for this one. Lots of actual wrestling to start things off, not necessarily something you always get from the Viper, who is looking bigger than I can recall him ever looking before. When Orton is motivated, he often lives up to all the accolades that often fell flat when describing him 10-15 years ago and, in this match, we got the motivated Orton who is clearly enjoying what he does. That being said, you don't watch an Orton match expecting him not to mostly "play the hits" and, aside from the mat wrestling to start the match, Orton didn't veer too far from his tried-and-true offense. GUNTHER also relied mostly on his patented strikes and signature slams, but the beauty of this match was the pacing and the escalation of violence as things built up nicely. This match had all the hallmarks of a big title fight - big spots separated by plenty of selling, back-and-forth strikes packing lots of oomph, even the challenger going into his book of somewhat dirty tricks to try to win the gold. Some may criticize the lack of speed, but this didn't feel any slower than we usually get from them, especially not Orton, whose methodical pace has been a part of his shtick for decades now. I really liked GUNTHER failing to hit the powerbomb and Orton countering the attempt into an RKO for 2, a nearfall that I didn't necessarily bite on, but still electrified the audience. The final minutes saw Orton moving furniture for so long that it allowed GUNTHER to recover and follow him to the floor. Orton hit him with the back suplex onto the steps but couldn't capitalize, showing his age more in those moments than at any other point of the match. Orton's uncharacteristic lack of focus would be a major criticism of mine as I'm not sure why, with GUNTHER clearly looking beaten and dazed, Orton opted to spend so much energy and time setting up steps and stripping tables of their "hoods." When he finally hit the back suplex from atop two sets of stairs and through the table, it was an incredible spot, but again, it was undercut a bit by Orton's lack of urgency. Orton's eventual RKO got shoved off and GUNTHER applied a sleeper and we got a nice sequence out of it as Orton struggled to break free and repeatedly found himself locked in the hold. Expert work there by GUNTHER as such a simple hold was milked for all it was worth as a legitimately tough final hold. (3.5/5)
Just looking at the numbers, Bash in Berlin was one of the best WWE shows in awhile, earning a strong 3.3-out-of-5 Kwang Score. The weakest match of the show was the Women's Tag Championship bout, but even that was at least average. Every other match deliver or over-delivered in the case of the mixed tag match, which will likely make my shortlist for Match of the Year just because of how fluid it was, how good the false finishes were, how much the crowd reacted to every moment, and how excellent each performer executed their role - whether it was Rhea Ripley continuing to be a badass, Dominik Mysterio working as the cowardly heel, or Liv Morgan getting her own sneakily good offense in.
FINAL RATING - Watch It
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