WWE No Way Out 2004

WWE No Way Out 2004

San Fransisco, CA - February 2004

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Brock Lesnar is the WWE Champion, The Big Show holds the United States Championship, and Rey Mysterio was the Cruiserweight Champion. SmackDown's WWE Tag Team Championships were held by Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty.

COMMENTATORS: Michael Cole and Tazz

The SmackDown-only No Way Out 2004 starts off with Sable and Torrie Wilson, who had just graced the cover and pages of Playboy (both for the second time, I believe) revving up the crowd by welcoming them to the show. They talk about how they'll "do anything" for the fans, but they don't even dance - probably because that would take true talent or charisma. I don't want to come off as anti-women in wrestling or anything, but this was "eye candy" for "eye candy"'s sake. In her initial run, the WWE gave Sable storylines so that she actually had a character - here, there is literally nothing going on. Completely useless segment.

After a video hyping tonight's main event, Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty defend the World Tag Team Championships against The Bashams and their dominatrix manager, Shaniqua, in a handicap match. Its hard to watch the Bashams and not think of Jim Cornette ripping apart the WWE Creative Team for taking two his "can't miss" prospects from OVW and giving them one of the worst gimmicks of any era. This match comes off more dated than 5 Chris Bukowskis (look him up). Rikishi and Hotty were always decent hands in the ring, but by 2004, they were at least 3 full years past their sell by date. The Bashams are fine stooging it up and Shaniqua getting hers popped the crowd, but this is the kind of match you feel kind of embarrassed to watch. At least it only runs 8 minutes. (1/5)

Next up - another match where we see some man-on-woman violence: Jamie Noble vs. Nidia with the stipulation that Noble has to wear a blindfold. These two had been paired up for several months based on Noble becoming a trailer park millionaire. At first, he treated Nidia wonderfully, but then turned on her after she went blind (when she got struck by Tajiri's green mist - which hadn't blinded anyone else ever but her in the dozens of times he'd used it). Anyway...Nidia is about as good an in-ring worker as she was a manager, which was not very. Nidia won the first ever Tough Enough in 2001, was sent to OVW for seasoning, and then kept on the roster (I believe) because the company didn't want to just blatantly admit that the contest was not just a reality program that wouldn't lead anywhere. More of a at comedy match than anything, at least it ends the right way with Noble tapping Nidia out. Another match that I'd recommend watching in private because if anyone, even a loved one, sees you watching this match, you'll feel weird. (0.5/5)

The APA take on The World's Greatest Tag Team next in a match that is, interestingly, built mostly around Bradshaw (not yet JBL, but definitely being positioned more prominently than Ron Simmons by this point). As wikipedia supports, Simmons knew he was retiring so I'm not surprised they built the end of the APA's run all around Bradshaw (and his legitimately devastating Clothesline from Hell). While Bradshaw very nearly captures the win, the booking here is really smart as he ends up knocking Haas out cold but forgetting its Benjamin who is the legal man and eating the pin fall himself. This isn't a great match, but its well-worked and accomplishes what it needs to. Plus, the WGTT really were a great team in their day, their double-team maneuvers and mat-based offense so much fresher than whatever Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty and the Bashams did in the opener. (2.5/5)

Before the next bout, we get a pretty great segment involving Goldberg, Paul Heyman, and Brock Lesnar. On RAW, Steve Austin had given Goldberg a front row ticket to No Way Out, so he shows up (surrounded by security like any other fan), but this sends Heyman into a tizzy. Heyman tells Goldberg to stay in his seat and Goldberg does so...until Brock Lesnar shows up and calls him a bitch. One would have imagined that this segment would've had tremendous heat, but for whatever reason, it doesn't (though Lesnar calling Goldberg a bitch does get a huge reaction). Now, I'm not saying the crowd is indifferent - they're definitely not - but this feud just felt considerably hotter in 2017. I'm guessing part of the issue was that Lesnar, who debuted a heel, turned face, and then was turned back heel all within 24 months, had been somewhat overexposed and, because he lacked the charisma of Austin and The Rock or the "everyday man" appeal of Foley or the otherworldliness of Taker, his ascension to the heights they had reached was always an unrealistic expectation in the "grey era" between the Attitude Years and whatever we want to call the "Brand Above All" years (where Cena, a reunited DX, Mysterio, Taker and others all shared the weight of carrying the company's main event scene). It also probably didn't help that Goldberg's run on RAW had been hit-and-miss and really seemed on a downturn by this point after he failed to retain his championship at Armageddon and then failed to even make it to the final handful of competitors in the Rumble. Then, despite a hot opening, we get some not-so-intense, not-so-smooth physicality between the two that somehow looks overtly choreographed and under-rehearsed at the same time. Goldberg hits a Jackhammer and is then handcuffed and escorted out of the building as Heyman screams for them to take this trespasser outta here (and Cole and Tazz, playing Blue Brand loyalist, besmirch his name as well). This isn't a perfect segment, but Heyman is stupendous in it and it certainly accomplishes its goal of hyping their Mania match without outright advertising that they'd be facing each other (like a contract signing might). (+1)

Hardcore Holly comes out and chases Lesnar out of the ring and in a sheer coincidence of good timing, its also time for Holly's match against Rhyno. This one starts out pretty strong, with both guys showing a ton of fire and really laying their shit in. As the match goes past the 5-minute mark, though, you can really tell that this audience just wasn't hooked and did not want to see a long drawn-out match between these two that didn't at least feature some "fireworks" (tables, chairs, etc.). I appreciate Holly's work more now that I've read his book and can see that he really was a reliable mechanic, but the lack of "It" factor was ultimately what kept him in the midcard - it also didn't help that, in a match like this, its not necessarily clear who the audience should be rooting for or against. Are they both faces? Both "tweeners"? If one is a heel, one should be antagonizing the crowd a little bit. Rhyno eventually hits a massive gore that gets a good response, but Holly rolls out of the ring before Rhyno can get the pin. Holly rolls back in at 9 and manages to use his last bit of energy to connect with the Alabama Slam. Weird finish that tried to sell the Gore and the Alabama Slam, but Rhyno got the short end of the stick because Holly ends up surviving his finish and then winning 30 seconds later. Dumb. Why not have Rhyno miss the Gore and then have Holly get the win? Too predictable? Regardless, this wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. (2/5)

A video package plays to review Chavo Guerrero's feud with Rey Mysterio Jr., which began over Chavo attacking Eddie on an episode of SmackDown and also included Mysterio's celebrity boxer buddy Jorge Paez bickering with Chavo Classic.

Before the match can happen, though, the lights go out and we hear the familiar sound of the Deadman! A screen reads "In 28 Days...the Dead Will Rise Again," foreshadowing the return of the Undertaker at WrestleMania. They got much better at these sort of videos in the future so I'm not giving it a point as this was just kinda there. 

Chavo Guerrero (and Chavo Classic) make their way down the aisle to try to wrest the Cruiserweight Championship against Rey Mysterio, who is joined by the aforementioned Jorge Paez. Good back-and-forth action to start, these two having no issue with keeping their feet on the gas pedal for awhile. I've never been a big Chavo fan, but he's undeniably sound in execution. As anyone might've expected, the minute Chavo Classic gets involved, Jorge Paez decks him (though the camera doesn't really capture it as well as it should've). A brief "Jorge!" chant starts as he's gets to the back by Jimmy Korderas. Chavo heads out of the ring to try to help his father, but ends up getting hit by a huge springboard plancha from Mysterio! Back in the ring they go and Mysterio lands another massive springboard move - this time a leg drop. Chavo manages to survive, though, taking a hell of a beating but fighting on. Chavo attempts to hit his tornado DDT, but Mysterio fights out and tries for his own hurricanrana from the top. However, Chavo resists it and lands a not-so-great gutbuster from the top rope. Chavo keeps the pressure on, slowing things down and applying an abdominal stretch and then, a minute later, a painful-looking half-crab. Mysterio manages to nearly turn things around, but gets cut-off by a spinning gutbuster in a great sequence. Chavo continues to try to keep things ground-based, but Mysterio fights back with a bulldog counter. Chavo attempts a third gutbuster, but Mysterio escapes. Chavo gets sent into the ring post but Mysterio doesn't have the energy to capitalize. Mysterio hits a forward russian leg sweep for 2 and then a DDT-like drop on the apron for another near fall. Mysterio's luck runs out, though, as he misses a crossbody and Chavo hits him with a sit-out gourdbuster. Mysterio hits a moonsault, but again only gets 2 as Chavo puts his foot on the rope. Chavo continues to target Mysterio's chest with a crazy hangman-into-a frontfirst slam thing. Rey hits his 619 but Chavo counters it into a half-crab, which would've felt even bigger if Chavo had been spending more time working on Rey's back instead of his front. Rey grabs the ropes the ref breaks the hold. Chavo argues with Korderas as Rey goes to the top rope, only to be pushed off by a revived Chavo Classic! Guerrero rolls him up and grabs the tights for good measure to steal the Cruiserweight Title! This match wasn't as inventive as Rey's more legendary bouts with Eddie, but this was still above average and I could see others rating it even higher than I did. (3/5)

Backstage, Chavo gets interviewed by my favorite personality of this era: Frost-tipped Josh Matthews! Just him being on this show earns this show a bonus point. (+1)

Next up is an old fashioned Number One Contender's Match - the US Champion Big Show taking on John Cena taking on Kurt Angle. Cena is still doing the rapper gimmick at this point, but is now a "tweener" leaning towards babyface and is fairly over but definitely not "Main Event a WrestleMania" over so I doubt anyone thought he'd get the win here (then again, I think he'd feuded a bit with Lesnar earlier in the year so maybe some people thought it was a possibility). If Cena had a 1% chance of winning this match, Big Show had to have had a 0% as despite his kayfabe credibility (and the hype of the commentators about his string of successes over the past few months), I think the fact that he got eliminated last in the Rumble a month earlier kinda solidified the idea that he wasn't in line for a World Title push. So, the question of this match is whether they're going to successfully swerve or even semi-swerve the audience into caring about the foregone conclusion of Kurt Angle winning the match. I'm not sure the finish is ever in question, but the journey there is fun enough and the story is logical and well-executed. Cena is not as jacked as he would later become, but he still manages to lift Show up for the FU not once but twice. He hits a bunch of his signature moves, but the pacing between them is quicker and less self conscious, which helps the match come off more organic than what you might get if they tried to run this same match today or even 5 years ago. Kurt Angle eventually taps Cena out for the win. Nothing really special, but not a bad match at all and could even be an interesting watch for Cena fans that are unfamiliar with his rise to the top of the card around this time. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Eddie Guerrero challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. Unlike most other matches on this show, this match wasn't really heated up with a major blood feud or anything (Guerrero won the title shot by winning a 15-man battle royal on SmackDown). Lesnar/Goldberg was pencilled in for Mania (the angle between them earlier in the show made that even clearer if the Rumble confrontations weren't enough) and while Lesnar had made things personal by bringing up Eddie's not-so-clean past, it wasn't like this match was built up for months and months. The fact that this match started off somewhat cold makes it even more impressive how quickly both guys manage to whip the crowd into a frenzy, assume their respective roles, and then just go from segment to segment building tension the whole way through. Tazz and Cole do a fantastic job on commentary too, playing up Guerrero's underdog status without any sense of foreshadowing. It really comes across like they are as positive that Lesnar is leaving with the title as everyone else in the arena. Guerrero spends much of the match bumping and selling, but he never "dies" and the hope spots he does hit all showcase his craftiness. Lesnar, meanwhile, gets to not only dish out some high impact power moves, but also his uncanny wrestling ability. Seeing Lesnar work here compared to what he does now in 2018 is really something. He may hit harder now than he did back then, but the guy used to be as spry and athletic as he was strong. At one point, the crowd chants for "Goldberg," but its a credit to Guerrero's efforts and the patience he and Lesnar show to go out and wrestle a relatively "no frills" straight-up contest (no table spots, no chairs) that by the third act of the match, the audience is engrossed in the battle between these two going on right in front of them rather than worrying about the arguably "bigger" storyline implications. Eventually, a sloppy F-5 does lead to a ref bump and the arrival of Goldberg, but the fact that Lesnar kicks out of the post-Spear cover by Guerrero helps lessen the idea that Guerrero only won this match due to outside interference. Did Goldberg's actions help set the stage for Eddie's win? Sure...but it still feels like Eddie earns his victory, which is why when people remember this match and its feel-good conclusion, there's never the sense that the title change was cheap. Like Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect from SummerSlam 91', which was, for years, my favorite match, this is one that you'll often see top people's lists of favorite matches largely because of the personal connection Eddie made with fans even before his death. It is an imperfect match - even if the Goldberg run-in doesn't taint things, there are other questionable spots, including Eddie hitting his trademark trio of suplexes so late in the match against a guy who outweighs him by a good 80-100 pounds. Despite some flaws and maybe an inflated reputation, it still holds up as one of the more rewarding watches from this era. (4/5)



With a Kwang Score of 2.5-out-of-5, No Way Out 2004 is far from an all-time classic, but it does offer enough good wrestling and cool segments to make it watchable. The main event is rightly beloved match, while the Mysterio/Chavo match is above-average. The Lesnar/Goldberg segment is fun and, hey, there's Josh Matthews with the frosted tips hanging out too. Everything else ranges from fairly terrible (the opener) to surprisingly decent (the APA match). It would be wrong to recommend this show as a whole, but I've sat through far worse.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Backlash 2018

WWE Backlash 2018

Newark, New Jersey - May 2018

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this co-branded show, Brock Lesnar is the reigning WWE Universal Champion while AJ Styles holds the WWE World Championship. The United States Champion is Jeff Hardy while Seth Rollins holds the Intercontinental Championship. The RAW Tag Team Championships are held by Matt Hardy and formerly foe Bray Wyatt, while the SmackDown Tag Team Championships are held by The Bludgeon Brothers. The RAW Women's Champion is Nia Jax and Carmella is the SmackDown Women's Champion. Last (and, yeah, its least), the Cruiserweight Champion is Cedric Alexander.

COMMENTATORS (RAW): Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Jonathan Coachman

COMMENTATORS (SD): Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and Corey Graves

The show kicked off with The Miz taking on Seth Rollins for Rollins' Intercontinental Championship. The crowd was actually somewhat split, with The Miz getting his fair share of cheers. The commentators really played up the idea of Rollins needing some time to "find his groove" and return to the level he was at when he was the WWE Champion, really trying to sell Rollins' relevancy to a TV audience that, like me, probably forgot that this guy was supposed to be a big deal. Miz controlled early, but this was a fairly even match. These two let the big spots breathe, which helped sell the intensity of the match, but also helped them draw bigger reactions for the cut-offs and transitions, keeping the crowd on the hook well past the 10-minute mark. I didn't like seeing Rollins kick out of the Skull-Crushing Finale twice, a move that was (wisely) protected for a long time, but I understand the intention. The WWE wants Rollins to be regarded as a main event-level guy on the same tier as a Reigns or Cena and this is the "Superman" booking that the WWE, rightly or wrongly, believes will get him there. The execution throughout this match was strong, but I'm not a big enough fan of Rollins to ever want to really see a match like this go longer than 15 minutes. (3/5)

The RAW Women's Championship was on the line next with a rematch from WrestleMania: Nia Jax now defending the title agains the former champion, Alexa Bliss. These two have great chemistry, which isn't too shocking when you consider that they're supposedly close buddies outside of the ring. There were some imperfect moments - a little telegraphing early, a deadly-stiff clothesline that looked unnecessarily dangerous, Bliss not really struggling to escape the fireman's position - but there was much more right in this match than wrong. Jax is one-dimensional, but she knows how to work in that dimension and Bliss knows how to be her foil. I didn't love the finishing stretch too as, throughout the course of the match, repeatedly, Jax was working to get Bliss into the corner for what was likely to be a fireman's carry off the ropes, but instead of giving us that payoff, Jax eventually won with just a basic version. Repeating sequences is only a sin when you don't do it to benefit the story of the match. Here, the repetitions exposed the limitations of Jax and Bliss as creative constructors of a match instead of demonstrating their gifts as storytellers. I'm also not sure what to make of the post-match interview at all as it was a longer, less emotionally truthful promo than the one we got at Mania. Aside from plugging the Be A Star campaign, what was the point of ti? To get people to boo Nia Jax? A good enough match to be considered better than average, but lacked the clear story and big moments of their bout last month. (3/5)

Randy Orton challenged Jeff Hardy for the United States Title in SmackDown's first spotlight match of the night. Orton is so much more tolerable when raises the heel level up even the slightest bit (which he did here) and when he's in the ring with someone energetic enough to provide some much needed urgency to his matches (something that ultra-methodical Roode and ultra-generic Jinder Mahal couldn't do). I don't mind Orton doing the strategic/methodical stuff, which he certainly did in this match (including a typical extended headlock segment), but context matters and, in this match, when your strategy needs to be keep Hardy grounded and close so that he can't drill you with Air Sabus and high-flying, it comes off much better than when he's using that same approach to wear out Jinder Mahal. Unfortunately, the crowd just didn't seem to care about this - which isn't that hard to believe when both guys seem just out of place and irrelevant in 2018. Even the commentators couldn't help but note that the last time they fought was ten years ago, a note that they probably thought would make this seem like a dream match we forgot we wanted, but really just dated both men. I didn't love the finish as it was too clean and felt a little bit under-deserved, but if the goal is to cement Jeff Hardy as a viable option to be a top SmackDown babyface - someone maybe capable of challenging for the WWE Championship this summer - it was an important victory. I liked this considerably more than the fans in attendance (who chanted "Rusev Day!" at one point) and most of the reviewers I've read on line, but I wouldn't call this a hidden gem or anything. (3/5)

Elias conducted a mini-concert next, getting in some great lines around New Jersey hero Bruce Springsteen. He was interrupted by The New Day and the segment, which had already been 4-5 minutes, continued on even longer as Aiden English showed up as well to welcome Rusev into the mix. Rusev was super over with the crowd (unsurprisingly), but even he wasn't the last guest as No Way Jose showed up with a conga line in tow featuring Titus Enterprises, Breezango, and a whole bunch of other RAW scrubs. Was this not the same thing that Adam Rose was doing a couple years back? Elias atempted one last time to sick his song, only for Bobby Roode to spike him with a DDT and lay him out. Very long segment that, to me, grew a bit tiresome by the end as I was much more interested in the wrestling aspect of this show. 

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass was next, the build-up to the match reviewed with a video package. A "We Want Enzo" chant started up, which is a bit disheartening considering we've got Daniel friggin' Bryan wrestling again. Bryan looked as good as ever, hitting Cass with his Yes Kicks and a, to steal a line from Michael Cole, vintage dropkick early on. Cass quickly cut him off, though, and started using his size and strength advantage to maintain control. Cass will need to develop more schtick than just raising his fist to the sky every time he wants heel heat, but at least he knows to do that much in his new heel role. I've read some fans complaints about how it feels wrong to watch Daniel Bryan take so many hard-hitting bumps when his health was enough of a concern to keep him benched for over a year, but I trust him enough that I'm not clutching my pearls every time he took a shot to the noggin. The right man won this and he did it the right way too, Big Cass undeserving of the rub at this point but still getting to maintain some his heat via the post-match attack. There will likely be all sorts of belly-aching online about how Bryan deserves a bigger "name" to be feuding with, but I'm not too concerned - the WWE knows there's money in matches against Styles and Nakamura and The Miz and others, but there's not necessarily a reason (storyline or otherwise) to rush those programs when the rest of the brand, especially newcomers like Cass, are in desperate need of the shine that working with him brings. The best Big Cass singles match ever? I'd have to see something noticeably better to be convinced otherwise, but then again, I could probably count on one hand the number of Big Cass singles matches I've even seen. No worse than your average TV match even if Cass looked like he needed reminders to get him through it. (2.5/5)

I haven't watched much of any WWE TV since Mania so I had not seen Carmella steal the SmackDown Women's Championship from Charlotte (with help from the Iconic Duo, who are now going by the name The IIconics for some reason or other). Carmella is not a smooth worker, but I actually thought her headlock looked legitimately vicious (it helped that Charlotte seemed to sell it by holding her breath till her face turned purple) and her incessant screaming was so annoying that I really did want to see her get face beaten in. That's good heel work. What wasn't good was all the tongue-to-the-top-lip stuff - once or twice is fine, but I like some variety in my villain expressions. Also, not to bring up the non-stop shrieking again but if she works like that every night, she's going to permanently damage her vocal cords by SummerSlam - just ask Axl Rose. As for the ring work, I found it to be uniformly strong and often devastating-looking. My only gripe would be that I've either missed the storyline or they never bothered telling it regarding Carmella's sudden competence as an in-ring threat. She needed help to hold onto her briefcase and this feels like her first spotlight PPV match, so it just seemed a bit odd how easily she held her own against Charlotte, the company ace. I liked this match more than nearly every review of it I read. People seem a bit harsh to me. (2.5/5)

Here we go - Shinsuke Nakamura challenging AJ Styles for the WWE World Championship. This one starts off with an easy half-point bonus for Nakamura's new theme song, which kicks so much ass. Writing about this match after the finish is tough because there's no denying the taste it left in my mouth (and the mouth of the fans in attendance) was putrid. That being said, the rest of the match was as hard-hitting as they get and Nakamura worked wonderfully in his new role. Even before the unfortunate conclusion, though, I did question booking this match as No DQ as the audience clearly wanted to see more weaponry (chanting "We Want Tables" at one point). The addition of the chair (and the unintended color) added a ton to this match, but we've seen plenty of title matches - especially in the Attitude Era - involve all sorts of shenanigans that the ref "missed" or chose to ignore (with the commentators telling the viewers at home that the "stakes are too high" for the ref to make the DQ call). I enjoyed the "meat" of this match more than their WrestleMania match, but its impossible to call this "great" when the ending is such a disappointment. At least we know there next match has the potential to be tremendous. (3.5/5)

Braun Strowman teamed with Bobby Lashley to take on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn next. Again, questionable booking reared its ugly head during this one as Bobby Lashley, a super heavyweight with legit wrestling credentials, played face-in-peril after an initial shine segment. Zayn and Owens did a great job of playing up their fear of Strowman, but it made Lashley, a highly touted signee, look average in comparison. The final minutes took a comedic tone as Owens and Zayn put each other in danger, but again, I'm just not 100% sold on anyone involved in this match benefitting from this kind of positioning. I can maybe count on one hand how many times Brock Lesnar has been featured in such a way and even a guy like Samoa Joe has wisely steered clear of playing anything for laughs, but these four are slipping into dangerous territory, especially Strowman, who is at serious risk of becoming this generation's Big Show rather than a serious, credible monster like The Undertaker or Yokozuna or Vader at their respective peaks. This was not my cup of tea, but it had less to do than the action and more to do with with the set-up as a whole. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe. I'd heard that the SmackDown title match was penned in to close the show, but when you consider what the finish of that bout was, it makes total sense that they'd put this one on in its place. Joe was the favorite with at least 40% of the crowd and his initial flurry of violence against Reigns got a strongly positive reaction. I'm not sure why they played the whole "The Match Hasn't Even Started" card as nothing Joe did was disqualifiable. Cole called Joe's before-the-bell attack a "cheap shot," but I feel like a third of matches start that way. After a solid opening, Joe applied a chin lock and kept it locked in for quite a bit of time and then went back to even more submissions over the next few minutes, really trolling the audience between the bigger spots. I'm not sure if the marching orders were to go out and work multiple submissions to prevent Joe from outshining Reigns, but you could clearly make out slight "CM Punk" and "Boring" chants at specific points of this bout. Whenever Joe and Reigns weren't purposefully tanking the match and angering the audience, the action was terrific - these guys have great chemistry, hit hard, and even without real stakes, this match still felt like they had enough history to warrant a main event spot. Unfortunately, the layout ended up delivering the right things at the wrong times. The pre-match table spot was the most hardcore moment of the match, starting the match with chaos that was then halted dead in its tracks with Joe drawing "boring" chants with his submissions. Things picked back up, and there were even some inventive moments (Joe turning a Drive-by attempt into a Kokina Clutch), but the match segments seemed to lack cohesion and during one lull in the action, a "Rusev Day" chant started up, the crowd just not focused on the back-and-forth at all (until Joe nearly tapped Reigns with his debilitating finisher). The ending was underwhelming and, for many of us, disappointing as Reigns scored a clean, definitive victory. On a house show, this would've been considered good or even really good - but as a pay-per-view main event, it was just okay. (2.5/5)


Should we be calling this the "Everything's Good - Nothing's Great" Era? At this point, the WWE's roster is so stacked that practically everybody is able to put on a good match despite bad booking or an uncaring crowd. Tonight's show was proof of it. There was no match I'd call sub-average, but nearly every match suffered because of a thin story or poor layout and miscast talent. Bobby Lashley in his first return to PPV is going to play face-in-peril? What were the marching orders for the main event? "Don't hurt yourself out there?" The opener has been cited by most as the match of the night, but I'm still largely indifferent to Seth Rollins, who might be the most successful guy to never have a definable character whatsoever. I never thought I'd say this after how little I liked Dean Ambrose in 2016 or most of 2017, but I'm kinda craving the Lunatic Fringe to lend the RAW brand a character or two as Lashley, Rollins, and, sadly, now Reigns and even Owens and Zayn just seem to be floating around aimlessly with no clear motivations. Only The Miz, inspired by the birth of his first child, seems to have any clear reason to be showing up for work these days. SmackDown had the better matches of the night and, even if Styles/Nakamura featured an unfortunate non-ending, I'll admit to craving to want to see a rematch (which is kind of the point of episodic wrestling anyway). The right man won the Bryan/Cass match and I'd say the same about the Orton/Hardy match, though I do wish they'd have just made that one a Money In The Bank Qualifier or a Number One Contender's match because the US Title has been tossed around so frequently that I almost forgot it was even on the line. A Kwang Score of 2.69-out-of-5 should denote an above-average show, but because this show lacked any match that I'd eagerly rewatch (save for maybe AJ/Nakamura), its hard to recommend.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuever