NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III & WWE SummerSlam 2017 Review

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III
Brooklyn, NY
Barclays Center
8/19/17

We have finally arrived at NXT's biggest show of the year NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III and just like the two years prior the card for the show looks stacked. Four out of the five matches on the card are sure to deliver and the one match that doesn't look good on paper (NXT Tag Team Championship) could always over deliver and impress more than most people are expecting it to. The Takeover specials earlier this year haven't had as much hype as ones before them, but finally it feels like NXT is back on track and is once again the show you most look forward to watching all week and this show could once again steal the weekend just like the last two years. 

Before we get to the first match we have a live performance from Code Orange singing one of the theme songs for Takeover as we get clips hyping up tonight's show. I have to say this band is not good at all and it sucks we had to take even a little bit of time away from the matches for this dumpster fire of a performance, but I guess it makes the show feel even bigger and more special than the other Takeover specials.

Match #1

Andrade Cien Almas w/ Zelina Vega def Johnny Gargano via Pinfall
This was a great way to start the show as these two put on a hell of a match. This was the best Almas has looked on a Takeover and I love the pairing with him and Zelina Vega, but I have to wonder just how long it will be before they have them as an actual couple instead of just business partners. He still is being a bit cocky during his matches which causes his opponent to take advantage, but Zelina does a great job of being a coach on the outside and making sure he stays on his opponent. Gargano is super over with the crowd and is great at playing the babyface in despair. and I can't wait until Ciampa returns and we get that feud. There was a point in the match where I thought Gargano was going to pull out the win as he had Almas locked in the Gargano Escape, but Almas is able to get out of it. The finish of the match came when Gargano had Almas down and was setting him up for the superkick, but Zelina threw a DIY shirt at him which caused a distraction long enough for Almas to hit the hammerlock DDT for the win. Rating: ***3/4

Before the next match we are shown Raw and Smackdown General Managers up in a skybox getting their asses kissed by NXT Talents No Way Jose & Iconic.

Match #2

SAnity w/ Nikki Cross & Killian Dane def Authors of Pain (c) w/ Paul Ellering via Pinfall  (NXT Tag Team Championship)

The Authors of Pain waste no time in getting things started as they rush the ring and all four men are brawling before the match as Eric Young sets up a table on the outside. Alexander Wolfe is the one starting out for SAnity and before Killian Dane can get tagged in Eric Young takes his place, so its Young and Wolfe representing SAnity in this match. Not sure from a kayfabe perspective why you would want to replace one of your big men in a match against two giants like AOP. There was a spot where one of the AOP backdrops EY and the other one catches him in a Canadian backbreaker and hits him with the dominator. I'm confused on who we are suppose to cheer for in this match as in the build up it looked like AOP were the babyfaces as they kept getting attacked by SAnity from behind, but during the match SAnity were the ones working like the baby faces. 

There was a spot where AOP were going to do a tower of doom where one AOP would powerbomb the other member which would cause EY to be superplexed off the top, but Nikki Cross held the legs of EY and instead the AOP member powerbombed his partner with no benefit for them. The biggest pop of the match was when Nikki got on the apron as she is the most over member of the group, she gets in the ring and goes up to the top and dives onto one of the AOP members, but he catches her and then Killian Dane runs at that AOP member while he is holding Nikki and hits a cross body sending all three of them through the table that EY had set up before the match.  After this Wolfe and EY hit their back suplex and top rope neckbreaker combo to get the win and become the new NXT Tag Team Champions. I have to say I was really impressed with Alexander Wolfe in this match as he showed why he belongs. After the match ReDragon run in and attack both teams and I'm super pumped as the NXT Tag Division just got a major boost. Rating: ***

Match #3

Alleister Black def Hideo Itami via Pinfall

Alleister Black comes to the ring and apparently Code Orange is the same people who sing his theme song and their are doing a live performance and it was a much better performance than the one that opened the show. This was the match I was most looking forward to on this show and it didn't disappoint as both men were hitting each other with stiff strikes and I loved every minute of it. Withing the first few minutes of the match starting Hideo had already given Black a bloody nose. At one point when Hideo was in control of the match he decided to mock Black by sitting Indian style like Black is known to do. Once Black makes a come back he hits Hideo with a roundhouse kick that knocks him loopy and instead of going for the cover he goes up looking for a move off the top, but Hideo cuts him off and hits him with a super falcon arrow. Just when Hideo thinks he is in full control he is hit out of nowhere with the Black Mass and Alleister gets the win. Rating: ****

Match #4
Asuka (c) def Ember Moon via Submission (NXT Women's Championship)
I really enjoyed this match and got into the match more than I did their first match against each other as I really thought this was going to be the end of Asuka's reign as champion. I had the idea in my mind that since the actual eclipse is Monday they would let the person who's finisher is called the Eclipse get the win tonight. Now that Asuka has defeated Ember twice I have to imagine this feud is over and I am really curious who they plan on having end Asuka's streak because there really isn't anyone else left unless they go back and have her feud with Nikki again or have a one on one feud with Ruby Riot, or perhaps they will have the eventual winner of the Mae Young Classic get a major career boost by beating her. 

Ember started this match out on fire (no pun intended) and wasn't planning on letting Asuka get any momentum, but Asuka takes control after sending Ember into the steps. Asuka does a really good job of working on the previously injured shoulder of Ember with a variety of joint manipulation and submission moves. Ember eventually makes a comeback and is even able to hit the Eclipse and a superkick on Asuka, but it isn't enough to keep the Empress down. Asuka eventually gets Ember back down and transitions a cross armbar into the Asuka Lock and Ember has no choice but to tap out and the 502 day title reign of Asuka continues on. Rating: ***3/4

Match #5
Drew McIntyre def Bobby Roode (c) via Pinfall (NXT Championship)

This match didn't have that much build and felt like it came out of nowhere as the feud that had been dominating NXT tv was the feud between Roode and Roderick Strong and I felt that match should've happened here instead of on a random episode of NXT tv as that feud was much more heated and personal than this feud ever got as Roode was cutting some great prickish heel promos on Roddy and his family.

This match was pretty good, when it comes to big time matches Roode is better than most people give him credit for, he will never give you a 5 star match but you can count on him to deliver at least a decent 3 - 4 star main event match and Drew always puts on great matches and this one was no different. This match was back and forth the entire time and neither man had control of the match for long periods of time. I really wasn't expecting Drew to win the title this quickly, but I guess they are going to continue the Roode vs Strong feud as a non title program while Drew feuds with the man who debuted at the end of the show. The finish saw both men countering each others DDTs until Roode finally hit two Glorious DDTs in a row, but McIntyre kicked out and then out of nowhere is able to hit the Claymore to pin the champ and become the new NXT Champion. Rating: ***

If ReDragon debuting as a team wasn't enough of a surprise they return after this match and then out of nowhere (ok actually you knew it was coming because the crowd were on their feet as he was making his way through the crowd) comes Adam Cole BABY and he along with ReDragon lay out the new NXT Champion Drew McIntyre. So it looks like we have a new stable in NXT of former ROH stars and I have to wonder if a heel turn is coming for Roddy Strong and he will join this group. 

This was a really good show and just like I said four of the matches delivered and the fifth match was better than most expected it to be. With two title changes and a big debut I would say overall this was a really good and memorable show. Show Rating: A-

WWE SummerSlam 2017
Brooklyn, NY
Barclays Center
8/20/17
We are here at "The Biggest Party of the Summer" Summer Slam and due to this show being 15 hours long as it is I'm not going to do much of a background of my thoughts going into this show like I usually do, but the main question is will this show be able to top the amazing NXT Takeover show from last night? I highly doubt this show will be able to top last night, but it should be a fun show none the less and hopefully it's a show that doesn't feel like the 6+ hour show that it will turn out to be.

Kick Off Match #1

The Miz & The Miztourage w/ Maryse def The Hardy Boyz & Jason Jordan via Pinfall

You would think with Jason Jordan's father being the Raw GM he could have at least put his match in the main event of the kick off show, but instead this match is happening 30 minutes into the kick off show and not even half the crowd has filed in yet, welcome back Hardy Boyz this is what we think of you in 2017. Really the more I think about this it is such a stupid decision to put this match which has one of the most over acts in the entire company on while half the damn crowd is still trying to get into the arena. This match was nothing more than any random 6 man tag title match you would see on an episode of Raw. Miz gets the win as he hits the Skull Crushing Finale on an unsuspecting Jason Jordan. Rating: **

Kick Off Match #2
Neville def Akira Tozawa (c) w/ Titus O'Neil via Pinfall (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
This match was ok, but still not as good as I expect a cruiserweight match to be as they are still doing rest spots in cruiserweight matches which is baffling to me, especially since this match is suppose to pump the crowd up for the rest of the show. They need to have more matches like Johnny Gargano and Andrade Almas had last night at Takeover. I wasn't expecting Neville to retain the title as I thought they would give Tozawa a longer reign than just 6 days, but the king has regained his crown. Neville gets the win after getting his knees up as Tozawa hit the Senton Bomb and then Neville hit the Red Arrow on the back of Tozawa. Rating: **1/2

We then get a concert with Elias "Don't Call Me Samson" and he is over with the Brooklyn crowd so much that they cheered for an encore performance.

Carmella & James Hogsworth join the kick off show panel and Carmella is looking damn good and is over with her hometown New York crowd. We get a rapid fire run through of some of the matches they won't be covering in detail on the kick off show and get CarmEllsworth's thoughts on them.

Kick Off Match #3
The Usos def The New Day (c) w/ Kofi Kingston via Pinfall (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
First off I really like the New Day's gear as we are told it is taken from the comic book Red Lantern. WOW this match was amazing and finally it feels like we are at one of the big four PPVs of the year. These two teams stole the kick off show and I doubt if anyone on the main card will top this match. I forget just how awesome Xavier Woods is as I'm used to him being the corner man for Big E and Kofi, but Xavier was the MVP of this match. New Day brought in some new double team offense which included Xavier lifting Big E on his shoulders and sending him down onto one of the Usos as well as Xavier hitting a back stabber on one of The Usos at the same time as he is getting STO'd out of the corner by Big E. There was a spot where one of the Usos did a pop up and threw Xavier out of the ring and Xavier landed nasty on top of the other Uso. These two teams are great at the finishing sequence in tag matches especially the Usos making the blind tags. The match finished with Big E receiving three super kicks and then top rope splashes from both Usos and we have new Smackdown Tag Team Champions. Rating: ****1/4

Match #1
John Cena def Baron Corbin via Pinfall
John Cena starts the match out being a complete smug dick as he mocks Corbin about him being shook since Cena cost him the title after he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase. This match started out with Corbin doing a lot of trash talking every time he would hit a move. We got the Corbin sliding out of the ring and back in spot three different times in the match with Corbin getting the upper hand the first two times and then Cena finally catches on and catches Corbin with a big clothesline and then does his usual five moves of doom sequence before hitting the Attitude Adjustment for the win. This was a good way to open the main card from a star perspective, but a bad way to open it from a match quality perspective. I really have to wonder what is happening with Corbin for him to lose both this match and his briefcase in the same week. Rating: **1/4

Match #2
Natalya def Naomi (c) via Submission (Smackdown Women's Championship)

This match was much better than I ever expected it to be and I'll even give Natalya some credit as she really did a good job in this match. The match started with Naomi hitting a blockbuster off the apron to the outside and then once Nattie recovered she catapulted Naomi into the ring post. Naomi tries for her rapid fire kicks, but Nattie counters by grabbing her leg and sending her down into a split and then followed up with a dropkick to the face. While I will give credit to Nattie for her work in the match, her heel mannerisms still make me cringe. Nattie finally gets Naomi in the Sharpshooter, but Naomi counters with a roll through sending Nattie into the bottom turnbuckle head first. The finsh comes when Naomi goes for the split legged moonsault, but Nattie gets her knees up and then puts Naomi back in the Sharpshooter where she has no choice but to tap out giving us a new Smackdown Women's Champion. Naomi was in tears as Nattie celebrated her title win. There was no tease of a cash in by Carmella. Rating: **1/2

Match #3
Big Cass def The Big Show w/ Enzo Amore via Pinfall (locked in a shark cage)
My favorite part of this match was how The Big Show sold the injured hand with just little things like when he would send Cass into the ropes he wouldn't use his injured hand to push him in the back to give him that extra boost. I liked how Big Show was trying to figure out how to climb the ropes with the injured hand and how when he braced for the landing as Cass moved he had no choice but to use the injured hand. I was rolling my eyes as the whole Enzo getting out of the cage with the oil, but when he got hit with the Big Boot as soon as he landed I laughed my ass off. Cass gets the win with two big boots and an Empire Elbow. Rating: *3/4

Match #4
Randy Orton def Rusev via Pinfall
Rusev jumped Orton from behind as Orton was going to pose on the turnbuckle during his entrance and sent him into the barricade. Right when the bell rings Rusev runs at Orton in the corner, but Orton moves and hits an RKO and gets the win in less than 30 seconds. Poor Rusev needs a win and can't get one to save his life. Rating: DUD

Match #5
Sasha Banks def Alexa Bliss (c) via Submission (Raw Women's Championship)
We see in the back as Sasha is on her way to the ring that she runs into Bayley and they hug as Brooklyn boos Bayley out of the building. Sasha Banks makes her way to the ring wearing some kind of special costume thing around her neck, but she had to keep holding it up because it kept wanting to fall off. I have to mention that earlier in the night there was a commercial for the No Mercy show and it featured only Alexa Bliss and it was really cool as it had Alexa and then an army of BlissFits wearing masks like Asuka wears it was really cool.

This match took quite a while to pick up the pace and even when it did it never got to the level it needed to be unfortunately. Bliss's character work was superb as it always is, I just wish she would adopt Daniel Bryan's old ROH "I have until 5" catch phrase when she has her opponent in the ropes and the referee scolds her as that would so fit her character. Alexa was in control for majority of this match. Bliss hits a beautiful top rope version of Insult to Injury. Sasha counters Alexa's sunset flip out of the corner and hits a modified version of a wheelbarrow sending Alexa head first into the middle turnbuckle. Sasha tries to hit the double knees off the apron, but Alexa yanks the ring skirt and this causes Sasha to trip an fall off the apron and causes pain to her shoulder which Alexa starts to work on for a few minutes. Alexa hits Twisted Bliss, but Sasha kicks out. Sasha eventually is able to lock the Bank Statement back on and as hard as she tried Alexa had no choice, but to tap. I really was hoping Sasha could help Alexa get that really great stand out match, but it wasn't to be unfortunately. I still love me some Little Miss Bliss and it kills me to have to say anything even the least bit negative about her, but I just wish the match had given me a bit more than what it did. We now have four straight title changes, I have to wonder if this will continue throughout the rest of the night? Rating: **1/4

Match #6
The "Demon" Finn Balor def Bray Wyatt via Pinfall

The Demon entrance from Finn Balor is always really cool to watch, but this time I have to say the little ribbon things from his arms that he was spinning around at the beginning of his entrance made him look like he was competing in the ribbon competition in gymnastics. This was a fun little match that was mainly to showcase Balor as the Demon and give him an easy win over someone who the crowd has given up on. There wasn't anything too special done in this match that made it feel like a big time match other than Balor jumping up as Bray was doing his creepy spider pose. Balor gets the win with a slingblade and the Coupe d'grace. Rating: **1/2

Match #7
Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins def Cesaro & Sheamus (c) via Pinfall (Raw Tag Team Championship)

It took us six matches to get there, but we finally have our next match that is worth going out of your way to watch as this was a really good match and the best match so far of the main card. One of the highlights of this match didn't even happen in the ring as Cesaro ran and jumped into the crowd and grabbed a beach ball that someone had started tossing around the arena which was distracting the fans and tore the ball to shreds as he wasn't having any of the fans disrespecting the participants in this match because of a damn beach ball. Dean and Seth did a good job combining the moves they would do in their singles matches and turning them into double team sequences, they also hit a version of the Hart Attack where Rollins hit the slingblade instead of just the regular clothesline. There was a really cool spot where Cesaro and Sheamus are looking to hit their aided White Noise finisher, but Rollins cuts Cesaro off on the top rope and hits him with a frankensteiner which causes Cesaro to go crashing into Sheamus. Rollins and Ambrose finish things off with Rollins hitting the rip cord into the knee on Cesaro and Ambrose follows that up with the Dirty Deeds to get the win. I really enjoyed this match and it's one of my favorite matches that Dean Ambrose has been involved in for quite some time. Rating: ***3/4

Match #8
AJ Styles (c) def Kevin Owens via Pinfall (WWE United States Championship - Special Referee: Shane McMahon)

This is the third match between these two on a PPV and once again they fail to deliver the top quality match that you would expect from them, the only difference this time is I knew it wasn't going to be a great match due to the special referee stipulation and I was exactly right. This match could never really get any momentum behind it because they had to stop and argue with Shane numerous times during the match and that hurt the match tremendously. This match took place solely for the purpose of setting up a Kevin Owens vs Shane McMahon feud down the line as Shane was the reason for KO's downfall in this match. The match outside of all of the foolishness with Shane was pretty good, but it could and should have been so much better. Rating: ***1/4

Match #9
Jinder Mahal (c) w/ The Singh Brothers def Shinsuke Nakamura via Pinfall (WWE World Championship)
I honestly can't remember much about this match as at this point in the show I was just ready for the main event, I had been watching this show since 5 and out of all the matches on the card this was one that I couldn't care less about. I was both surprised and horrified that Jinder retained as it means the boring reign of Mahal continues and I have to wonder just how long they plan on having this title reign last. I'm still waiting for Nakamura to have that blow away amazing match like he did in his debut on NXT with Sami Zayn, but it's been well over a year since then and the closest he has come to that was his match at Backlash against Dolph Ziggler, hopefully that feud with AJ comes sooner than later as then maybe we will finally see another great Nakamura match. Rating: **1/4

Match #10
Brock Lesnar (c) w/ Paul Heyman def Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, & Braun Strowman via Pinfall (WWE Universal Championship)

I expected this match to be good, but holy shit this was an amazing match and I loved all of it from start to finish. Braun Strowman is so freaking great at everything he does and in my book right now he can do no wrong in fact I will say he is my 2017 WWE Wrestler of the Year. All four men in this match were made to look strong and none of them were worse off when the match was over. Four way matches are hard to pull off and aren't always the greatest of matches, but this one was a different story, in fact I can't think of any four way match before where after it was over I would be ok if they had a rematch. I was really surprised to see Brock retain as I was for sure he was leaving after this, but looks like he is gonna be sticking around for a little while longer. I honestly can't do this match justice by writing about it as it has to be seen to appreciate just how great it was. Rating: ****1/2

Whew I finally made it through this show 6 hours later and overall I will say the show was ok, but there were a lot of below average matches on the card. There were only four matches out of thirteen that I rated 3 stars or above which is not that great for the second biggest show of the year. Show Rating: C-

WWE SummerSlam 2017 Weekend Match Ranking

18. Randy Orton vs Rusev DUD
17. Big Cass vs The Big Show 
16. The Miz & The Miztourage vs The Hardy Boyz & Jason Jordan 
15. WWE Championship
14. John Cena vs Baron Corbin
13. Raw Women's Championship 
12. Finn Balor vs Bray Wyatt 
11. WWE Cruiserweight Championship 
10. Smackdown Women's Championship 
9. NXT Championship 
8. NXT Tag Team Championship 
7.  WWE United States Championship 
6. Johnny Gargano vs Andrade Cien Almas 
5. NXT Women's Championship 
4. Raw Tag Team Championship 
3. Hideo Itami vs Allister Black 
2. Smackdown Tag Team Championship 
1. WWE Universal Championship

I hope you enjoyed this review of both NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III and SummerSlam 2017 feel free to contact me on twitter @MTW3589 if you have any questions or comments. I'll see you guys back next month for Raw's next brand exclusive PPV No Mercy.

WWE Battleground 2017 Review

WWE Battleground 2017
Philadelphia, PA
Wells Fargo Center
Brand: Smackdown
7/23/17

For the last few weeks I haven't given Smackdown my full attention due to having to switch between watching that and America's Got Talent on Tuesday nights, but the stuff I have been able to watch hasn't really interested me all that much. Leading up to this show Smackdown needed a subtitle of "USA vs The World" as their top three feuds center around a baby face American taking on a foreign heel and that's one reason why I'm not very interested in this Battleground show as the top three matches have pretty much the exact same story telling. 

I'm getting tired of the pairing of Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton as none of their matches have been outstanding and are at best average, so why we need to see three of them is beyond me. I had a feeling it was only a matter of time once Jinder became a main event guy that we would get the return of the Punjabi Prison match and it didn't take long before I was proven right. There is a reason why there has only been two prior Punjabi Prison matches prior to this one and it's because they pretty much suck and I expect no different this time. I see Jinder easily getting the win here and setting him up for a big match at SummerSlam against Cena where he will lose the title. 

The feud between Kevin Owens and AJ Styles hasn't been that interesting since AJ won the title at MSG at a house show as they have pretty much been paired up with another feud and put in tag matches in the weeks leading up to the show. I would expect AJ to keep the title and move on to a new challenger for SummerSlam. 

The third big match on this show is the Flag Match between John Cena and Rusev, this is your typical WWE style America vs foreign heel story that worked great back in the 70s and 80s, but doesn't have the same appeal to fans today. This feud feels like it was meant to be a hold over until SummerSlam when Cena gets back into the title picture, so I give "Captain America" John Cena the win. 

I absolutely can't stand what is happening with the women's division, why are we having the third multi woman match this year on a PPV for the women on Smackdown? This feels like such a step back when they would just throw all the women on the card instead of building up meaningful feuds. Not only is this the third multi woman match this year, but it's the second one in a row for a Smackdown PPV and it's not even for the women's championship but rather to see who faces the champion at SummerSlam, why not have this match on Smackdown and then actually have a title feud start here and last until SummerSlam. I hope Charlotte wins this one and we get the Queen vs Naomi at SummerSlam, but I feel like WWE are putting the rocket on Lana so she will most likely be the challenger yet again for the Smackdown Women's Championship at SummerSlam. 

The other matches on the card I haven't really been paying the most attention to except for the tag title match where I did like the rap battle between New Day and the Usos. 

This show could have a couple of good matches, but overall I'm ready for this show to be over and see what they have planned for the blue brand for SummerSlam as it hasn't been the best to watch over the last month. 

Kick Off Match
Aiden English def Tye Dillinger via Pinfall

This was a rematch from their kick off match at Money in the Bank and for a kick off match this was pretty good. Aiden English has the best airbrushed tights since Rick Rude as this time he had the painting of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. Aiden got the win after hitting a spin out full nelson. Rating: **

Match #1
The New Day def The Usos (c) (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
This match was a great way to open the show as both teams really shined bright and put on a great match. I loved all of the super close near falls and I actually fell for a lot of them. I see that New Day stuck with the America vs the World theme for their gear as they were decked out in red, white, and blue which has to bring back memories for Xavier as that was his attire back when he was Consequences Creed. The spot where one of the Usos rolled out of the way of the top rope elbow as the other Uso caught him with a super kick was a nice out of nowhere spot and played nicely into the finish when he was able to hit it after one of the Usos was knocked out with the Trouble in Paradise from Kofi Kingston. I am ready to se these two teams go at it again and I look forward to the day when The Usos face off against Revival as both teams have such great tag team timing especially when it comes to the finish of the match. Rating: ***1/2

Match #2
Shinsuke Nakamura def Baron Corbin via DQ
This match never really kicked into that next gear that it needed to, the match mainly consisting of both men beating the shit out of each other with hard strikes. Shinsuke got the win after Corbin was playing opossum and as Nakamura went for a back suplex he was hit with a low blow by Corbin. After the match Corbin came back in and hit Shinsuke with the MITB brieface and then hit him with the End of Days. Nothing much else to say about this match. Rating: **1/4

Match #3
Natalya def Charlotte, Tamina, Becky Lynch, & Lana (Smackdown Women's Championship #1 Contender Match - 5 Way Elimination Match)

This match started out pretty good with the story of Tamina having to save Lana from the other girls, but once Tamina was eliminated we got the eliminations of Lana & Becky immediately after and I hate elimination matches that have quick eliminations, if your going to do that then just make it a one fall match. I was surprised Nattie picked up the win, but I guess with her being the only heel left it makes sense for her to face Naomi. I still have to imagine they will find a way to get Charlotte on the SummerSlam card somehow as she is the ace of the women's division on Smackdown. Overall the entire match felt rushed and that sucks because these women deserve better. I have a bone to pick with Lana, first she steals a gimmick that would've been perfect for Eva Marie and now she comes out and is wearing all red, that is complete gimmick infringement. Rating: **1/2

Match #4
Kevin Owens def AJ Styles (c) (WWE United States Championship) via Pinfall
If I was shown a piece of paper and it said that AJ Styles was going to face Kevin Owens I would instantly get excited and expect a really great match and possibly a match of the year contender, but this match never really got close to being either of these things and it left me feeling disappointed. The only thing I really enjoyed was the finish where they kept countering submission moves. The referee was doing a really bad job when he got knocked out as he was being way too noticeable and was taking the attention of the match and putting it on himself. Really surprised that KO won the title back this quickly, but it looked like AJ's shoulders may have been up so we could be seeing a rematch at SummerSlam. Rating: ***

Match #5

John Cena def Rusev (Flag Match)

I enjoyed this match more than I expected I would as they were able to make a match type that is usually boring and actually make it pretty fun. Not sure why they needed to add that you have to carry your flag to your country's pedestal located at the entrance rule as they have never had a flag match with that rule before and it didn't add anything to the match. Once Rusev set up the tables I knew exactly how the match was going to end. Rating: ***1/2

Match #6

Sami Zayn def Mike Kanellis w/ Maria Kanellis
This was a pretty decent match, but the real highlights were the the interactions between Mike and Maria during the match. I love their act and Maria is such a star and has improved so much since she left the WWE. The finish comes when Maria tries to distract Sami, but he doesn't fall for it and ends up hitting the Helluva Kick on Mr Kanellis. Rating: **1/4

Match #7
Jinder Mahal (c) def Randy Orton (WWE World Championship - Punjabi Prison Match)

Just like Rusev and Cena did these two took a terrible gimmick match and made it enjoyable to watch and it's probably my favorite match out of the three between Jinder and Orton. The first half of the match when they were in the inner cage was the pretty standard stuff you would see in any WWE cage match. Once the match went to the outside and the Singh brothers got involved the match picked up and became a lot of fun with some crazy spots where the Singh brother bumped around like crazy including one of them falling from the outer cage and crashing through an announce table. The finish where The Great Khali returned and choked Orton out in order for Jinder to get the win was really good and I wondered how long it would be before we seen Khali show up to help out his fellow Indian. The Great Khali is going to work great in this role as Jinder's muscle. Rating: ***1/4

This show was completely average with a couple of matches that were fun to watch, but weren't the greatest thing in the world. I would give this show a solid C. 

I hope you enjoy my Battleground 2017 review and please feel free to comment on here or follow me on twitter @MTW3589 and also check out the podcast that I co-host over on twitter @TWF_Podcast

Battleground 2017 Match Ranking
8. Tye Dillinger vs Aiden English
7. Baron Corbin vs Shinsuke Nakamura
6. Sami Zayn vs Mike Kanellis
5. Women's 5 Way Elimination Match
4. WWE US Championship
3. WWE Championship
2. Flag Match
1. Smackdown Tag Team Championship

WWE Great Balls of Fire Review

WWE Great Balls of Fire
Dallas, TX
American Airlines Center
Brand: Raw
7/19/17

The past few weeks of Raw leading up to this show have been pretty decent for the most part, especially the build for the main event between Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe, this match was one that I wanted to see from the moment Joe walked through the curtain in NXT and so far the build has lived up to expectations as it feels like a big time fight and not just another wrestling feud. 

The tag division has been pretty lackluster since we have been basically waiting for this blow off match between The Hardy Boyz and Cesaro/Sheamus, with that said I'm really looking forward to this Ironman match as it good be one of the best matches of the night. 

I have really enjoyed the Braun vs Roman feud that has been going on all year and hopefully this is the blow off match between these two and I'm sure it will be just as great as their first two matches as these guys have good chemistry with each other. The Seth Rollins vs Bray Wyatt feud I couldn't care less about as it has really bored me the entire time, we all know Bray will end up losing the feud just like he always does and I'm just ready for Seth to move on to the next person. Speaking of moving on to the next person that is exactly what I have been thinking since the feud over the Intercontinental Championship between The Miz and Dean Ambrose started as I'm tired of seeing these two against each other and ready to see Miz work with other guys. I have liked the Enzo vs Big Cass feud so far and interested to see what happens in this match. 

The women's division on Raw has really frustrated me over the last month as it seemed for a few weeks they had no clue where they were going with it as they had all the girls on the roster come out for these cluster brawls and no real challenger for Alexa. Finally we get Sasha winning a gauntlet match to become number one contender so it will be Sasha vs Alexa on this show, but they are still teasing the Nia vs Alexa feud so I guess Sasha is just a hold over before that happens at SummerSlam. Poor Bayley has been shot out of the picture and Emma can't even get a freaking match on PPV since returning from injury, I mean come on put her in a feud with Mickie, Bayley, or even Dana but please just get her into a feud as her talent deserves to be showcased on the big shows. 

The card itself looks really good with six out of the eight matches that I'm really looking forward to. 

Kick Off Match
Neville (c) def Akira Tozawa via Pinfall (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
This match was nothing special as they didn't steal the show like I'm sure they could if they wanted to. Tozawa got some nice hope spots where it looked like we may have a new champion, Tozawa was even able to hit his top rope senton, but before he could cover the champ Neville rolled to the outside. In the end the reign of King Neville continues and with Austin Aries now gone from the WWE I don't see any real threat's to Neville's crown. Neville gets the win after he crotches Tozawa on the top rope and then kicks the rope to inflict further damage and follows that up with a spin kick to the mid section to get the win. I do like what they are doing with Titus and him being a manager to all these guys on the lower card, never pictured him as a manger, but he is doing a really good job. Rating: **1/2

Match #1

Bray Wyatt def Seth Rollins via Pinfall

Before I get to the match I have to say that as ridiculous as I thought the name "Great Balls of Fire" was for the name of a PPV I actually liked the opening video that was done where it made it look like you were at a 1950s drive in movie. They should have had the stage set up like a drive in movie also with classic cars and a concession stand. I noticed they billed this as having three main events with the obvious Universal Title and Ambulance Match, but the third of these three main events was the Raw Women's Championship which is pretty cool especially since the build for this match was a complete cluster for the first few weeks. 

Wow I can't believe Bray won, that must mean this feud isn't over as he never wins his feuds in the end. While I liked the aggression from both men the match itself wasn't anything that you couldn't see on Raw every week. This wasn't the match I would've chose to open the show as nobody cared much about the feud, but at least Seth Rollins offense is a way to get the crowd on its feet. The finish of the match saw Bray rolling to the outside and Rollins reaching out to grab him only to get poked in the eye and hit with Sister Abigail.  Rating: **3/4

Match #2

Big Cass def Enzo Amore via Pinfall

Before the match Enzo cuts a really good and passionate promo on Big Cass and shows that he can cut meaningful promos that aren't just jokes and punchlines. 

This was the squash match that I expected it to be as Cass threw Enzo all around the ring and even press slammed him to the outside, he quickly finished things off  with the Big Boot. Rating: *1/2

Match #3
Cesaro/Sheamus (c) def The Hardy Boyz (4-3 Falls) (Raw Tag Team Championship 30 Minute Iron Man Match)
This match was just as good as I expected it to be as both teams put in great work, it was looking for a while that the Hardyz were only going to get one fall as Cesaro and Sheamus were dominating the challengers. The last third of this match is really good and had me on the edge of my seat to see if the Hardyz would be able to make a comeback and they did until the last few seconds where Cesaro outsmarted Jeff and covered him after Jeff had hit a Swanton on Sheamus. There was a point in the match where The Hardy Boyz came off with simultaneous dives and hit heads with each other and it busted Matt open. Overall I really enjoyed this match. Rating: ***1/2

Match #4
Sasha Banks def Alexa Bliss (c) via Countout (Raw Women's Championship)
I have to say first off that Alexa was very cheeky in this match if you know what I mean. This was another really good match and Alexa looked really good here with her viciousness towards Sasha. We got the return of the Alexa Bliss double jointed dislocated arm spot and it was just as good this time as it was when she did it during one of her matches with Becky Lynch. I liked the work on Sasha's back by Alexa as that backbreaker looked pretty nasty. That snap sunset flip out of the corner looked really smooth. I really thought Alexa was fixing to lose her title when she was locked in the Bank Statement, but thankfully she reached the ropes and I breathed a big sigh of relief. I liked that Alexa was smart enough to know she was in trouble with Sasha and decided to just take a count out loss so she can retain her title. 

I liked the brawl after the match where they fought over to the announcers table and Alexa attempted a DDT on the table, but instead Sasha pushes her off and then comes off the table and hits the double knees onto Alexa. Can't wait to see where this feud goes from here. Rating: ***

While I'm on the women's match I have to mention that during the preshow the panel was talking to Dana Brooke about this match when they were interrupted by Emma who said she needed to talk to Dana, so the Emma vs Dana feud is still going I guess. I still want to see some kind of meaningful feud for Mickie as it was such a big deal when she returned in January, but since coming over to Raw she hasn't done anything and she should be used in feuds to get these younger talents over. 

Match #5
The Miz (c) w/ Maryse & The Miztourage def Dean Ambrose via Pinfall (WWE Intercontinental Championship)

I'm gonna admit that I used this match as a bathroom and snack break so I missed the first part of it, but started watching when Ambrose was doing some great selling of the leg other than that I can't imagine this match was anything too special, just another in the never ending Miz vs Ambrose saga except this time instead of just Maryse distracting Ambrose he also had to deal with Axel & Dallas. Rating: N/A (didn't watch enough of it)

Match #6
Braun Strowman def Roman Reigns (Ambulance Match)

I have loved everything these two have done all year and this match was no difference as Roman played a great underdog which actually works in matches against Braun, but he shouldn't work that way in matches with smaller guys. Braun was the freaking monster that he is and was throwing Roman all over the place and sustaining all of the punishment Roman was giving him including no selling several chair shots to the injured arm. I thought the work around the ambulance was pretty good as they did the best they could with it as its not the easiest to find interesting ways to use an ambulance to inflict punishment. I liked that they used the LED board on the stage. Any time during the later parts when Roman would get Strowman down Strowman would have great facial expressions that truly made him feel like a monster out of a horror movie. The finish where Strowman sidestepped a Spear and Roman went flying into the ambulance was really cool and made Strowman look smart. 

The post match stuff was just as great as the match itself as it felt more real than a lot of the big backstage skits like this they have done over the years. I liked how they explained they had to throw an impromptu match on until they get the situation settled in the parking lot. Then if they didn't make Strowman look like enough of a monster before him getting out of the ambulance and getting to his feet and walking off made even more of a statement. I loved everything with all of this. Rating: ****1/4

Match #7
Brock Lesnar (c) w/ Paul Heyman def Samoa Joe by Pinfall (WWE Universal Championship)

I'm still confused as to who is suppose to be heel and who is face in this feud. Joe attacked Brock from behind before the bell rang and sent him through the announce tables at ringside with a Uranage. The entire match felt like a fight with neither man really getting the upper hand and they were using lots of MMA style moves int he match. I wish this match would have went a bit longer as I wanted to see more from them as I was thoroughly entertained, but the finish felt like it came out of nowhere as Lesnar quickly raises up from the Coquina Clutch that he is about to pass out to and hits an F5 for the win. Rating: ****

Overall this was a really good show especially the two main events, the tag title match, and the women's title match. I'll give this show a grade of A

Great Balls of Fire Match Ranking
7. Big Cass vs Enzo Amore
6. WWE Cruiserweight Championship
5. Seth Rollins vs Bray Wyatt
4. Raw Women's Championship
3. Raw Tag Team Championship
2. WWE Universal Championship
1. Ambulance Match

Thats it for my Great Balls of Fire review I hope you like and I'll be back in a couple of weeks for the Smackdown brand's Battleground show. 

WWE Money in the Bank 2017 Review

Money in the Bank 2017
St. Louis, MO
Scottrade Center
Brand: Smackdown
6/18/17

I really haven't paid as much attention to Smackdown since the Backlash show as I have instead spent my Tuesday nights watching America's Got Talent and after reading the recaps I don't see anything that really interests me enough on the blue brand to actually care to go back and watch it. I still feel Smackdown has taken a hit since the shake up and hasn't been able to fully recover since. With that said I still am interested in this show as Money in the Bank is always a fun show to watch, although I wish there was a more exciting title match on this show as the Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton feud hasn't really done anything for me partly because it's still hard to take Jinder 100% seriously as a champion after he's been a jobber for his entire career and also because Orton has had a really bad year and has been in shitty feud after shitty feud. 

I also feel the women's division has lost a step as Charlotte hasn't been the dominant force on Smackdown yet like she was on Raw and that's because she isn't nowhere near as good being a baby face and needs to go back being heel ASAP. I also am confused as to why Lana is getting cheered when she hasn't done anything to prove herself in the ring and isn't any different than Eva Marie was yet Eva always got booed, now if she really amazes tonight and puts on a good match with Naomi I will change my mind on her.

The tag division is pretty fun as New Day and Breezango are having some pretty entertaining segments and The Usos are great heel foils for them. I do wish American Alpha was back in the mix as they are always a great joy to watch. 

I like majority of the guys in the Money in the Bank Ladder match and this could be one of the better MITB matches there has been in quite a while. I don't like what they are doing with Nakamura as far as character goes as they are completely trying to change him, I don't understand why he needs to be called the artist when he already has a nickname, but that's Vince having to put his hands on everything and completely change it so that he can look back and in his mind think that he is the reason Nakamura became a big star and if the changes don't work and Nakamura's time in WWE is a flop then Vince will say he was never good enough and couldn't hang in the WWE. 

Hopefully this show will be better than the last two main roster shows (Payback & Backlash).

Kick Off Match

The Hype Bros def The Colons via Pinfall

This was nothing too special, but did it's job to warm up the crowd. The Colons worked over the previously injured leg of Zack Ryder until he was able to make the hot tag to Mojo. Mojo hit the Hyperdrive and the running punch in the corner and they finished off The Colons with the Hype Ryder. Rating: **

Match #1

Carmella def Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Naomi & Natalya (Money in the Bank Ladder Match) 

This match failed to reach my expectations as I thought with it being the first women's ladder match they would go all out, but they didn't use the ladders near enough. I felt all the girls were really nervous and this caused them to be a bit sloppy. The highlight of the match didn't even involve a ladder as Charlotte hit another one of her crazy dives to the outside. I really wish Ellsworth would've got slammed on a ladder by Becky  as that was a massive pop they missed out on. The finish was what I expected with Ellsworth getting the briefcase for Carmella. I would play the story that Ellsworth feels Carmella owes him something since he won it for her. Rating: **3/4

Match #2

New Day def The Usos (c) via countout (SmackDown Tag Team Championship)

This was shaping up to be the best tag team title match SmackDown has had in a while, but it ended a bit too soon and even though it made sense to end in a countout as the feud will continue it ended too soon for me. I hope this is the start of getting the blue brand's tag division back to where it needs to be. I liked the spot where one of the Usos had Kofi in the Tequila Sunrise and Big E was doing whatever he could to break it up as he knew Kofi wouldn't last long as he's coming off a leg injury. Really good match and I look forward to the re match next month. Rating: ***1/4

Match #3

Naomi (c) def  Lana (SmackDown Women's Championship) via Submission

First off Lana's gear is definitely not PG. there was no tease with what she was wearing she showed her ass off completely. Lana did a decent job and was better than I was expecting her to do. This was the third match of the night where the main body part worked on was a leg. Right toward the end Carmella comes out and teases a cash in, but decides she'll wait until a better time. This took a bit away from the ending as everyone was more concentrating on Carmella. Decent match but nothing too special. Rating: **

Debut of Mike Bennett & Maria

Definitely didn't expect this tonight and it looks like they are playing it where Maria wears the pants in the marriage and Mike is submissive to her. 

Match #4

Jinder Mahal (c) def Randy Orton (WWE World Championship)

Did the agents that laid these matches out not talk with each other as every non MITB match had the heels working on the leg of the baby face. This was once again exactly what you would expect from these two. The match picked up when the Singh brothers interfered and Orton begged the ref to send them to the back instead of disqualifying Jinder, the brothers then threatened to attack Bob Orton who was at ringside along with other legends and this caused Orton to go after them. Orton slammed one on the table and sent the other one through the table with an RKO from one table to another. All of this allowed Jinder to recover and when Orton got back in the ring he was kicked in the leg and hit with the Kallos. Better than their Backlash match but that's not saying anything. Rating: ***

Match #5

Breezango def The Ascension

This match was unannounced ahead of this show, but we had a Fashion Files where they two mystery men who attacked Breeze on Smackdown were going to reveal themselves, but don't get too excited it's not any new team or American Alpha with a heel turn alas it's only The Ascension. This was the perfect cool down match as it had a team in it that are over and the fans want to see so it prevents them from leaving to go to the restroom and it was quick enough that it didn't overstay it's welcome. Breezango gets the win after Fandango pins Viktor with a small package. Rating: *1/2

Match #6

Baron Corbin def AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, & Dolph Ziggler (Money in the Bank Ladder Match)

This match was incredible and everything you would want out of a Money in the Bank Ladder match. I liked Corbin attacking Nakamura during his entrance as it was a great way of setting up the finish of the match and I liked that they didn't do the usual person who gets taken out ends up winning the match trope that they like to pull out from time to time. Unlike the women's MITB match it didn't feel like there were many instances where someone was going to grab the briefcase and had to wait an insane amount of time before someone grabbed them as soon as someone was right at the top someone was right there to knock them off. There were some really memorable spots during the first half of the match which include the half and half suplex from Zayn onto KO on the apron and the DVD off the apron on the the ladder by AJ onto KO, and the bump AJ took after holding onto the briefcase without a ladder under him. Once Nakamura came back out the match really picked up as he was taking everyone out with the Kinshasa. Then we get AJ and Nakamura squaring off which is one of the matches everyone has wanted to see since Nakamura's debut and these two got the crowd on their feet and didn't even need a ladder to do so as their strike exchange was really great and that was only a small tease to what an amazing match they could put on. It really fit Corbin's character that he would win after knocking two of the IWC's favorites off the ladder. This was truly one of my favorite MITB ladder matches. Rating: ****1/2

This show was really fun to watch and felt like it flew by, it had three matches that were over three stars so that is a good thing. I feel this was the best post WrestleMania PPV show as there was nothing that was absolutely awful to the point where I wanted to turn it off. MITB Grade: B-

Money in the Bank 2017 Match Ranking

7. Breezango vs The Ascension
6. Smackdown Women's Championship
5. The Hype Bros vs The Colons
4. Women's MITB Ladder Match
3. WWE World Championship
2. Smackdown Tag Team Championship
1. Men's MITB Ladder Match

I hope you enjoy my review and feel free to comment or shoot me a message over on twitter @MTW3589. 

If your a fan of reality tv I suggest checking out my new blog I just started over at mythoughtsonrealitytv.blogspot.com I will be covering this season's Big Brother and my first post will be previewing the BB 19 cast and giving my thoughts and first impressions of them.